Address of Pope Leo XIV to Members of the National Association of Italian Municipalities ANCI

In the Name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Peace be with you!

Your Eminence,
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning and welcome.

I am pleased to meet all of you, who represent the National Association of Italian Municipalities. We are celebrating this event during the Christmas season and at the end of a Jubilee year: the grace of these days certainly illuminates your service and your responsibilities.

The incarnation of the Son of God brings us face to face with a child, whose gentle fragility clashes with the arrogance of King Herod. In particular, the killing of the innocents ordered by the latter not only means the loss of a future for society, but is also a manifestation of inhumane power, which does not know the beauty of love because it ignores the dignity of human life.

On the contrary, the birth of the Lord reveals the most authentic aspect of all power, which is first and foremost responsibility and service. For any authority to be able to express these characteristics, it is necessary to embody the virtues of humility, honesty and sharing. In your public commitment, in particular, you are aware of how important listening is, as a social dynamic that activates these virtues. Indeed, it is a matter of paying attention to the needs of families and individuals, taking special care of the most vulnerable, for the good of all.

The demographic crisis and the struggles of families and the young, the loneliness of the elderly and the silent cry of the poor, the pollution of the environment and social conflicts are all situations that do not leave you indifferent. As you seek answers, you are well aware that our cities are not anonymous places, but rather faces and histories to be cherished as precious treasure. In this task, you become mayors day by day, growing as just and reliable administrators.

In this regard, let us take as an example the venerable Giorgio La Pira, who, in a speech to the municipal councillors of Florence, said: “You have only one right in relation to me: that of denying me your trust! But you do not have the right to say to me: Mr Mayor, do not concern yourself with those who are without work (the dismissed or unemployed), without a home (the evicted), without assistance (the elderly, the sick, children). It is my fundamental duty. If there is someone who is suffering, I have a specific duty: to intervene in every way possible, with all the measures that love suggests and the law provides, so that that suffering may be reduced or alleviated. There is no other rule of conduct for a mayor in general, and for a Christian mayor in particular (Writings, VI, p. 83).

Social cohesion and civic harmony require, first and foremost, listening to the least and the poor: without this commitment, “democracy atrophies, turns into a slogan, a formality; it loses its representative character and becomes disembodied, since it leaves out the people in their daily struggle for dignity, in the building of their future” (Francis, Address, 5 November 2016). Both in the face of difficulties and in opportunities for development, I urge you to become masters of dedication to the common good, fostering a social alliance for hope.

At the end of the Jubilee, I am happy to share with you this important theme, which my beloved predecessor, Pope Francis, indicated in the Bull of Indiction. All of us, he wrote, “need to recover the joy of living, since men and women, created in the image and likeness of God (cf. Gen 1:26), cannot rest content with getting along one day at a time, settling for the here and now and seeking fulfilment in material realities alone. This leads to a narrow individualism and the loss of hope; it gives rise to a sadness that lodges in the heart and brings forth fruits of discontent and intolerance” (Spes non confundit, 9).

Read the full address at the Vatican's site.