Addressing the Crisis of Democracy

On the final day of the 50th Social Week of Italian Catholics, Pope Francis traveled to the northern Italian city of Trieste on Sunday to share his thoughts on the crisis of democracy. The annual event is organized by the Catholic Church in Italy and is dedicated to promoting Catholic social doctrine. This year, the title of the event was “At the Heart of Democracy.”

Addressing over 1,000 delegates from different dioceses and associations across Italy, Pope Francis focused on Christian engagement in politics and the need for “courage to make proposals on behalf of justice and peace in the public debate.” “We need to be a voice,” Pope Francis encouraged, “a voice that denounces and advocates in a society that is often silent and where too many have no voice. So many have no voice. This is political charity, which is not content with treating the effects but seeks to address the causes.”

Engagement with Migrants and the Faithful

After delivering the concluding address, Pope Francis then held a private meeting with a group of nearly 150 migrants and people with disabilities. Presiding over Holy Mass for approximately 8,500 people in the Unità d’Italia Square in Trieste, the Holy Father stressed that the world needs a faith that is not indifferent to the problems of this world, a faith “that enters history, touches people’s lives, and becomes a leaven of hope and a seed for a new world.”

“Brothers and sisters,” the Pope continued, “above all, we need a faith that disrupts the calculations of human selfishness, that denounces evil, points out injustices, and challenges the schemes of those who exploit the weak from the shadows of power.”

Trieste: A Gateway for Migrants

Nestled between the Adriatic Sea and Slovenia, the location of the port city has made it a common arrival point for migrants coming to Europe through the Balkans. Referencing Trieste’s welcome of immigrants, the Holy Father praised the city for being “an open door to migrants — and to all those who struggle the most.” Pope Francis insisted that God is found precisely “in the dark corners of our lives and of our cities,” and among “the least, the forgotten, the discarded.”

Adapted by Jacob Stein