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Chapter Three

Radio Catedral

For a More Humane Culture

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Pope Francis made a brief visit to the studios of Radio Catedral. But he chose his words carefully and spoke about solidarity, one of the pillars of Catholic social teaching, and on the connected theme of the dangers of a “throwaway culture.” As he admonishes his listeners, “Solidarity includes everyone.”

After lunch with the bishops of Brazil, Pope Francis visited the studios of Radio Catedral in Rio de Janeiro, where he spoke the following words, the Italian translation of which appeared in the July 29-30, 2013, edition of L’Osservatore Romano.

Hello and good afternoon to all my listeners. I thank you for listening, and I also thank the staff of this radio station for their kindness in inviting me to speak on air.

As I thank them, I am looking around this radio station and I see that the means of communication are very important today. I would have to say that a radio station, a Catholic radio station, is the most immediate pulpit that we have today. Here, through radio, we can proclaim human values, religious values, and, above all, we can proclaim Christ Jesus the Lord. We can be gracious enough to make room for the Lord among the affairs of our daily life.

So, I greet you and I thank you for all the efforts this archdiocese is making to have and maintain a radio station with such a large network. I ask all the listeners to pray for me, to pray for this radio station, to pray for your bishop, to pray for the archdiocese, so that all of us can join in prayer and can work, as the priest said a moment ago, for a more humane culture that is richer in values and that excludes no one.

Let us all work for that word which is unpopular today: solidarity. It is a word that people always try to put aside, because it is irksome. Yet it is a word that reflects the human and Christian values that are required of us today—as the priest said a moment ago—in order to counter a throwaway culture, according to which everything is disposable, a culture that always leaves people out of the equation. It leaves children out, it leaves young people out, it leaves the elderly out, and it leaves out all who are of no use, who do not produce. But this must not be! On the contrary, solidarity includes everyone. You must continue to work for this culture of solidarity and for the Gospel.

Question on the importance of the family:

Not only would I say that the family is important for the evangelization of the new world. The family is important and it is necessary for the survival of humanity. Without the family, the cultural survival of the human race would be at risk. The family, whether we like it or not, is the foundation.