“Together with prayer, there is the “quiet service” as the Holy Father called it, the necessity to strengthen solidarity,” Archbishop Rudelli says in the interview published September 1 and adds, “We have to recognize that this time of suffering has also been, all over the world, a time of incredible acts of generosity and self-denial.”
Acts of generosity and self-denial, the Italian-born diplomat says, are evident in the works of frontline healthcare workers such as doctors and nurses, as well as “the people that allowed our societies to continue to work in this extremely dire situation: shops, the transport system and social services.”
Another engagement at the heart of the Holy Father amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the 50-year-old Prelate says, is charity, an area, he says, Pope Francis “leads by example.”
“He promoted an extraordinary effort in order to give to all Churches, particularly in poorer countries, a sign of his presence and charity,” he says and adds, “These contributions, although modest compared to the necessities of the different countries, represent a huge sum if we put them together.”
The Papal Representative goes on to highlight the Holy Father’s various donations to the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference (ZCBC) including the April donation of medical essentials for mission hospitals in the country courtesy of the Vatican emergency COVID-19 fund.
During the interview, the Apostolic Nuncio who has served in his current position since January 25, disclosed, “The Papal Foundation in Rome, funded by Catholics in the United States, is considering a couple of COVID-19 related projects for our country (Zimbabwe).”
Referencing the charitable acts of the Holy Father, he said, “More than its economic value, it is important to underline that all this is a living sign of the universality of the Catholic Church. This donation has been, in fact, possible, because many Catholics in the world supported the Pope’s charity.”
“It is worth noting that people that have been severely affected by the pandemic, like in the case of European countries, have been so generous in supporting the needs of brothers and sisters in other nations,” the representative of the Holy Father in Zimbabwe added.
Along with prayer and charity, a third element that has marked the activities of Pope Francis in this time of pandemic, according to Archbishop Rudelli, is “his call to action for building a more just world.”
“The pandemic, said Pope Francis, has revealed that our world is sick because of another virus that is the virus of selfishness,” the Archbishop notes and explains, “The present economic system continues to increase inequalities at world level, raise poverty and destroy our common home, the earth.”
