“In his image: do not allow these words, out of habit, to become ‘words in the wind’, or to be reduced to screenwriting. TV Pub Editorial Team “A Sua Immagine”
His Holiness Pope Francis received, this Saturday afternoon, in the Consistory Hall of the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican, members of the editorial team of the television program “A Sua Immagine”. On the occasion, the Holy Father addressed a speech in which he welcomed his guests and said, “As you know, I often follow, at least in part, your programme, which was born of Cooperation between the RAI and the Italian Bishops’ Conference. In fact, Sunday’s schedule coincides, in the last part, with the recitation of the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square. So, before I look out the window, I like to watch your program for a few minutes, and sometimes mention some content that has particularly affected me.
Pope Francis continued saying, “I would like to congratulate those who, twenty-six years ago, chose the name of the program: ‘A Sua Immagine’, meaning ‘In His Image’.” These words refer to the beginning of the Bible, to the book of Genesis, where God says at the height of creation: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” We were created “in the image” of God! We must not get used to this expression, and it must never cease to amaze us: in every human being God has kindled, in a unique way, a spark of his light. In His Image: Don’t allow these words, out of habit, to become “words in the wind,” or to be reduced to screenwriting. Preserve the amazement of this word, so that you can convey it. This is important. In fact, the change of the times we live in testifies to the fact that many people have lost the awareness that they are God’s children, who were created “in His image.” So there is a need to revive it. Because in this “image” we find the origin and basis of irreducible human dignity; The origin and foundation of all of us being brothers, because we are children of the one Father, who loves us and created us “in his own image.”
In line with this vision, the Holy Father added, your program presents the faces and stories of the men and women of our time. And he does this, above all, by giving a voice to the most vulnerable and those who are suffering; And he does this by recounting the experience of those living the Gospel in the geographical and existential outskirts of Italy and the world; It does this by opening “windows” to situations and places that often escape the public’s radar. Through guests and videos, you offer, one by one, gracefully and without shouting, testimony to the many experiences of life and service. You remind us that there are young people capable of commitment and of giving themselves for others, and you also show the tragedy of humanity, but with stories that allow us to keep hope alive, because they allow us to see the beauty of the Gospel lived.
The Pope continued: I encourage you to continue on this path. There is a need to “globalize” solidarity, not indifference. Proclaiming the Gospel means witnessing with our lives that there is a God of mercy who awaits us, precedes us, wants us, and loves us. And you, with your specific work, can contribute a lot in this sense. In this regard, I thank you and the RAI for helping to give an echo to the appeals I make, after the Angelus prayer or after the Rejoice, Queen of Heaven, for brothers and sisters in difficult circumstances, thus helping viewers not to forget them and to be close to them in Prayer, concrete help and daily commitment.
Pope Francis concluded his speech by saying, Dear friends, I thank you for your work and for the way you do it. I accompany you with my blessing, and I bless you all with your loved ones. And I ask you, please, to pray for me.
