• La Civiltà Cattolica
  • Newsletters
  • Podcast
  • Contact us
  • Login
  • Register
SUBSCRIBE
LA CIVILTÀ CATTOLICA
Advertisement
  • Home
  • Church Life
    • Faith
    • Mission
    • People
    • Pope Francis
    • Spirituality
  • Church Thought
    • Doctrine
    • Scripture
    • Theology
  • Culture
  • Politics
  • Editions
  • Authors
  • Donate

No products in the cart.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Church Life
    • Faith
    • Mission
    • People
    • Pope Francis
    • Spirituality
  • Church Thought
    • Doctrine
    • Scripture
    • Theology
  • Culture
  • Politics
  • Editions
  • Authors
  • Donate

No products in the cart.

No Result
View All Result
LA CIVILTÀ CATTOLICA
No Result
View All Result
     
Home 1804

More Walls between People

GianPaolo Salvini, SJbyGianPaolo Salvini, SJ
April 15, 2018
in 1804, April 2018, Vol. 2 no. 4, Church Life, Church Thought, Edition, Issues, Mission, People, Politics, Pope Francis, Scripture, THE DOCTRINE OF TRIBULATION
0
More Walls between People
0
SHARES
11
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

In speeches intended to foster a climate of world peace, Pope Francis has often used metaphors referring to walls and bridges in opposition to each other. Walls are an eloquent symbol of division and incommunicability, while bridges are an equally clear symbol of encounter between different shores – between different nations, religions and people.

The quotations are numerous. Best known, perhaps, is the quote from the speech given by Pope Francis (whose Latin title, Pontifex, indicates a “creator” or “builder of bridges”) at the Vatican Gardens on June 8, 2014, when meeting Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas: “Your presence, dear Presidents, is a great sign of brotherhood […]. The world is a legacy bequeathed to us by past generations, but it is also on loan to us from our children; our children who are weary, worn out by conflicts and yearning for the dawn of peace, our children who plead with us to tear down the walls of enmity and set out on the path of dialogue and peace, so that love and friendship may prevail.”[1]

On other occasions, Pope Francis has been much more drastic. For example, on his way back from the apostolic trip to Mexico in February 2016, he replied to a question about the campaign for the presidency of the United States and Donald Trump’s proposed completion of the wall between the United States and Mexico, saying: “A person who thinks only of building walls, and not of building bridges, is no Christian.”

The pope has continuously fought for bridges and against walls, but unfortunately does not seem to have had much success, so far.

With data and observations from In the Shadow of the Wall, a recent report published by Caritas Italy, we will be talking about walls, one of the most evident symbols of division (page numbers within this article refer to that text).[2]

Someone noted sadly, but wisely, that although walls can be circumvented, as a symbol of division they remain.

Walls around the world

“In 1989, 15 walls existed for the purposes of repression or defense (among which was the one in Gorizia, which divided the city in half, marking the border between Tito’s Yugoslavia and NATO’s Italy). Today, the list includes over 60” (p. 4). A sharp rise in fortifications, then, particularly in recent years: since the year 2000, concrete and barbed wire have sprung up to separate lands and stake out roughly 10,000 kilometers of borders.

This article is reserved for paid subscribers. Please subscribe to continue reading this article
Subscribe

Welcome to
La Civiltà Cattolica !
This article is reserved for paid subscribers
Please login or subscribe to continue reading this article
LOGIN
SUBSCRIBE
What is La Civiltà Cattolica?

Previous Post

‘Gaudete et Exsultate’, Pope Francis calls on us to ‘Rejoice and be Glad’

Next Post

The Doctrine of Tribulation

GianPaolo Salvini, SJ

GianPaolo Salvini, SJ

Emeritus editor, La Civiltà Cattolica

Related Posts

What Form Will Future Christianity Take?
Church Life

What Form Will Future Christianity Take?

byJosé Frazão Correia, SJ
March 22, 2023
Photo by Adrià Crehuet Cano on Unsplash
Church Life

Sport for All: The Holy See and the ‘signs of the times’ in the world of sport

byPatrick Kelly, SJ
March 20, 2023
Pope Francis and his Ten-Year Journey with Displaced People
2303

Bergoglio’s Map: Literature in the formation of Pope Francis

byAntonio Spadaro, SJ
March 14, 2023
Refugees from Ukraine welcomed by JRS in Romania (photo: Sergi Cámara / Entreculturas – Alboan – JRS).
2303

Pope Francis and his Ten-Year Journey with Displaced People

byMichael Schopf, SJand1 others
March 13, 2023
How Pope Francis Sees Education
2204

How Pope Francis Sees Education

byLuiz Fernando Klein, SJ
March 9, 2023
Next Post
The Doctrine of Tribulation

The Doctrine of Tribulation

Subscription Offers

Premium Content

Photo by Robynne Hu on Unsplash

Perhaps God Does Play Dice

April 14, 2021
The Amazon: New paths for the Church  and for an Integral Ecology

The Amazon: New paths for the Church and for an Integral Ecology

February 12, 2020
Gospels

Take the Gospel with Tranquilizers: A Conversation with the Superiors General

February 4, 2017

Browse by Category

BEATUS POPULUS CUIUS DOMINUS DEUS EIUS

The most respected digital Catholic journal from Rome. A must-read on all the present issues alive in the Church. Discover top Church scholars interpreting the history, politics, culture, science and art in the light of the Christian faith.

Categories

  Editions
  Church Thought
  Authors
  Church 
 
  Culture
  Perspective Series
  Politics & Socitey

 

About Us

   Contact Us
   La Civiltà Cattolica  
   China Forum
   Feedback
   Terms & Conditions
   Privacy Policy
    Email : [email protected]
My IP Address : 44.200.168.16
Facebook Twitter Instagram

© Union of Catholic Asian News 2023 | All Rights Reserved.
Except for any fair dealing permitted under the Hong Kong Copyright Ordinance, no part of this publication may be reproduced by any means without prior permission.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Church Life
    • Faith
    • Mission
    • People
    • Pope Francis
    • Spirituality
  • Church Thought
    • Doctrine
    • Scripture
    • Theology
  • Culture
  • Politics
  • Editions
  • Authors
  • Donate
SUBSCRIBE

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?
Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
  • Login
  • Sign Up
Forgot Password?
Lost your password? Please enter your username or email address. You will receive a link to create a new password via email.

laciviltacattolica.com uses cookies and similar technologies to optimize the user experience,  analyze site traffic and communicate with subscribers. To read more about how we use cookies and how you can control them click on settings, or click Accept to start browsing our site.

Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?
LA CIVILTÀ CATTOLICA
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.