Seeing Today's World thru Don Bosco's Eyes

Seeing Today’s World thru Don Bosco’s eyes

Rector Major’s Interview with Vatican News

by Gabriella Ceraso, Vatican News

(ANS - Vatican City – February 2, 2021) – Closeness, creativity, charity: this is how the Salesian response at the time of the pandemic is expressed. Strong and adhering to the magisterium of Pope Francis, Don Bosco’s family, through the voice of the Rector Major, crosses the present looking for light and hope.

How does today’s reality challenge Salesian spirituality? With what priorities?

We have tried to respond by being inspired first of all by our charism, guaranteeing our presence, certainly, always respecting social rules [concerning the pandemic]. Therefore, closeness, through concrete initiatives aimed at people most in difficulty. And, as a guideline for 2021, the motto is “Moved by hope.”

Your missionary presence in the world is a thread that weaves fraternity and charity everywhere. What value do you give to the word “brotherhood”?

For us, “brotherhood” is the great door that opens our hearts and allows us, in our educational spaces, to sow friendship, have relationships of great respect and acceptance, and always to seek justice as educators. It is an expression of solidarity and charity; it is being able to tell the hearts of young people that a better world is possible.

Young people and education, the Salesian field par excellence. What interpretation should we give to the hardship we have experienced in recent months?

The reality around us actually strikes me. Knowing about children who are victims of video games, indeed slaves of the Internet, or violent even if they are very young – I see many situations of risk that remind me of Don Bosco’s Turin, even if with different cultural elements. So, what help, what answer to give? One of the characteristic features of educating with Salesian eyes is closeness to families, often broken, and closeness to children where they are, in their world. Then it is important to involve the children, especially those who do not know what to do with their lives, offering activities for the poor, of friendship and community, such as an oratory or a youth center.

Education is also a central theme for the Pope, who conceived the “Global Pact for Education.” What is the contribution of the Salesians?

Education is the most effective tool in the world today; it is the huge investment that guarantees a better and more solid society. As the Salesian Family, we believe in the instrument of education, and we fully adhere to the “Global Educational Pact” launched by the Pope.

In this time of pandemic, the Pope has never failed to lead. What value do you give to the Papal Magisterium, and how are you living it?

As Don Bosco’s family we have so far lost 102 Salesians, especially in Europe and [Latin] America, and it’s not just the elderly. Thus, it is a very painful reality for us. The Pope’s magisterium guides us in this. But the pandemic is also a push to walk looking for the light in the darkness. We said to ourselves from the beginning: how can we respond to Covid-19 in a Salesian way? And so we shared many experiences and services for those with less, and beautiful things were born. In particular, from all over the world we were able to raise 9 million euros to be distributed in 63 countries with 143 small local projects. It was a way of saying: we don’t just think about ourselves and our health.