Pope Francis warns of dangers on the road

Pope Francis vindicated the importance of road safety education, especially in the younger generations, when he warned of the dangers on the road in an audience with a delegation from the Automobile Club of Italy.

“A culture of respect and road safety is necessary, starting in schools. The educational programs that you promote involving students are a valid contribution to the education of active citizenship,” he assured.

Thus, he explained that these training initiatives should not be limited to “transmitting technical knowledge, but rather aim to develop a deep awareness of the risks, with the ambitious goal of ‘zero victims on the roads’.”

The Pontiff encouraged education in respect for traffic rules, so that traveling continues to be an occasion for “learning and not tragic suffering.”

“It is a program, but above all it is a duty. Traveling rhymes with learning, knowing and not with suffering, crying or even dying,” described the Holy Father.

Likewise, he took advantage of his speech before the directors of the Italian Automobile Club Federation, in the Clementine Hall of the Vatican, to warn of the pollution problems derived from automobile traffic and called for increasingly sustainable mobility.

“Car traffic has a significant impact on the common home and the quality of life of those who live there. Reducing its consequences is an urgent challenge,” he indicated.

Pope Francis thus urged to accompany this awareness with “renewed attention to the environment.”

The Jubilee, an occasion to begin again

On the other hand, the Pontiff made a metaphorical simile between car trips and jubilee pilgrimages. The common risk is taking the wrong path, both physically and spiritually, finding yourself in difficulty or lost. Curiously, sometimes one falls into a labyrinth and forgets one’s destination. “The aberrations of life…” he noted.

In this sense, Pope Francis reiterated that the Jubilee of Hope is “an occasion to begin again,” an opportunity to redefine one’s final destination and prevent the distractions along the way from becoming obstacles. “We are not made to stay still, but we are in search, on the way to a destination. It happens with water: still water is the first to become impure,” he indicated.

Finally, he invited us to keep our gaze on “ultimate happiness in the company of Jesus, Mary and all the saints” and called to “never get discouraged” for which it is necessary to “always begin again with renewed enthusiasm.”