After the Angelus:
Dear Brothers and Sisters, today we are celebrating the Fifth World Day of the
Poor, which began as a fruit of the Jubilee of Mercy. This year’s theme is Jesus’
Word: “The poor you will always have with you” (Mk 14:7). And it is true:
humanity progresses, develops, but the poor are always with us, there are
always the poor, and in them, Christ is present, Christ is present in the poor. The
day before yesterday, in Assisi, we experienced a powerful moment of witness
and prayer, which I invite you to relive. It will do you good. And I am grateful
for the many initiatives of solidarity that were organised in dioceses and parishes
throughout the world.
The cry of the poor, united with the cry of the Earth, resounded in recent days at
the United Nations Climate Change Summit COP26 in Glasgow. I encourage all
those with political and economic responsibilities to act now with courage and
foresight; at the same time, I invite all people of good will to exercise active
citizenship for the care of the common home. To this end, today, World Day of
the Poor, registration begins for the Laudato Si’ platform, which promotes
integral ecology. […]
