The «Pope Francis Laundry and shower service» was inaugurated this morning and the Presidio Help Desk in front of the San Ferdinando tent cityone of the many ghettos for black immigrant workers who in the Gioia Tauro plain are engaged and often exploited in the citrus fruit harvest. «It’s a new and old sign. The Holy Father – the cardinal told ANSA Konrad KrajewskiApostolic Almoner – he opened laundries and showers in many places. This is an evangelical gesture to give dignity to people but also to show others that these difficult to understand places exist today. And they are places of shame for all of us: there is no electricity, there is no gas and often there is not even running water and there are a thousand people here and they are without documents and if they are without documents they work in black, they can’t open bank accounts, I can’t rent houses. One of them told me some time ago that scooters have license plates and they can’t have documents. And who are we? Here these are gestures of the Holy Father to invite all of us to understand what we want to do today and understand that for us it is not true that they are invisible, they are very visible for us who pass in front of these places and turn our heads the other way that we need to do something more.”
“This initiative – he added – which is repeated over time is a source of joy for me because this is a further possibility of being close to wounded humanity, a way to demonstrate the presence and closeness of God to the least”. The «Pope Francis Laundry and shower service» and the Presidio Help Desk are two tools to give concrete form to charity and at the same time intelligence to the works of mercy to restore dignity to many people, starting from the poorest ones. In addition to Cardinal Krajewski, the inauguration was attended by Mgr. Francesco Savino, vice president of the CEI and bishop of Cassano allo Ionio, mons. Giuseppe Alberti, bishop of the Diocese of Oppido – Palmi, the mayor of San Ferdinando Luca Gaetano and the prefect of Reggio Calabria Clara Vaccaro. The initiative is promoted by Procter & Gamble Italia, welcomed by the Apostolic Charity and carried out thanks to the involvement of Caritas of the Diocese of Oppido Mamertina-Palmi and the collaboration of Haier Europe.