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The Pope has called for “hope and kindness” in a message for Thought for the Day on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. <\/p>\n
Pope Francis emphasised the importance of humility in the recording broadcast on Saturday.<\/p>\n
“A world full of hope and kindness is a more beautiful world. A society that looks to the future with confidence and treats people with respect and empathy is more humane,” he said. <\/p>\n
He also quoted British writer GK Chesterton, whom the pontiff says invites us to “take the elements of life with gratitude and not for granted”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The message – recorded in Italian and translated into English – marks the Catholic Church’s Jubilee year, which began on 24 December. <\/p>\n
A jubilee is a Church tradition which takes place only once every 25 years in which Catholics re-establish their relationship with God. This jubilee is also dedicated to the theme of hope and will involve special celebrations, including tens of millions of pilgrims travelling to Rome.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, Pope Francis visited a prison in Rome where he opened a “Holy Door”, part of a prison chapel, which is one of a number of <\/b>doors only opened during Jubilee years. <\/b><\/a><\/p>\n In his message he said: “Even if we do not know what tomorrow may hold for us, we should not look to the future with pessimism and resignation. <\/p>\n “War, social injustices and the many forms of violence we are exposed to everyday should not dishearten us nor draw us towards scepticism and discouragement.”<\/p>\n He added that kindness is not a “diplomatic strategy”, or a “set of rules to ensure social harmony or to obtain other advantages.”<\/p>\n The pontiff ended the Thought with his “wish for hope”.<\/p>\n “I hope that during this jubilee we can practice kindness as a form of love to connect with others. May the new year bring us peace, fellowship and gratitude.”<\/p>\n Pope Francis has appeared on Thought for the Day once before, in 2021, ahead of the COP26 climate summit. <\/p>\n He used that message to appeal for the world to take “an urgent change of direction” to preserve the planet for future generations.<\/p>\n His predecessor Pope Benedict XVI was the first to appear on Thought for the Day, broadcasting a pre-recorded message on Christmas Eve in 2010.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n