The head of international relations for the Community of Sant'Egidio, Mauro Garofalo, remembers March 11 of this year, when Pope Francis, who was visiting the Community on the occasion of its 50th anniversary, also met with some refugees that had come to Italy thanks to the humanitarian corridors. Most of them are precisely from Syria. During that time, the pontiff used the word "extermination" for the first time, referring to the Syrian tragedy, and pointing out that this absurd logic still lingers after the horrors of World War II. On that occasion, the pope met with a Syrian boy who fled the Yarmouk refugee camp, who also spoke about his mother. His parent had been blinded by shrapnel from a bomb that hit her, and he added that he has become his mother's eyes from that moment. After that meeting, Francis returned to using the word "extermination" about Syria in his Easter message. A concrete experience matters much more than theories for Jorge Mario Bergoglio. Thus, it was natural for me to ask Mauro Garofalo whether that encounter might have had an impact on the pope. (Continue reading)
Riccardo Cristiano
Pope Francis' words on Syria and the consequences of the logic of extermination are being analyzed by Mauro Garofalo (head of international relations for the Community of Sant'Egidio) in a conversation with Formiche.net
