ROME - Monsignor Baldassarre Reina, the new Cardinal Vicar for the Diocese of Rome, has taken up the voice of the city's frustrated inhabitants, denouncing the 'delays and disorder' resulting from the vast preparations to revamp Rome before the 2025 Jubilee. 

In preparation for the estimated 35 million tourists visiting the seat of the Catholic Church next year, Rome City Council has pumped millions of euros into restoring heritage sites, updating transport networks and cleaning up the city. And according to Roberto Gualtieri, the city mayor, everything is going to plan - all the maintenance works are scheduled to finish on time, and, he boldly asserted, 'you can count the problems on one hand'. 

 But in the eyes of many, such as Reina, the works are both shambolic and misguided. In his speech, the new Vicar argued that the upheaval of infrastructure and the plethora of construction sites only add more disorder to a city with enough issues on its plate. He reminded his audience that the Jubilee is 'a time of grace, of mercy, of forgiveness, but above all a time of salvation for the lowliest' ('un tempo di riscatto per gli ultimi'). 

 The 'lowliest' in question, according to Reina, are those who are victim to Rome's notable levels of social inequality - the homeless and those who struggle to make ends meet. It is these people who, in the true spirit of the Jubilee, ought to be on the receiving end of political and financial attention; perhaps less so, Reina argues, Rome's infrastructure and heritage sites. 

 But the Cardinal Vicar was cautious not to place all the blame for Rome's underappreciated problems on politicans and bureaucrats, locating a certain culpability in the hands of the general population. 'There is a dimension of individual citizen collaboration that is often lacking', he noted. 

 For Reina, the key to solving Rome's problems in poverty, education, healthcare and crime is not by burying them, but rather fostering an environment of dialogue and honesty. This is what he hopes to do when he meets Pope Francis at the end of the month, as well as develop the central role he believes the Church can play in offering services for the impoverished.

He remains faithful in Rome being, fundamentally, a 'very welcoming' city, but when it comes to dealing with these issues of inequality, Rome must 'call them by their name'. 

 dabj