“That night, the one who had no place to be born was announced to those who had no place at the tables or in the streets of the city. The shepherds were the first recipients of this good news. Because of their profession, they were men and women who had to live on the margins of society. The conditions of their lives, the places where they were forced to live, prevented them from practicing all the ritual prescriptions of religious purification, and therefore they were considered impure. Their skin, their clothing, their smell, their way of speaking, their origin betrayed them. Everything about them generated distrust. Men and women from whom one had to stay away, whom one had to fear; they were considered pagans among the believers, sinners among the righteous, foreigners among the citizens.” (Pope Francis, Christmas Eve Homily, December 24, 2017).