MEETING WITH THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE PILGRIMAGE OF GYPSIES ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS

[…] I know the difficulties of your people. Having visited some parishes on the outskirts of Rome, I have been able to understand your problems, your anxieties, and I have seen that these issues require the attention not only of the Church but also of the local authorities. I have been able to see the precarious conditions in which many of you live, due to negligence and unemployment and the lack of the necessary means of subsistence. This is contrary to the right of every person to a dignified life, to dignified work, to education and to health care. According to the moral and social order, every human being must be able to enjoy his fundamental rights and fulfil his duties. On this basis it is possible to build peaceful coexistence, in which the different cultures and traditions protect their respective values, not by adopting a closed or opposing attitude, but through dialogue and integration. We no longer want to witness family tragedies in which children die from cold or are burnt alive, or become objects in the hands of depraved persons, or in which young people and women are involved in the trafficking of drugs or of human beings. And this happens because we often fall prey to indifference and are unable to accept customs and ways of life that are different from our own.[…]