In a message to the 44th Meeting for Friendship Among Peoples, held each year in Rimini, Italy, Cardinal Pietro Parolin remarked that “no one is saved by themselves.”
Conveying the greetings of Pope Francis to the meeting, which will take place next week, the cardinal said that the theme of this year’s assembly, friendship, is important “at a time characterized by individualism and indifference.”
The cardinal recalled that Pope Francis has emphasized the value of true friendship. “It is precisely social friendship,” he said, “which the Pope continues to recommend as the only chance even in the most tragic situations—even in the face of war.”