Francisco received the participants of the conference “ManWoman, Image of God. For an Anthropology of Professions”, funded by the Center for Research and Anthropology of Professions. Because of a cold, the Pope asked his colleague Msgr. Ciampanelli to read the prepared text, but in a short improvised greeting he once again stigmatized the gender ideology that eliminates differences: “It eliminates humanity.”
Mariangela Jaguraba News from the Vatican
Pope Francis received the participants of the international meeting “ManWoman, Image of God” in the Vatican this Friday (March 1st). For an Anthropology of Vocations”, promoted by the Center for Research and Anthropology of Vocations (CRAV) and coordinated by the Prefect Emeritus of the Dicastery of Bishops, Cardinal Marc Ouellet. The meeting will take place on March 1 and Saturday, March 2, at the Vatican and will bring together several scientists, philosophers, theologians and educators to reflect on Christian anthropology, pluralism, dialogue between cultures and the future of Christianity.
Before his speech, his colleague Msgr. Filippo Ciampanelli, because the Pope still has a cold and gets tired while reading, Francis said a few short words.
Important meeting between men and women
I would like to emphasize one thing: it is very important that there is this meeting, this meeting between men and women, because today the greatest danger is gender ideology, which eliminates differences. I asked to conduct studies on this bad ideology of our time that erases differences and makes everything the same; The abolition of difference means the abolition of humanity. However, men and women experience a fruitful “tension”.
Next, the pope said he had read an early 20thcentury novel written by the son of the Archbishop of Canterbury called “The Lord of the World.” According to Francisco, “The novel is about futurism and is prophetic because it shows the tendency to eliminate all differences.” “It's interesting to read that because these problems exist today. This man was a prophet,” he emphasized.
A moment from the audience in the hall of the New Synod
Next, Msgr. Ciampanelli read the Pope's speech in which he emphasized that “the aim of this conference is, first of all, to take into account and appreciate the anthropological dimension of every vocation. This leads us to an elementary and fundamental truth that we must rediscover today in all its beauty.”: Human life is a vocation. Let us not forget: the anthropological dimension that underlies every vocation within the community has to do with an essential characteristic of man as such: namely, that man himself is a vocation “.
In his address, the Pope emphasizes that “both in the great decisions that affect a state of life and in the many occasions and situations in which they are incarnated and take shape, each of us discovers himself as a vocation, as… and “A person who finds fulfillment in listening and responding and sharing his nature and gifts with others for the common good.”
Identity in relationship
According to the Pope, “This discovery takes us out of the isolation of a selfreferential self and allows us to see ourselves as an identity in relation: I exist and live in relation to those who gave birth to me, to the reality that goes beyond me. “towards others and the world that surrounds me, in relation to which I am called to accept, with joy and responsibility, a specific and personal mission.”
According to Francisco, “This anthropological truth is fundamental because it fully corresponds to the desire for human fulfillment and happiness that lives in our hearts.”
In the current cultural context, there is sometimes a tendency to forget or obscure this reality, with the risk of reducing man only to his material needs or primary demands, as if he were an object without consciousness or will, simply dragged through life is used as part of a mechanical transmission.
Some of the participants at the conference in the Vatican
In this sense, the Pope recommends not to stifle the “healthy inner tension” that every person has within them, that is, the call “to happiness, to the fullness of life, to something great for which God has destined us.”
Every person's life is not a coincidence
The life of each of us, without exception, is not a coincidence; Our existence in the world is not a mere result of chance, but we are part of a plan of love and we are invited to come out of ourselves and realize it, for ourselves and for others.
“Each of us has a mission, which means we are called to make our contribution to improving the world and shaping society,” the Pope said. Francis encourages research, study and opportunities for debate on vocations, different states of life and the diversity of charisms: “They are also useful for asking us about today's challenges, about the ongoing anthropological crisis and about the need to promote human and Christian vocations .” ” It is also important that “an ever more effective cycle between different vocations” is created, so that the works that arise from the state of lay life in the service of society and the Church, together with the gift of the ordained ministry and consecrated life can help create hope in a world in which difficult experiences of death threaten.
Finally, the Pope wished everyone a good job and urged them “not to be afraid in these very enriching moments in the life of the Church.”
The Holy Spirit demands something important from us: faithfulness. But loyalty is on the way and often loyalty leads us to take risks. “Museum loyalty” is not loyalty. Move forward with the courage to discern and take risks and seek God's will. Take courage and move forward without losing your sense of humor!
Pope Francis, Cardinal Ouellet and Msgr. Ciampanelli