Pope Francis responded to the open letter from the Italian author Magiani, urging all writers to ensure that their works are not exploited or enslaved when they are printed.
(Vatican News Network)Italian novelist Maurizio Maggiani recently discovered that his books were printed by a group of exploited and enslaved laborers in Pakistan. Therefore, the writer published an open letter to Pope Francis on the online news site “Nineteenth Century”, asking: “Is it worth it to rely on those who are enslaved to create beautiful things?” Ji Ge took this opportunity to write a letter, which was published on the same website on August 13.
The Pope’s letter was signed on August 9. The pope started from the Italian writer’s open letter, praising him for having the courage to face the problem of “many people will be silent.” The pope said frankly: “Your words have shocked me. Your questions are not just casual, because it is human dignity that is at risk. Because of the “slave work” and the silent complicity of many people, human Dignity is often easily trampled today.” The Pope recalled that during the lockdown period just after the outbreak of the new crown last year, it was revealed that a lot of food production relies on hourly workers who lack basic rights.
Today, Magiani’s question reveals something even more grit. “Even literature—the food and spiritual expression of the human mind—is wounded by the greed of exploitation. Exploitation occurs in the dark, erasing the face and name.” The Pope believes that “publishing beautiful things and editing texts but creating injustice is an unjust act in itself. For Christians, any form of exploitation is a sin.” However, “abandoning beauty is also a form of retreat, which is also unjust and neglecting beauty.”
To this end, the Pope urged Magiani and all members of the literary world to take action to combat slave labor in the printing field. “The pen or the computer keyboard provides us with another opportunity to report and write about things that make us feel uncomfortable, things that can shake us out of indifference and stimulate our conscience.” The Pope mentioned that the reason why he liked Dostoyevsky’s works was not only because of Dostoyevsky’s religious sentiments, but also because his writings often contained humiliation, pain, and poverty. Life”. According to the Italian writer’s self-report in the letter, he often writes “the stories of people who have no voice, lagging behind, and humiliated.” The Pope praised this style of writing and praised Magiani for “transmitting unpleasant voices in black and white.”
In addition, the Pope also calls on all people to abandon those works of art, attitudes and interests that encourage exploitation, because they “harm the dignity of our brothers and sisters.” The Pope thanked Magiani for attracting his attention to this important issue and for making a “useful report.” The Pope finally thanked “all those who exercise the right of conscientious objection to promote human dignity.”
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