Side by side with those who have no voice in the world in order to bear witness to faith, love and courage

Prof. Gabriella Gambino, Undersecretary of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, spoke at the 40th anniversary of the OVCI (Voluntary Organization for International Cooperation, committed mainly to training workers in contact with disabled children), which was held Oct. 15 and 16 in Conegliano, Italy, at the "La Nostra Famiglia" Association, as well as via remote connection.

More specifically, Gambino stressed the Organization's great credit for "taking the spirituality of the Samaritan seriously. [...] If the person has a unique and irreplaceable value as a beloved child of the Father, we cannot think that the Father forgets anyone or leaves them on the margins or deprives them of the special gifts that He Himself bestows." And this is especially true for children with disabilities on the margins of the world, living in countries such as Sudan, South Sudan, Brazil, Ecuador, Morocco, China, and Palestine. Therefore, Gambino continued, it is necessary "to continue to fight for life, to protect and guard every single human life, every person, whatever his or her condition may be, because it is unique, and, as such, precious."

Again, Prof. Gambino emphasized the productiveness of those who work within the OVCI, who truly "become fathers and mothers of the children they care for, because they inspire in them the fullness of life, of their lives." "Standing beside those who do not yet have a voice in the world," she concluded, is a precious "witness of faith, love and courage."