Benedict XVI Appeals for Employment of Workers

VATICAN CITY, MAY 2, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI appealed for worthy conditions of work, in particular for young people, in his first Regina Caeli address from his new residence.

Addressing the 50,000 people crowding St. Peter’s Square at midday Sunday, the Holy Father highlighted the day’s liturgical memorial of St. Joseph the Worker, instituted 50 years ago by Pope Pius XII, “to underline the importance of work and of the presence of Christ and of the Church in the working world.”

“Today we begin the month of May with a liturgical memorial that is very dear to the Christian people, that of St. Joseph the Worker. It was instituted by Pope Pius XII of venerated memory, precisely 50 years ago, to underline the importance of work and of the presence of Christ and of the Church in the working world. It is necessary to witness also in today’s society the “Gospel of work,” of which John Paul II spoke in the encyclical “Laborem Exercens.” I hope that work will not be lacking especially for young people, and that working conditions will be increasingly respectful of the dignity of the human person.

I think with affection of all workers and I greet those gathered in St. Peter’s Square, belonging to numerous associations. In particular I greet the friends of ACLI (Christian Associations of Italian Workers), who this year are celebrating the 60th anniversary of their foundation, and I encourage them to continue to live their option of “Christian fraternity” as a value to incarnate in the field of work and social life, so that solidarity, justice and peace will be the pillars on which the unity of the human family is built.