Pope thanks Italian prefects for contributing to social peace

By Lisa Zengarini

Pope Francis has commended the prefects of Italy for their work which, he said, is vital to ensure “harmonious coexistence in society.”

Meeting them on Monday morning in the Clementine Hall, the Pope highlighted their crucial role as intermediaries between the central State and the local communities, ensuring the concrete closeness of the civil authorities to citizens, especially those who find themselves in difficult situations.

In the Italian system, the prefect is the general representative of the national government in each province, and works under the supervision of the Minister of the Interior.

Keeping law and order with attention to humanity

In his address, the Pope reflected on three challenges facing them today, starting from that of keeping law and order.

“This - he noted - is the priority and most delicate aspect of your work, because it requires combining law enforcement with attention to humanity”.  Both lawfulness  and humanity are needed, the Pope said, to ensure the protection of victims of crimes and, at the same time, a fair treatment to the culprits.

Remarking that administering law and order is “a call to create climate of harmonious coexistence in society”, Pope Francis further noted that this task cannot be carried out “without personal and internal order” within police forces , who, he said, deserve our gratitude for their demanding, and sometimes dangerous work  

Contribution to emergency efforts  in recent floodings in Italy 

The second challenge highlighted by Pope Francis was the impact of extreme weather phenomena which have dramatically worsened the hydrogeological instability in some Italian regions this year, as a consequence of climate change.

Although natural disasters normally don’t fall within their competence, prefects in the affected regions of Emilia Romagna, Tuscany, and Sicily have been involved in the emergency efforts.

This, the Pope said, has shown the importance of a constructive collaboration between diligent public institutions, private actors and  citizens .  “It is important and urgent in the present and future, to unite efforts to protect,with foresight our common home, ”  he remarked.

Prefects should not be left alone in addressing migrant issues 

Finally, Pope Francis referred to the management of migrants and refugees,  which is entrusted to prefects tasked with organizing their orderly reception,  ensuring their well-being and integration in the local communities.

It is a difficult task, the Pope noted, because migrants are often wounded and vulnerable people, recovering from terrible traumas: “They are faces and not numbers", he said,  "people who cannot simply be classified, but who should be embraced; brothers and sisters who need to be freed from the tentacles of criminal organizations.”

This is why, the Pope stressed, prefects should not be left alone in this task, and in addressing tensions that may arise between migrants and local residents and in managing possible disorders and violence  

Promoting the values of cohesion and solidarity

Concluding, Pope Francis thanked the Italian prefects for their commitment for the common good: “Thank you, because you work for peaceful coexistence in the very varied territories of Italy, rich in traditions and values that speak of cohesion, welcome and solidarity.”