Pope Francis says "Safety at work, is like the air we breathe: we realise its importance only when it is tragically lacking..." to Disabled Workers - FULL TEXT
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Clementine Hall - Monday, September 11, 2023
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Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
I welcome you on the occasion of the eightieth anniversary of your association. It was 1943, a decisive year for Italy in the Second World War. You have taken the first steps in that context, which reminds us that every armed conflict brings with it hordes of disabled people, even today; and that the civilian population suffers the dramatic consequences of the madness that is war. Once the conflict is over, the rubble remains, even in bodies and hearts, and peace must be rebuilt day by day, year by year, through the protection and promotion of life and its dignity, starting from the weakest, starting from more disadvantaged.
Today, then, I would like to express heartfelt thanks to all of you. Thank you first of all for what you continue to do for the protection and representation of victims of accidents at work, widows and orphans of the fallen. I still have in mind the five brothers killed by a train while they were working. Thank you for keeping a high level of attention on the issue of safety in the workplace, where too many deaths and misfortunes still occur.
Thank you for the initiatives you promote to improve civil legislation regarding accidents at work and the professional reintegration of people who find themselves disabled. In fact, it is a question not only of guaranteeing the right welfare and social security care for those suffering from forms of disability, but also of giving new opportunities to people who can be reintegrated and whose dignity demands to be fully recognized. Finally, thank you for your work in raising public awareness on accident prevention and safety policies, in particular in favor of women and young people. Tragedies and dramas in the workplace unfortunately do not cease, despite the technology we have at our disposal to promote safe places and times. Sometimes it feels like hearing a war bulletin. This happens when work becomes dehumanized and, instead of being the instrument with which human beings realize themselves by making themselves available to the community, it becomes an exasperated race for profit. And this is bad. Tragedies begin when the goal is no longer man, but productivity, and man becomes a production machine. Friends, the educational and training tasks that await you are still fundamental, both with regard to workers, employers and within society. Safety at work is like the air we breathe: we realize its importance only when it is tragically lacking, and it is always too late!
The parable of the Good Samaritan (see Luke 10.30-37) is repeated: in front of the wounded people who risk abandonment on the side of the road of life we can do like those two religious characters, the priest and the Levite who, in order not to become contaminated, they don't stop and carry on, in indifference. And in the world of work sometimes it happens exactly like this: we carry on, as if nothing had happened, devoted to the idolatry of the market. But we cannot get used to accidents at work, nor resign ourselves to indifference towards accidents. We cannot accept the waste of human life. Deaths and injuries are a tragic social impoverishment that affects everyone, not just the businesses or families involved. We must not tire of learning and relearning the art of caring, in the name of common humanity. Safety, in fact, is not only guaranteed by good legislation, which must be enforced, but also by the ability to live as brothers and sisters in the workplace.
The Apostle Paul, reflecting on the value of corporeity, asks an extremely timely question: «Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you? You have received it from God and you do not belong to yourselves." And he concludes: «Glorify God in your body!» (1 Cor 6,19-20). Saint Paul refers to affectivity, but we can also broaden our gaze to the world of work. If the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, it means that by taking care of its fragilities, we give praise to God. Humanity is therefore a "place of worship" and care is the attitude with which we collaborate in the very work of the Creator. The Christian faith goes this far: the centrality of the person, as a temple of the Holy Spirit, knows no waste, knows no buying, selling or bartering on human life. You cannot, in the name of greater profit, ask for too many working hours, decreasing concentration, or think of counting insurance forms or safety requests as useless expenses and loss of income.
Safety at work is an integral part of personal care. Indeed, for an employer, it is the first duty and the first form of good. However, forms that go in the opposite direction and which in a word can be called carewashing are widespread. It happens when entrepreneurs or legislators, instead of investing in safety, prefer to clear their conscience with some charitable work. It's ugly. So they put their public image before everything else, becoming benefactors in culture or sport, in good works, making works of art or buildings of worship accessible, but not paying attention to the fact that, as a great father and doctor of Church, "the glory of God is the living man" (Saint Irenaeus of Lyon, Against Heresies, IV,20,7). This is the first job: taking care of the brothers and sisters, the body of the brothers and sisters. Responsibility towards workers is a priority: life cannot be sold for any reason, especially if it is poor, precarious and fragile. We are human beings and not machines, unique people and not spare parts. And many times some operators are treated like spare parts.
For this reason, I renew my gratitude for your commitment and encourage you to move forward, to help society progress from a cultural point of view, to understand that the human being comes before economic interest, that every person is a gift for the community and that maiming or disabling even one of them hurts the entire social fabric. I entrust you to the protection of Saint Joseph, patron saint of all workers. May the Lord bless you and may Our Lady keep you. And you, please, pray for me, I need it. Thank you!
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
I welcome you on the occasion of the eightieth anniversary of your association. It was 1943, a decisive year for Italy in the Second World War. You have taken the first steps in that context, which reminds us that every armed conflict brings with it hordes of disabled people, even today; and that the civilian population suffers the dramatic consequences of the madness that is war. Once the conflict is over, the rubble remains, even in bodies and hearts, and peace must be rebuilt day by day, year by year, through the protection and promotion of life and its dignity, starting from the weakest, starting from more disadvantaged.
Today, then, I would like to express heartfelt thanks to all of you. Thank you first of all for what you continue to do for the protection and representation of victims of accidents at work, widows and orphans of the fallen. I still have in mind the five brothers killed by a train while they were working. Thank you for keeping a high level of attention on the issue of safety in the workplace, where too many deaths and misfortunes still occur.
Thank you for the initiatives you promote to improve civil legislation regarding accidents at work and the professional reintegration of people who find themselves disabled. In fact, it is a question not only of guaranteeing the right welfare and social security care for those suffering from forms of disability, but also of giving new opportunities to people who can be reintegrated and whose dignity demands to be fully recognized. Finally, thank you for your work in raising public awareness on accident prevention and safety policies, in particular in favor of women and young people. Tragedies and dramas in the workplace unfortunately do not cease, despite the technology we have at our disposal to promote safe places and times. Sometimes it feels like hearing a war bulletin. This happens when work becomes dehumanized and, instead of being the instrument with which human beings realize themselves by making themselves available to the community, it becomes an exasperated race for profit. And this is bad. Tragedies begin when the goal is no longer man, but productivity, and man becomes a production machine. Friends, the educational and training tasks that await you are still fundamental, both with regard to workers, employers and within society. Safety at work is like the air we breathe: we realize its importance only when it is tragically lacking, and it is always too late!
The parable of the Good Samaritan (see Luke 10.30-37) is repeated: in front of the wounded people who risk abandonment on the side of the road of life we can do like those two religious characters, the priest and the Levite who, in order not to become contaminated, they don't stop and carry on, in indifference. And in the world of work sometimes it happens exactly like this: we carry on, as if nothing had happened, devoted to the idolatry of the market. But we cannot get used to accidents at work, nor resign ourselves to indifference towards accidents. We cannot accept the waste of human life. Deaths and injuries are a tragic social impoverishment that affects everyone, not just the businesses or families involved. We must not tire of learning and relearning the art of caring, in the name of common humanity. Safety, in fact, is not only guaranteed by good legislation, which must be enforced, but also by the ability to live as brothers and sisters in the workplace.
The Apostle Paul, reflecting on the value of corporeity, asks an extremely timely question: «Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you? You have received it from God and you do not belong to yourselves." And he concludes: «Glorify God in your body!» (1 Cor 6,19-20). Saint Paul refers to affectivity, but we can also broaden our gaze to the world of work. If the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, it means that by taking care of its fragilities, we give praise to God. Humanity is therefore a "place of worship" and care is the attitude with which we collaborate in the very work of the Creator. The Christian faith goes this far: the centrality of the person, as a temple of the Holy Spirit, knows no waste, knows no buying, selling or bartering on human life. You cannot, in the name of greater profit, ask for too many working hours, decreasing concentration, or think of counting insurance forms or safety requests as useless expenses and loss of income.
Safety at work is an integral part of personal care. Indeed, for an employer, it is the first duty and the first form of good. However, forms that go in the opposite direction and which in a word can be called carewashing are widespread. It happens when entrepreneurs or legislators, instead of investing in safety, prefer to clear their conscience with some charitable work. It's ugly. So they put their public image before everything else, becoming benefactors in culture or sport, in good works, making works of art or buildings of worship accessible, but not paying attention to the fact that, as a great father and doctor of Church, "the glory of God is the living man" (Saint Irenaeus of Lyon, Against Heresies, IV,20,7). This is the first job: taking care of the brothers and sisters, the body of the brothers and sisters. Responsibility towards workers is a priority: life cannot be sold for any reason, especially if it is poor, precarious and fragile. We are human beings and not machines, unique people and not spare parts. And many times some operators are treated like spare parts.
For this reason, I renew my gratitude for your commitment and encourage you to move forward, to help society progress from a cultural point of view, to understand that the human being comes before economic interest, that every person is a gift for the community and that maiming or disabling even one of them hurts the entire social fabric. I entrust you to the protection of Saint Joseph, patron saint of all workers. May the Lord bless you and may Our Lady keep you. And you, please, pray for me, I need it. Thank you!
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