Inspired by the dignity of each human being as revealed by Jesus, Christians are called to fight “every form of slavery,” whether physical, social or spiritual, Pope Francis said.
“Jesus, God made man, elevated the dignity of every human being and exposed the falsehood of slavery,” the pope told people gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his general audience on 20th September.
“As Christians, therefore, we are called to fight against every form of slavery.” Continuing his weekly catechesis on zeal for evangelisation, the pope discussed the life of St. Daniele Comboni, a 19th-century Italian bishop who dedicated his life to establishing and supporting missions in Africa, where Pope Francis said the saint witnessed the “horror of slavery.”
He said that “Comboni, by the light of Christ, became aware of the evil of slavery; he also understood that social slavery is rooted in a deeper slavery, that of the heart, that of sin, from which the Lord delivers us.”
Pope Francis stressed that “slavery, like colonialism, is not a thing of the past,” and recalled his address to South Sudanese political leaders during his visit to the country in February in which he called for an end to the economic colonialism that followed the end of political colonialism in Africa.
Picture: CNS photo/Lola Gomez
