President of Pontifical Academy of Social Science: "Pope" could have been a sociologist
Francis has sent this letter to the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, asking them to devote more time and care to one issue in particular: social exclusion.
He said that the
rising number of "social inequalities, migration, identity conflicts,
new slavery, and environmental issues... are just some of the issues
that trouble us today” and he asked the Vatican Academy to look at new solutions that cater to the present time.
It's President, Professor Margaret Archer, said she has one word which she could describe Francis due to his world observations.
MARGARET ARCHER
President, Pontifical Academy Social Science
"I
want to start with one word about Francis which is probably
something that has been said about him before, but I think it is
extremely important. He could have been in a different vocation. He
could have an excellent sociologist. Because everywhere he goes on his
travels, and I'm just waiting to hear what he makes of Egypt, but
everywhere he's been, he's a very acute observer. He notices somethings
of great importance.”
The Academy thus held a five-day conference to further delve into this issue of social exclusion brought up by the pope, which is one role Academy researcher Zulu knows all about.
PAULUS ZULU
Researcher, University of Natal (Africa)
"This
social exclusion one is definitely a result of the pope's plea to look
into this international problem and see what you think could be done to
remedy it.”
These letters by Pope Francis
are in no way new. They have been constantly coming to the Academy from
the beginning, helping them align their mission with that of the Holy
Father.
MARGARET ARCHER
President, Pontifical Academy Social Science
"'How
can we help you? we asked. 'We are your academy, what can we do?' He
wrote this lovely envelope back in hand saying,'Please deal with human
trafficking. Please don't forget trafficking in human organs - you know
where they take a kidney and sell it - and then the second one was the
dispossessed, the homeless, the 'cataneras,' the scavengers as we would
translate it in English. This is what we are trying to do this week.”
The pope's observations not only come from Rome, where he has created projects to help include the homeless such as a laundromat, showers and barber shop, but from all over the world.
After
their conference at the Vatican, now the Pontifical Academy will
present their findings to Pope Francis and see if they can help tackle
this problem once and for all.