APOSTOLIC JOURNEY OF HIS HOLINESS FRANCIS TO CYPRUS AND GREECE MEETING WITH AUTHORITIES, CIVIL SOCIETY AND THE DIPLOMATIC CORPS ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS
“Ceremonial Hall” of the Presidential Palace in Nicosia
[…] A pearl in fact becomes what it is, because it takes shape over time. It
takes years for its various layers to become compact and give it lustre. So too,
the beauty of this land comes from the cultures which over the centuries have
met and blended here. Today too, the light of Cyprus is richly variegated. Many
peoples and nations have contributed different shades and tints to this people. I
think too of the presence of many immigrants: percentagewise, more than any
other country of the European Union. To preserve the multicolored and
multifaceted beauty of the whole is no easy thing. As in the formation of a pearl,
it takes time and patience; it demands a broad vision capable of embracing a
variety of cultures and looking to the future with foresight. I think in this regard
of the importance of protecting and supporting all the members of society,
especially those who are statistically a minority. I think too of the various
Catholic agencies that would benefit from a suitable institutional recognition, so
that the contribution they make to society through their activities, particularly
their educational and charitable works, can be clearly defined from the legal
standpoint.
A pearl develops its beauty in situations of difficulty. It is born in obscurity, when
the oyster “suffers” after experiencing an unexpected threat to its safety, such
as a grain of sand that irritates it. To protect itself, it reacts by assimilating the
thing that wounded it: it encloses the foreign body that endangers it and makes
it into something beautiful: a pearl. The pearl of Cyprus has been darkened by
the pandemic, which has prevented many visitors from visiting it and seeing its
beauty; here, as in other places, this has aggravated the effects of the financial
and economic crisis. In this period of recovery, however, it will not be anxious
efforts to recover what was lost that will ensure and consolidate growth, but the
commitment to promote the recovery of society, especially through a decisive
fight against corruption and everything that violates the dignity of the person;
here I think, for example, of the scourge of human trafficking. […]
