“The first rejected stone is Christ Himself: having been rejected by man and unjustly put to death, He became the ‘cornerstone’ of a building in which all the discarded can feel useful. Indeed, Pope Francis said that it is precisely the ‘rejected’ we should reach. Indeed, that throwaway culture that the Pope never ceases to unmask is before everyone’s eyes”. Card. Gualtiero Bassetti, Archbishop of Perugia-Città della Pieve and President of the Italian Bishops’ Conference (CEI), said this in the homily of the Mass he presided over in the Cathedral of Pisa to mark the 900^th anniversary of its dedication yesterday. The cardinal cited some examples of “discarded” people: young people are discarded, “when other generations selfishly do not think of them”; those who cannot find work, lose it or are forced to accept unfair treatment are discarded; the elderly are discarded, for they “are no longer seen as productive and benefitting the consumption system”; the foreigners and migrants who flee their countries because of hunger and war are discarded. We should remind “all these ‘rejected stones’ – the President of the CEI said -, that there is room for them in the Church, and that they would never be excluded from Christ’s believers”. On the other hand, in his opinion, the laity, consecrated persons, the clergy and the bishop “make up this spiritual building which is the Church of ‘living stones’, well structured around Christ the Lord”. “By living in unity and mutual love, they are the true body of the Lord and build up human society”.