"Deeply concerned" about the "grave situation that so many families of Terni are experiencing" because of the projects of the Thyssenkrupp Company, this morning, at the Wednesday General Audience, Pope Francis launched an "urgent appeal to not let the logic of profit prevail, but rather solidarity and justice." “The person and his dignity must always be placed at the heart of every issue, including work," said Francis. "There’s no playing with work!—he continued—And whoever deprives people of their work for the sake of money, business, more income, must know that he is depriving them of their dignity."
The Pope said this after the recent call to protect workers voiced by Msgr. Giuseppe Piemontese, Bishop of Terni-Narni-Amelia, who yesterday launched a prayer vigil. Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia has also expressed his union in prayer and his closeness to the Bishop, the diocese, and the workers. "During the years I lived as Bishop in Terni, said the President of the Pontifical Council for the Family in a letter to Msgr. Piemontese, I often had to fight alongside the workers and managers, because the steel mills continue to be one of the most important economic centers and decisive for Terni. Once again, today, as President of the Vatican Dicastery for the Family, I ask you—adds Msgr. Paglia, addressing himself to the Bishop—to express my closeness and concern to the many families of Terni who are involved. "
