International Day of Solidarity
Antidote to the culture of indifference and times of crisis
Solidarity was the theme of International Volunteer Day 2022.
As a term, perhaps “…it has become a bit worn out and is sometimes misinterpreted, but it indicates much more than a few sporadic acts of generosity. It requires creating a new mentality that thinks in terms of community, of prioritising the life of all over the appropriation of goods by a few.” (Pope Francis Evangeli Gaudium 188)
Solidarity not only fertilises interpersonal relations, it also enlivens organisational and institutional mechanisms, especially in times of crisis. In Italy, the theme of solidarity is also present in the Italian Constitution, in fact, Article 2 reads: ‘The Republic recognises and guarantees the inviolable rights of man, both as an individual and in the social formations where his personality takes place, and requires the fulfilment of the mandatory duties of political, economic and social solidarity’. At the basis of a democracy and a just society there can only be such an important principle and ‘integrating’ people, values and institutions.
Image: www.greenme.it/lifestyle
ALSO FOR POPE FRANCIS SOLIDARITY IS A POLITICAL VIRTUE
“Solidarity […] is thinking and acting in terms of community, of prioritising the life of all over the appropriation of goods by some. It is also to fight against the structural causes of poverty, inequality, lack of work, land and housing, the denial of social and labour rights.” (Address of the Holy Father to the participants in the World Meeting of Popular Movements, 28/10/2014).