‘Be the voice of the voiceless’
Pope Francis encouraged the editorial staff and collaborators of Mondo e Missione, the magazine of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions, to be “the voice of the voiceless”. He said it is important to put oneself on the side of those “who do not have the right to speak or are not heard, the poorest, oppressed minorities, victims of forgotten wars” and on the side of “those who work silently and tenaciously ‘from below’ to build a different world, tracing paths of solidarity and reconciliation in contexts marked by crisis or violence”.
On fighting corruption
In a message published at the end of their plenary assembly, the bishops of Honduras condemned corruption, “which, according to the Church’s social teaching, undermines the proper functioning of the state, creates distrust in public institutions and politics and weakens institutions. We call on all of society not to remain indifferent to injustice,” the bishops wrote.
They insisted that “the judiciary respects the rights of Honduran society and all people”. They also stressed the need for citizens to “demand a just exercise of justice” from their representatives in parliament.
Eradicating corruption
The bishops of the Dominican Republic repeated the importance of combatting corruption as a key objective of their pastoral plan.
“We want to commit ourselves as a synodal Church, to announce and live the value of honesty in three environments: the family, education and the different levels of our society.”
The bishops cited corruption, the eradication of which “is still a pending task”; tax evasion, noting that “it is the responsibility of every citizen to fulfil this payment and the duty of the state, through its officials, to manage these resources for the good of the nation”.
(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)