Mattarella awards the Alfieri della Repubblica, 'representing civic-mindedness and solidarity'

"Welcoming you and presenting you with awards for your behaviour is, for me, a source of great satisfaction. You were able to express solidarity, civic spirit, altruism. You have done it with determination at a time of danger, or with perseverance through a commitment that has now become part of your daily life, or even with courage following an intuition, a desire to create something new, something important to you. Today, here, you represent the many young people who feel and put into practice solidarity, spirit, civic-mindedness, altruism'. Thus says the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, speaking at the ceremony to award the Certificates of Honour to the new Bishops of the Republic.

"Perhaps the great demographic change we are going through, and which we should reverse, sometimes induces in adults inattention to young people. The impression is that their questions and intentions are not sufficiently listened to. That their talents are not adequately valued. One does not notice - often - their need to orient themselves and also, sometimes, their discomfort in a world so different from the one in which their parents grew up," according to the Head of State.

"To break down the walls of unmotivated fear, mistrust, resignation, we must overcome loneliness," is Mattarella's invitation. "I am well aware that the news, more often than not, turn the spotlight on dramatic episodes, on violence and illegality. These exist and should not be hidden. But it would be a distortion of reality and its representation if these could obscure, even remove, the many - far more numerous - positive news items'.

"Only those who are increasingly closing in on themselves can think that despicable behaviour is more than trustworthy behaviour," Mattarella observed, adding that the real "obstacle" to solidarity is "loneliness". This is why 'meeting you and telling, albeit briefly, your stories is a moment of hope'.