Noticing workers at risk at general audience, Pope begs for solution
Pope Francis expressed his hope on Wednesday that administrators of an Italian airline company that risks bankruptcy may find a fair solution that safeguards its workers with jobs at risk.
The Pope was speaking in St. Peter’s Square at the General Audience where a large group of “Meridiana” airline workers were present carrying banners denouncing their predicament.
Pope Francis turned his attention to them expressing “deep closeness and solidarity in these hours of apprehension regarding the future of their work.”
“I hope that a fair solution may be worked out, that considers above all the dignity of the human person and the essential needs of the families concerned,” he said.
His plea rang out across the Square: “Please, I appeal to all those with responsibility: no family without work!”
Pope Francis has repeatedly called for the promotion of the dignity of the human person and the nobility of labor. In June 2014, on the occasion of a Conference of the International Labour Organization he released a message that said:
It is…time to reinforce existing forms of cooperation and to establish new avenues for expanding solidarity. This calls for a renewed insistence on the dignity of every person; a more determined implementation of international labor standards; planning for a focused development on the human person as its central actor and primary beneficiary; a reevaluation of the responsibilities of international corporations in the countries where they operate, including the areas of profit and investment management.”
And in the message he also called, as he has done in many occasions, for substantial efforts to protect the environment, ensure decent work for all, and provide appropriate protection for the family, which, he says, is an essential element in sustainable human and social development.
