Adnkronos Rome, March 19 (Adnkronos) – "It is with feelings of particular, affectionate closeness that I address you to offer you my best wishes on the happy occasion of the solemn beginning of your Pontificate. Together with me, the Italian people are grateful to you for these twelve years in which you have offered the most authentic testimony of evangelical values, in constant service not only to the Catholic Church but to all humanity".
The President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, wrote this in a message to Pope Francis.
"Of this inspiration - continues the Head of State - the encyclical letter Dilexit nos offers a shining example, with the invitation to every woman and every man of good will to cross the boundaries of personal gain and to recognize themselves linked to others by that bond of human brotherhood that is independent of considerations of geographical proximity or cultural affinity. In this regard, I would like to recall the new points of reflection that Your High Magisterium has placed at the center of the debate within important multilateral gatherings: at the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change, at the G7 Summit chaired by Italy, at the G20, Your Holiness brought a vibrant call to the rediscovery of hope, to the setting aside of logics of force and abuse, to those instances of renewal opened up by an ethical use of new technologies".
"While at the international level the reasons for the law and for a correct articulation of the coexistence between States seem to be weakening, Your voice is and remains more necessary than ever. The opening of the Holy Door at the Roman prison of Rebibbia at the beginning of the Jubilee Year, as well as the decision to raise to the honors of the altars in the coming months Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati – figures much loved, even by the younger generations – inspire in my fellow citizens a deep gratitude towards the Bishop of Rome, whose special solicitude for Italy we all feel. In this spirit, Holy Father, I renew to You - concludes Mattarella - sincere wishes for every well-being in the continuation of the Pontificate to which I add those – ever more heartfelt – of a prompt recovery".