Gypsies and Nomads Have Laudable Values Too, Pope Says

Highlights Their Hospitality, Solidarity and Spirit of Faith

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VATICAN CITY, DEC. 3, 2001 (Zenit.org).- John Paul II extolled the typical values of nomad populations, particularly gypsies, which often stand in marked contrast to the empty ideals of consumeristic societies.

“Nomads are poor in human securities; every day they are obliged to deal with the precariousness and uncertainty of the future,” the Pope said. “Precisely because of this, they deepen their sense of hospitality and solidarity, reinforced at the same time with faith and hope in God´s help.”

The Pontiff spoke these words Saturday when he met with the participants in the international study meeting of the Catholic Church´s Worldwide National Directors and Experts on the Pastoral Care of Nomads.

The meeting was organized by the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Travelers.

On hand were delegates from the United States, Mexico and India, as well as Eastern and Western Europe, where gypsies are most common.

Although the Catholic Church had not always been attentive to these people and their special situation, the Holy Father said that since the time of Paul VI “they have found a place in the heart of the Church.”

Until the 1970s, gypsies in Europe often felt isolated because they were not in touch with parishes. Many joined Protestant denominations.

Since then, the Church has taken initiatives for the spiritual and material assistance of these people, including pilgrimages to Marian shrines.

The Pontiff appealed to the participants of the meeting to elaborate “principles and guidelines for the pastoral care of nomads,” keeping in mind their “spiritual and cultural values” and “offering them concrete support in addressing the complex problems that accompany them on the way in different parts of the world.”

Among these problems, the Pope mentioned “the difficulty to establish reciprocal understanding in the environment that surrounds them, the lack of adequate structures of acceptance, education, [and] integration in the territory.”

As a model for the world´s nomads, John Paul II offered the example of the first beatified gypsy, Spaniard Ceferino Giménez Malla, better known as “El Pelé.”

Beatified in 1997, Pelé “reminds us that we must always work in favor of peaceful coexistence among peoples differing in ethnic origin and culture,” the Pope concluded.

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ZENIT Staff

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