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News
Street Roots • March 10-16, 2017
Street Roots • March 10-16, 2017
News
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POPE FRANCIS
BY STEFANO LAMPERTICO
C O N T R IB U T IN G W R IT E R
ope Francis has always had a special
connection to those living on the
stre e t So much so that last year, in
Rome, where approximately 6,000
vulnerable, poor or homeless people
gathered for the Jubilee of the socially
excluded, he delivered a touching mea
culpa: “I ask your forgiveness, on behalf of
the Christians who, when reading the
Gospel, do not see the m atter of poverty at
its heart; for all the times we, as Christians,
have found ourselves before a person
trapped in poverty, and turned away from
them.”
And it was Pope Francis who led by
example, in the days of extreme cold at the
beginning of 2017, when six homeless
people died of exposure within 48 hours.
The pope ordered that the doors of the
Vatican be opened, and - remembering the
stalwart volunteers still working in the
homeless shelters - made donations of
sleeping bags and gloves.
With the Community of Sant’Egidio, he
opened the church of San Calisto in
Trastevere as a warming shelter where
people experiencing homelessness could
sleep and e a t And how can we forget the
showers and barbershop for the homeless,
under the colonnade of S t Peter’s Square,
or the special visit he organized to the
Sistine Chapel?
But food and blankets alone are not
enough to restore dignity to those who have
lost it. So Pope Francis has decided to give
those who possess little or nothing a seat in
the front row for the Papal Blessing at the
Vatican on May 14.
A year and a half after he first spoke to
street papers, Pope Francis sat down for an
exclusive interview with vendor Antonio
Mininni and editor Stefano Lampertico of
Italian street paper Scarp de’ tenis.
P
S carp de’ ten is: A Jew weeks ago, at the
start of winter when the cold became severe,
you appealed to all the churches to open their
doors and welcome homeless people. What was
the reaction to your appeal?
P ope F rancis: The appeal was heard by
many people in many parishes - they
listened and answered. In the Vatican, there
are two parishes, and every parishioner
welcomed a Syrian family as guests. Many
churches in Rome opened their doors in
welcome, and I know that some others, not
having the space to host guests, raised
enough money to cover a whole year’s rent
for the needy and their families.
Our goal must be integration, and so it is
important to provide support and company
at the beginning. Much has been done, all
over Italy. Catholic schools, convents and
many other organizations all opened their
Treat all people
with humanity’
It is always right to
give help. Of coarse,
that doesn't mean it's
good to just throw
some coins in the direc
tion of a beggar. What
matters more is a good
deed, helping someone
who asks yon for help,
looking in their eyes
and tonching their
hands. Throwing mon
ey at someone without
looking at them is not
The p o n tiff talks to street papers about the need
fo r integration - whether we're welcom ing homeless
people into the churches or refugees into o u r countries
PHOTO BY REUTERS/REMO CASILLI
asked him to hear his confession - this
priest who had once been his friend.
Afterwards, he said to the pope, “Now it’s
your turn.” And the pope heard his
confession.
Scarp: When you meet someone who is
Thanks to the deeds of the volunteer, a
experiencing homelessness, what is the first
kind look, a hot meal and some words of
thing you say to them?
comfort, this man was
able to resume the path
Pope: “Hello, how are
to a life like his old one,
you?” Sometimes we only
eventually working as the
exchange a few words,
chaplain of a hospital.
other times we are able
The pope helped him,
to build rapport and I am
There are many ways
able to listen to
to justify one's actions certainly, perhaps this
counts as a “miracle,” but
fascinating stories:
when not giving alms.
it’s also an example to
“When I was studying at
"But why should? If I
remember the grand
college ...” or “I once
dignity that the homeless
knew a really good priest
give him money, he'll
just spend it on a glass possess.
When I was archbishop
You may ask, why does
of wine." If a glass of
this interest me? People
of Buenos Aires, a
wine is his only happi homeless couple and a
who live on the streets
family lived under the
can tell immediately if
ness in life, then so be
there’s genuine interest
archway to our entrance
it. Ask yourself instead hall, between the
from the person speaking
what you do, when
to them or if it’s only out
pavement and the grilles.
of - 1 don’t want to call it
I met them every
you're alone. What
compassion - it’s more
morning when I went o u t
secret "happiness" do
like penitence. Some
I always said hello, and
you
pursue?
people see a homeless
we would exchange a few
person just as another
words. It never occurred
person; others treat them
to me to chase them
as if they were a dog. If
away. Somebody once
you look at someone differently, they of
said to me, “They are a stain on our
Church,” but to me, those words were the
course realize i t
In the Vatican, there is a famous story of
stain. I think one must treat all people with
a homeless man, of Polish origin, who could
humanity, not as if they owe you a debt, and
normally be found at the Piazza
not as if they were impoverished dogs.
Risorgimento in Rome. He never spoke to
Scarp: Many wonder i f they should give
anyone, not even the Caritas (Catholic
alms to those who beg for help on the street.
charity) volunteers who would bring him a
What would you answer?
hot meal in the evening. Only after a long
Pope: There are many ways to justify
time were they able to learn his story: “I am
one’s actions when not giving alms. “But
a p riest I know your Pope well; we studied
why should? If I give him money, he’ll just
together at the seminary.” These words
spend it on a glass of wine.” If a glass of
eventually reached S t John Paul H, who
wine is his only happiness in life, then so be
heard the name and confirmed they had
it. Ask yourself instead what you do, when
been at the seminary together. He wanted
you’re alone. What secret “happiness” do
to meet this man. They embraced after 40
you pursue?
years apart, and after an audiencë, the pope
a Christian gesture.
her children alone at home; they had
homework to finish, and she prepared a
snack in advance of their lunch. When she
got home, she found her three children sat
at the-table with a stranger, a homeless
man. They had learned her lesson too well
and perhaps too hastily, for sure they had
forgotten their common sense a little.
doors. This is why I say the call was
answered. I know that many people made
monetary donations to help those without
accommodation pay for somewhere to stay.
Teaching charity is not about offloading
one’s faults, but about touching another
person, and looking at the wretchedness
within oneself, knowing that God sees us
and will save us. Because we all have our
own miseries, on the inside.
Scarp: On several occasions, the pope has
spoken out in defense o f migrants seeking
asylum and chanty. Milan is in some ways
the capital for asylum seekers. However there
are many who wonder i f it is really necessary
to accommodate everyone or whether it is
necessary to set limits.
Scarp de’ tenis editor Stefano Lampertico interviews Pope Francis.
Or, when you compare yourself to him,
you see yourself as more fortunate, with a
house, a spouse, a family, and so you find
yourself saying, “Let the rest of you worry
about him!”
It is always right to give help. Of course,
that doesn’t mean it’s good to just throw
some coins in the direction of a beggar.
What matters more is a good deed, helping
someone who asks you for help, looking in
their eyes and touching their hands.
Throwing money at someone without
looking at them is not a Christian gesture.
How can you teach someone to help?
Let me tell you the story of a lady I knew
in Buenos Aires, mother to five children, ■
although at that time she had only three.
Their father was at work, and they were at
home having lunch, when they heard a
knock at the door. The eldest went to open
it. “Mamma, there’s ajn an a t the door
asking for something to eat,” he returned
to say. “What should we do?” The three
children, the youngest of whom was 4,
were sharing bistecca alia Milanese (a beef
steak in breadcrumbs). “All right,” said the
woman, “we’ll cut our steaks in half for
him.” “But Mamma, there’s another whole
one,” protested the children. “That’s for
this evening, for your father,” she replied.
“If we are to give, we must give what is our
own.” With these simple words, the
children learned that you must give away
only what belongs to you.
Two weeks later, the lady had to go into
town to run some errands, and had to leave
Pope: Those arriving in Europe now are
fleeing from war or famine. And we are in
some ways responsible, because we strip
their lands for profit, but we don’t make
any investments from which the locals can
benefit. They have the right to emigrate,
and they have the right to be sheltered, to
be helped. But this is something we must
do with Christian virtue, a virtue that must
be guided by wisdom. What does this
mean? It means taking in all those that we
are able to take in. This has first to do with
numbers. But more importantly we must
reflect upon the ways in which we admit
people, because to welcome means to
integrate with. This is the most difficult
aspect, and if migrants don’t integrate,
then they become segregated. I am often
reminded of the Zaventem incident, (the
suicide bombings at the airport and metro
station in Brussels). These were Belgian
youths, yes, children of migrants who had
grown up in a quarter of the city that
resembled a ghetto.
And what does it mean to integrate?
Again I will give you an example. From
Lesbos, 13 people came to Italy with me.
By their second day here, thanks to the
community of Sant’Egidio, all the children
were already attending school. In almost no
time, the refugees had found places to live,
the adults were enrolled in courses to
learn Italian and to find work. Certainly, it
is easier for children: They go to local
schools and in a few months can speak
better Italian than I can. The men looked
for work, and they found i t So “to
integrate” means to enter into the local
way of life, respecting the local culture but
also respecting and maintaining one’s own
heritage and cultural richness. It is a
difficult task.
In Buenos Aires, in the days of the
military dictatorship, we looked to Sweden
as a positive example. Today they have a
population of 9 million, but 890,000 are
“new Swedish” migrants, or the children of
migrants, who have integrated. The
Swedish minister for culture, Alice Bah
Kuhnke, is the daughter of a Swedish
m other and a father of Gambian origin. -
This is a wonderful example of integration.
Of course even now there are difficulties in
Sweden: There are many requests for
citizenship, and they are trying to figure
out what to do as there is not a place for
everyone. Admitting, receiving, welcoming
and immediately integrating - that is what
we are often missing out. Every country
must therefore realize how many people it
is able to accommodate. You cannot shelter
people without the possibility of
integration.
Scarp: Your own family history includes
your father’s parents, with their son, crossing
the ocean to Argentina. What was it like
growing up the child of an immigrant? Did
you ever feel uprooted at all?
Pope: I never felt uprooted, or out of
place. In Argentina, we are all immigrants.
That is why interfaith dialogue is the norm.
I went to school with Jewish immigrants
who had mostly come from Russia, as well
as Syrian and Lebanese Muslims, or Turks
with passports from the Ottoman Empire.
We were a brotherhood. There were few
people of indigenous origin. For the most
part, we were originally Italian, Spanish,
Polish, Middle Eastern, Russian, German,
Croat, Slovenian.... In the last two
centuries, migration has been a far-
reaching phenomenon. My father was in
his 20s when he arrived in Argentina, and
he worked in the Bank of Italia. He was
married there.
Translated from Italian to English by
Eleanor Susan Lim.
Courtesy o f Scarp de’ tenis / INSP.ngo