Speaking of the young, the focus of the Congress which will open today, he highlighted that "unfortunately they usually are those most affected by situations of disadvantage and discrimination compared with their gagè (non-gypsy) peers". With this Congress explained mgr. Marchetto , we wish to address their spiritual and material needs, denounce and correct the situations of disadvantage which objectively burden them, and in addition find more appropriate ways to support their human, professional and religious development". According to mgr. Marchetto, "if there is no respect for the culture of the gypsy populations, it will be difficult to accomplish any real social inclusion and therefore even an acceptable level of welfare in the future". The Congress will be attended by over 150 people from 25 nations which have facilities for the pastoral care of the gypsies. Gypsies are about 36 million in the world, scattered everywhere, in Europe, in the Americas and in some Asian countries. Eighteen million it is rumoured live in India, the country this population originally comes from. As to the European continent, the official estimates of the Council of Europe provide a figure of anywhere between 9 and 12 million, mostly concentrated in Eastern Europe.
