Published December 28,2024
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Pope Francis has spoken of making “a world full of hope and kindness” in a recorded message broadcast on BBC Radio 4.
The head of the Catholic Church wished listeners “peace, fellowship and gratitude” within the new 12 months as he gave the Thought for the Day on Saturday.
It comes after Francis started celebrations for the Church’s Holy Year jubilee, a centuries-old custom that now happens each 25 years and includes the devoted heading to Rome on pilgrimages.
Thought for the Day is a daily section on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme which welcomes individuals from all the most important faiths to share reflections on the world, airing at 7.45am each Monday to Saturday.
Francis was invited to ship a message by the programme’s visitor editor, Professor Irene Tracey, who’s vice chancellor of the University of Oxford.
The 88-year-old, who was born in Argentina, recorded his message in Italian earlier than it was translated into English for UK radio audiences.
In the message, Francis stated: “Hope and kindness touch the very heart of the Gospel and show us the path to follow in our behaviour. A world full of hope and kindness is a more beautiful world.
“A society that appears to the longer term with confidence and treats individuals with respect and empathy is extra humane.”
Focusing on the theme of hope, His Holiness said: “Even although we have no idea what tomorrow could maintain for us, we should always not look to the longer term with pessimism and resignation.
“Wars, social injustices, and the many forms of violence we are exposed to every day should not dishearten us nor draw us towards scepticism and discouragement.”
Francis stated kindness was “not a diplomatic strategy” however as an alternative represented a “form of love that opens hearts to acceptance, and helps us all to become more humble”.
Quoting from the autobiography of British writer G Ok Chesterton, the pope shared his invitation to “take the elements of life with gratitude and not for granted”.
He added: “I hope that during this Jubilee we can practice kindness as a form of love to connect with others.
“May the New Year carry us peace, fellowship and gratitude.”
It is the second time Francis has appeared on the Thought for the Day section, having first spoken in October 2021 forward of the COP26 local weather summit.
He is simply the second pope to participate in section, after his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI on Christmas Eve in 2010.
Source: www.anews.com.tr