The Ernesto Ruffini Chair of the Pontifical University of Salamanca (UPSA) organizes, on October 24 and 28, a new conference entitled ‘The option for the poor in the pastoral ministry of Cardinal Ruffini’. The event, divided into two sessions held in Italy and Spain, is responsible for analyzing Cardinal Ruffini’s actions in situations of poverty during his pastoral ministry in Palermo after World War II.
The rector opens the #CátedraRuffini: “These International Days revolve around Ruffini’s actions in situations of poverty during his pastoral ministry in Palermo,” says Mirian Cortés. pic.twitter.com/XmHJQB3n0o
— UPSA (@upsa) October 24, 2022
The rector of the UPSA, Mirian Cortes, has been in charge of inaugurating the Chair. She has indicated that “With this chair we set out on a quest to get closer to the personal experience of Cardinal Ruffini in his commitment to the poorest and the most protected and to his concern for the human and social problems that devastated the Diocese of Palermo after the Second World War”. He has stated that much of his work was based on accepting, above all, the weakest. “It was the result of putting into practice the Gospel of charity and love. He expressed like no other with his works, his great faith and the respect we owe to the virginity of each and every one of the people in this sense”.
“Poverty implies inequality”
He wanted to highlight Ruffini’s charismatic leadership characteristics, affirming that “It is a fact that poverty implies inequality of opportunities and deprives people of the minimum cultural and social material resources for the basic needs of life and that it also generates exclusion and therefore, as Pope Francis has said, it is an offense to human virginity”.
The rector was accompanied by the president of the Italian Episcopal Conference, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi. They have also been present; the Prefect Dicastery for Communication of the Holy See, Paolo Ruffini; the director general of the Missionary Social Service Society, Maria Aurelia Macaluso; the head of the Missionary Social Service Society in Spain, Maria Jesus Dominguezthe director of the chair, Jose Antonio Calvo; the professor at the University of Palermo, Francesco Conigliaroand the coordinator of the day in Italy, Franca Tonini.
Paolo Ruffini shares the memories of his uncle, Cardinal Ruffini, mainly his faith, his spirituality and his charity towards the poorest. “The poor man represents Christ the Redeemer; the true God is seen in the love of others”, he emphasizes. pic.twitter.com/G7svu2hKnf
— UPSA (@upsa) October 24, 2022
Paolo Ruffini has indicated that among other things, Cardinal Ruffini wrote in 1954 the introduction of the first constitutions of the institute of social workers. They are those whose purpose is the assistance of others and their various moral and material needs. “It would not be easy to list here the miseries that today afflict many sectors of society, the unemployed and homeless, the sick without care, left abandoned. Fortunately, there is a large public that strives to do this Christian social service par excellence, commanded as a powerful means of salvation through the faith of Jesus. The Gospel places special emphasis on the works of mercy and explains the closeness with God through those who suffer and explains it without ceasing to describe the difficulties, without hiding our weaknesses.”.
Lastly, the president of the Italian Episcopal Conference, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi has explained thatCardinal Ruffini”he is a believer who relies on the power of the word to be alone with the Lord. He was also very attentive to the little ones and the poor. Most of our dioceses have a strong problem of how to manage the houses or structures that we struggle to manage. There is an evident poverty and we also have other forms of poverty. The poor are within the very experience of the Church and one cannot live without having experience with the poor”.