Pope Francis issued an appeal for the protection of the weak, the poor and the world environment Tuesday at a special Mass marking his inauguration as the new leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics.
During the homily, he told a crowd of up to 200,000 gathered in front of the Vatican: “I would like to ask all those who have positions of responsibility in economic, political and social life, and all men and women of goodwill: Let us be protectors of creation, protectors of God’s plan inscribed in nature, protectors of one another and of the environment.”
He added: “We must not be afraid of goodness or even tenderness.”
“Let us never forget that authentic power is service,” he said. “Only those who serve with love are able to protect.”
The pope defined his idea of protection as “respecting each of God’s creatures and respecting the environment in which we live.” He said:
It means protecting people, showing loving concern for each and every person, especially children, the elderly, those in need, who are often the last we think about. It means caring for one another in our families: Husbands and wives first protect one another, and then, as parents, they care for their children, and children themselves, in time, protect their parents. It means building sincere friendships in which we protect one another in trust, respect, and goodness. In the end, everything has been entrusted to our protection, and all of us are responsible for it. Be protectors of God’s gifts!
NBC Vatican analyst George Weigel said the pope’s message was that “one should never confuse simplicity and humility with weakness.”
The pope is a “a man of steely determination,” Weigel added.
World leaders including Vice President Joe Biden, bishops and pilgrims were among those attending the ceremony, the “Inauguration of the Petrine Ministry of the Bishop of Rome.”
A formal procession to the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica was followed by the formal presentation to Francis of the pallium – a lamb’s wool scarf symbolizing Jesus as the good shepherd – and the fisherman’s ring, a specially cast, gold-plated silver symbol of St. Peter’s role as a fisherman.
Vatican chief spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said an estimated 150,000 to 200,000 were in St. Peter’s Square.
Before the ceremony began, some ran to secure the best viewing spots when space was opened up on a first-come-first-served basis.
article courtesy of NBC News
