A Christmas of restart and hope. Of reflection to understand what can be done in the face of wars, violence and poverty that know no holidays.

This is the message that comes from Monsignor Giuseppe Baturi , general secretary of the Italian Episcopal Conference and archbishop of Cagliari , who today met the faithful in the institutional headquarters of the Episcope for an exchange of greetings and best wishes.

Tomorrow at midnight the Archbishop will then be at the Cathedral of Cagliari for the traditional Christmas Eve Mass . On Monday at 8.30 he will be at the Uta prison for the Eucharistic celebration and at 10.30 he will preside over the Christmas mass at the Quartucciu juvenile penal institute.

THE WAR – «A Christmas that leads us to reflect - explains Baturi - because angels are heralds of peace. We must not get used to the horror of war, to the children killed. To a violence that can jeopardize the future. Christmas must help us recover the sense of benevolence of solidarity. And together with Pope Francis we once again renew the call for a ceasefire: if there cannot be friendship, let there at least be collaboration. It is a situation that concerns us, let's think about how close we are in the Mediterranean. Let us not stop calling for an end to the war. Let us convey peace education to our young people. It takes foresight to build it, a victory which may be ephemeral as history tells us is not enough."

YOUNG PEOPLE – A 2023 of violence not only on the war front. With the cases of feminicide that have shaken Italy. « Young people - explains Monsignor Baturi - are overwhelmed by violence that is often also against themselves . Worrying data are arriving from emergency rooms and hospitals on the increase in cases of self-harm and young people taking their own lives . Among young people, suicide is the second cause of death in Europe. Strong psychological distress emerges. There is no happiness without love, God is love. But current events tell us about the poisoning of relationships, not about true love but about the desire to possess the other. There is immense educational work to be done."

Influencers, social media, eyes fixed on smartphones. «It is a society of appearances that wants to satisfy young people with little . But young people must not be satisfied with images and videos, they must desire great things: justice, love, happiness, truth . What happens among young people is also a sign of what happens in the adult world. This world of social media and images tries to extinguish desires by giving the illusion of satisfying them."

POVERTY – Many gifts under the tree. «But increasing poverty - continues Baturi - is often inherited: the redemption that characterized past decades is becoming increasingly difficult. Sometimes it is connected to work that isn't there. But not only that: sometimes the income is there, but it is not enough when faced with the demands of an increasingly complex life . And then we also have strong educational poverty . I am thinking, for example, of Sardinia with a number of graduates that is still not consistent with the number of graduates, I am thinking of school dropouts, I am thinking of professional training which needs to do more. All this cannot be left to a single institution, but a set of interventions is needed. And in this direction the role of the third sector is fundamental. We can grow: the reform has yet to bear fruit."

SOLIDARITY – «Even the Sardinian tradition – recalls Baturi – as can also be seen from the works of Grazia Deledda, talks about a portion of food that is donated at Christmas and sent to the neighbor who cannot afford it».

WISHES - «We Christians - says Monsignor Baturi - are responsible for a change, to the extent that through the exhortation of the Child Jesus, we put ourselves into play, what we believe in, and build pieces of renewed and transfigured humanity. Best wishes, so that everyone can find comfort in recognizing the steps of the God who comes to meet us, hearing his voice. Best wishes again because we know how to build a new world, educating our brothers and our young people, transmitting the truths we have experienced."

(Unioneonline/vl)

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