Gypsies urged to come in from the margins to share in common good

Speaking at an international meeting of bishops and national directors for the pastoral care of Gypsies on 5 June, Pope Francis condemned the “hostility and suspicion” with which Roma are routinely regarded, writes Hannah Roberts. At the same time, he lamented that they rarely participate in civic life.

Francis said that he had seen for himself the way travelling communities are treated in Italy.

“I remember many occasions here in Rome where I would get on the bus and some Gypsies would get on too, and the driver would say: ‘Keep an eye on your wallets’. This is contemptuous; it might be true, but it’s contemptuous.

“Gypsies are often at the margins of society, and sometimes are viewed with hostility and suspicion,” he said, before pointing out that “they are not strongly involved in the political, economic and social landscape.” Gypsies too “are called on to contribute to the common good”, he added.