Speech by President Sergio Mattarella to the Holy Father during his state visit to the Vatican

Your Holiness,
I would first like to express my deep-felt gratitude for receiving me in this state visit, a little more than two months after my appointment, and for the kind words that you addressed to me on that occasion. I also thank you for your kind words now.
I believe that the conversation that we just had, by virtue of the intensity that characterised it, bears priceless testimony to the truly special relationship that exists between the Holy See and Italy.
In addition to my personal greeting, I would like to speak on behalf of the Italian people, whose affection for you we see growing day after day. I would also like to thank you for the words of hope that you had the kindness to address to what you defined as "the dear Italian Nation" during your welcome to the members of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See. Your words help us to fully recover the values of solidarity and reciprocal care which are, and remain, the essential sentiments of our people, especially in times of crisis and of difficulties.

The close relationship between Italy and the Holy See is rooted in a historical peculiarity which goes well beyond their territorial proximity. It is grounded on respectful relations which have intensified thanks to a papal magisterium that aims at a reality that is universal although it also takes into consideration the social, economic and political context of Italy.
These are the founding principles and values that characterise contemporary history and Italian and European democracy and that find, in the words uttered by you and your eminent predecessors, unwavering points of reference. I'm thinking of the many encyclicals on labour, peace, development and human dignity. It is a magisterium of high profile, confirmed by the actions and teachings of your papacy, which we feel particularly close to us.
From your first pastoral visit to the territory of Italy, in Lampedusa, up to your latest visit to Naples, we have seen you share the difficulties and expectations of Italy.

Our Country and the whole of the European Union are witnessing what you defined as a new type of fragmented world conflict taking place in the poorest nations, which is the direct cause of the drama of refugees attempting to reach our coasts, the coasts of Europe, seeking to flee from wars, persecutions and hunger, asking for shelter.

Italian institutions and society have generously committed to tackle this emergency and Italy has long called for a decided intervention by the European Union to stop this continuous loss of human lives in the Mediterranean, the cradle of our civilisation.

Those broken lives mean the loss of hope of many people and compromise the dignity of the international community.
We risk losing our human nature.

Just like the drama of unemployment and the new forms of poverty - affecting the periphery of life, as can be found in urban suburbs, a condition that you so emblematically dwelt upon in Scampia - risk swallowing up the future of entire generations.
We need a vision of economic and social development capable of putting the human individual and the family back at the centre of our attention. The family, the necessary fulcrum of society, is often left on its own to treat the wounds inflicted by the "culture of waste", which you have so often denounced.

The Italian Government and Parliament have committed to adopt measures that will enable our Country to leave behind a crisis that has proved to be long and painful and from which we only now start seeing a possible way out.
I want to express our gratitude for the actions carried out by the Church to support the weaker segments of the population.
The recently announced Jubilee of Mercy will represent a priceless moment of reflection over the values of justice, solidarity and peace.

In our historical time, the dynamics of economics often loses sight of the human dimension, with the risk of enhancing injustices, sowing the seeds of conflict and increasing people's state of precariousness. The call to mercy re-establishes gratuity as an essential value in the economic and social relations between men, as is testified by the extraordinary story of Italian voluntary work, and makes peace the prerequisite of a common wellbeing.

As you emphasised in the Bull of Indiction of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, "There is an aspect of mercy that goes beyond the confines of the Church". We too, Holy Father, hope that this call to mercy will favour our encounter with Judaism, Islam and other religious traditions.

Religious freedom is one of the most authentic aspirations of people and constitutes a cornerstone of the Italian Constitution. Any violation of this freedom would deeply infringe human and community rights. The violence unleashed against Christian communities in some regions of the world forcefully questions the conscience of all those who pursue liberty and tolerance.

Dialogue between the great religious traditions appears to be all the more urgent at a time in which we perceive - also in Italy - the threat posed by international terrorism, which often hides behind unacceptable and misleading religious claims.
Italy feels resolutely committed to the international community's efforts to enforce the principles of mutual understanding and collaboration, which are the necessary prerequisites for lasting peace.

The Italian State and the Holy See confirm sharing the same views on these issues as well as on all major international affairs such as the environment and a fair distribution of natural resources, the theme that has inspired the forthcoming Expo Milano 2015, as Your Holiness just recalled.
Holy Father, allow me to renew my invitation to visit the Quirinale Palace in order to make our dialogue even stronger and give continuity to the special relationship that has always characterised the relations between the Holy See and Italy.