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Fifty-third year, number 15 (2.642) Friday, 10 April 2020

HolyHoly WeekWeek inin aa timetime ofof pandemicpandemic page 2 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO Friday, 10 April 2020, number 15

The Holy Father appointed Fr Krzysztof Chudzio as Auxiliary of the Archdiocese of Przemyśl for , Poland, assign- VAT I C A N ing him the titular of Marazanae. Until now he has served The Holy Father appointed Fr Mi- as parish priest of Jasienica Rosielna BULLETIN chael G. McGovern as Bishop of (3 Apr.). Belleville. Until now he has served as episcopal vicar ad interim of Vi- Bishop-elect Chudzio, 56, was AUDIENCES ing the seminary he studied electric- cariate I, vicar forane of the Deneary born in Przemyśl, Poland. He was al studies. He holds a degree in I-C and parish priest of the Saint ordained a priest on 14 June 1988. Saturday, 4 April philosophy and theology. He was or- Raphael the Archangel Parish in dained a priest on 18 December The Holy Father appointed Fr Fran- Cardinal , PSS, Old Mill Creek (3 Apr.). 1989. cisco Castro Lalupú as titular Bish- of the Congregation for Bishop-elect McGovern, 55, was op of Putia in Byzacena and Auxili- Cardinal Luis Antonio G. Tagle, The Holy Father accepted the resig- born in Chicago, USA . He holds a ary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Prefect of the Congregation for the nation of Bishop Edward K. Brax- degree in philosophy and in Sacred Trujillo, Peru. Until now he has Evangelization of Peoples ton from his office as Bishop of Bel- Theology. He was ordained a priest leville, USA (3 Apr.). on 21 May 1994. CONTINUED ON PA G E 7 Mr Aloysius John, Secretary General of , with Msgr Pierre Ntakobajira Cibambo, ecclesi- astical assistant Giacomo Morandi, titu- lar of Cerveteri, Secretary of the Cardinal acquitted of Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. child sex-abuse charges Monday, 6 April The “has always expressed confidence in the dinal's guilt. The Cardinal was serving a six-year jail Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turk- Australian judicial authority” and today “welcomes the sentence for child abuse, confirming the decision son, Prefect of the for Pro- High Court’s unanimous decision concerning Cardinal taken by the Court in December 2018. moting Integral Human Develop- George Pell, acquitting him of the accusations of ab- The former Prefect of the Secretariat for the Eco- ment, with his entourage use of minors and overturning his sentence”. A state- nomy — Archbishop of Sydney from 2001 to 2014, and ment released on Tuesday, 7 April, by the Vatican Archbishop of Melbourne from 1996 to 2001 — 78- NEW DIO CESE Press Office, recalls how “entrusting his case to the year-old Cardinal Pell is now free. Early Tuesday af- court’s justice”, Cardinal Pell “has always maintained ternoon, he was driven from Barwon Prison in Victor- The Holy Father raised the Apostol- his innocence, and has waited for the truth to be as- ia to a Carmelite Monastery. ic Vicariate of Kontagora, Nigeria, certained”. Cardinal Pell issued a statement saying that the seri- to a Diocese, with the same denom- At the same time, “the Holy See reaffirms its com- ous injustice he had suffered had been remedied by ication and territorial configuration, mitment to preventing and pursuing all cases of abuse the Court’s findings. “I hold no ill will to my accuser, making it a suffragan of the Metro- against minors”. I do not want my acquittal to add to the hurt and bit- politan See of Kaduna. At the same The seven judges who acquitted Cardinal George terness so many feel; there is certainly hurt and bitter- time the appointed Bishop Pell overturned the Court of Appeal’s sentence issued ness enough” he said. last August. The High Court justices based their de- Bulus Dauwa Yohanna as the first “However my trial was not a referendum on the cision on the fact that the appellate court had failed Bishop of Kontagora. Until now, he ; nor a referendum on how Church to take into consideration whether there “remained a has served as Vicar Apostolic of the authorities in dealt with the crime of paedo- reasonable possibility that the offending had not taken said See and of Sce- place”, leaving open “reasonable doubt” as to the Car- philia in the Church” Pell pointed out. Rather, “the batiana (2 Apr.). point was whether I had committed these awful crimes, and I did not”. The statement continued: “The only basis for long term healing is truth and the CHANGES IN EP I S C O PAT E only basis for justice is truth, because justice means The Holy Father accepted the resig- Rescriptum truth for all”. The Cardinal concluded his statement nation of Archbishop Jabulani by offering his special gratitude to all those who prayed and supported him through this difficult time. Adatus Nxumalo, OMI, from his of- ex audentia Sanctissimi fice as Metropolitan Archbishop of His thoughts also turned to his “entire legal team for Bloemfontein, South Africa (1 Apr.). their unwavering resolve to see justice prevail, to The Holy Father, in an audience granted to His throw light on manufactured obscurity and to reveal The Holy Father appointed Bishop Excellency Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, Substi- the truth”. Zolile Peter Mpambani, S C J, as Met- tute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State, In a statement responding to the High Court’s ropolitan Archbishop of Bloemfon- on 31 March 2020, has decided to extend the judgment, Archbishop , President of tein. Until now he has served as deadline and the legal effects of the previous Re- Catholic Bishops Conference, reaf- Bishop of Kokstad, South Africa (1 scriptum ex audientia SS.MI of 18 March 2020, firmed the “C h u rc h ’s unwavering commitment to A p r. ) . containing extraordinary and urgent measures to child safety and to a just and compassionate response counter the epidemiological emergency from to survivors and victims of child sexual abuse”. The Holy Father accepted the resig- Covid-19 and contain its negative effects on the Throughout this whole time, the Holy See has al- nation of Bishop Daniel Thomas course of judicial activity. The deadline, initially set ways acknowledged the decisions of the Australian Turley Murphy, OSA, from his office for 3 April 2020, has been extended to 4 May 2020. as Bishop of Chulucanas, Peru (2 judges, reiterating its respect for Australia’s judicial A p r. ) . The Holy Father has determined that this Re- system in it’s various forms, but awaiting develop- scriptum be promulgated by publication in L’Os- ments in proceedings. It has recalled in various state- The Holy Father appointed Fr Cris- s e r v a t o re Romano, with immediate effect, and sub- ments that the Cardinal always maintained his inno- tóbal Bernardo Mejía Corral as sequently published in the commentary of cence and that it was his right to appeal to the High Bishop of Chulucanas. Until now he the Ac t a Ap o s t o l i c a e Sedis. Court to defend himself. It has always confirmed it’s has served as parish priest of Cristo closeness to the victims of sexual abuse and it’s com- el Salvador Parish (2 Apr.). From the Vatican, 1 April 2020 mitment to pursue, through the competent ecclesiast- Bishop-elect Mejía Corral, 65, was Cardinal ical authorities, those members of the clergy who com- born in Carhuaz, Peru. Before enter- mit such abuse. clergy members who are responsible.

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GENERAL AU D I E N C E

At the General Audience on Wednesday, 8 April, invited the faithful to participate in a “g re a t domestic liturgy” with “the Crucifix and the Gospel” during Holy Week in this extraordinary time of pandemic. The following is a translation of the Holy Father’s catechesis which he delivered in Italian from the library of the Vatican .

The Pontiff calls for a ‘great domestic liturgy’ With the Crucifix and the Gospel

Dear Brothers ad Sisters, own strength. This is why he strength. He is not an idol. He is is not an illusion because Jesus’ Good morning, drew himself nearer. He came to God-made-man like each of us, death and Resurrection is not an us and precisely on Easter he re- and he expresses himself like a illusion: it was a truth! That is In these weeks of anxiety over the vealed himself completely. And man but with the strength of his why on Easter morning we are pandemic that is causing so much where did he reveal himself com- divinity. Instead, when is the suffering in the world, among the told: “Do not be afraid!” (cf. Mt pletely? On the cross. It is there identity of Jesus solemnly pro- many questions that we ask 28:5). And the anxious questions that we learn the features of claimed in the Gospel? When the ourselves, there may be some about evil do not fade at once, Go d’s face. centurion says: “Truly he was the about God: what is he doing but in the Risen One, they find a Son of God”. That is when it is faced with our suffering? Where Let us not forget, brothers and solid foundation that allows us said, as soon as he has given his is he when everything is going sisters, that the cross is God’s not to be shipwrecked. life on the Cross, because one can wrong? Why doesn’t he resolve t h ro n e . It will do us good to look Dear brothers and sisters, Jesus no longer be mistaken: one can the problems immediately? These at the Crucifix in silence and to changed history by drawing him- see that God is omnipotent in love are the questions we ask about see who our Lord is: He is the self near to us and, though still and in no another way. It is his Go d. one who does not point his finger marked by evil, turned it into the at anyone, not even to those who nature because he is made that The narrative of the Passion of history of salvation. By offering are crucifying him, but rather way. He is Love. Jesus that accompanies us during his life on the cross, Jesus also opens his arms wide to everyone; You might object: “What need these Holy Days can be of solace. defeated death. From the open who does not crush us with his do I have for such a weak God There too in fact, many questions of the Crucified One, God’s glory but allows himself to be who dies? I would prefer a strong arise. After welcoming Jesus tri- love reaches each one of us. We stripped for us; who does not God, a powerful God”. But you umphantly in Jerusalem, the can change our histories by draw- love us in word but rather gives know, the power of this world people asked themselves whether ing near to him, welcoming the us life in silence; who does not passes, whereas love remains. he would finally redeem them salvation that he offers us. Broth- force us but frees us; who does Only love safeguards the life we from their enemies (cf. Lk 24:21). ers and sisters, let us open our not treat us as strangers, but have because it embraces our fra- They expected a powerful and whole heart to him in prayer, this rather takes upon himself our gility and transforms it. It is triumphant sword-bearing Messi- week, these days: with the Cruci- evil, he takes upon himself our Go d’slove that healed our sin ah. Instead, a meek and humble fix and with the Gospel. Do not sins. He does this to free us from with his forgiveness at Easter, hearted one arrives who calls for forget: Crucifix and Gospel. This prejudice against God; let us look who turned death into a passage conversion and mercy. And the shall be a domestic liturgy. Let us at the Crucifix. And then let us of life, who changed our fear into very multitude that had previ- open our whole heart to him in open the Gospel. These days, trust, our anxiety into hope. East- ously raised hosannas to him, prayer. Let us allow his gaze to while we are all locked down in er tells us that God can change cries, “Let him be crucified” (Mt rest upon us and we will under- quarantine at home, let us take everything into good; that with 27:23). Confused and frightened, stand that we are not alone, but these two things in our hands: him, we can truly trust that those who had followed him, loved because the Lord does not the Crucifix, let us look at it, and everything will go well. And this abandon him. They think that if abandon us and he does not for- the Gospel, let us open this is Jesus’ fate, then he is not get us, ever. And with these it. This will be for us, the Messiah because God is thoughts, I wish you a Holy so to speak, like a great strong and God is invincible. Week and a Holy Easter. domestic liturgy be- However, if we continue to cause we cannot go to read the narrative of the Passion, Church these days. SPECIAL GREETINGS we come to a surprising fact. Crucifix and Gospel! When Jesus dies, the Roman cen- In the Gospel, we I greet the English-speaking turion who was a nonbeliever; he read that when the faithful joining us through the was not a Jew but a Gentile who people go to Jesus to media. May this Holy Week lead had seen him suffer on the cross make him king, for ex- us to celebrate the Resurrection and had heard him forgive every- ample after the multi- of the Lord Jesus with pur- one, who had touched his bound- plication of the loaves, ified and renewed by the grace of less love with his own hand, pro- he withdraws (cf. Jn the Holy Spirit. May God bless fesses: “Truly this man was the 6:15). And when the you! son of God” (Mk 15:39). He says demons want to reveal Lastly, I offer a greeting to the very opposite of what the oth- his Divine Majesty, he young people, the sick, the eld- ers say. He says that God is there, silences them (cf. Mk erly and newlyweds. May the Pas- that he is truly Go d. 1:24-25). Why? Because sion of the Lord, the culmination We can ask ourselves today: Jesus does not want to of the glorious triumph of Easter, what is the true face of God? We be misunderstood. He be for each of you, the wellspring usually project onto him who we does not want the of hope and comfort in moments are, to the fullest: our success, people to confuse the of trial. I impart my Blessing on our sense of justice and also our true God who is humble everyone. scorn. However, the Gospel tells love, with a false god, a us that God is not like this, He is worldly god who puts different and we could not come on a show and imposes to know him by relying on our himself with his number 15, Friday, 10 April 2020 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO page 4/5

Pope Francis recalls the ‘real heroes’ who help others during his for Palm Sunday The night and the light of a humble, Life is of no use heroic, creative love if not used to serve others

ANDREA MONDA “The tragedy we are experiencing at this time summons us to upon yourself. You open your arms to me, you serve me “We must work the works of him who take seriously the things that are serious, and not to be caught with your love, you continue to support me.... And so I sent me, while it is day; night comes, up in those that matter less; to rediscover that life is of no use will keep pressing on”. when no one can work” (Jn 9:4) says the if not used to serve others”. With these words, Pope Francis Ab a n d o n m e n t . In today’s Gospel, Jesus says one thing Gospel of John that we read in recent addressed the many faithful who had joined in the from the Cross, one thing alone: “My God, my God, why days in preparation for Holy Week. Obvi- livestreamed Mass for Palm Sunday, 5 April, and the 35th have you forsaken me?” (Mt 27:46). These are powerful ously Jesus is referring precisely to the , which this year is being celebrated at the words. Jesus had suffered the abandonment of his own, moment when he will be arrested and diocesan level. For the first time ever, the liturgical rite took who had fled. But the Father remained for him. Now, in thus, when his action will be definitively place in a virtually empty Saint Peter’s Basilica due to the the abyss of solitude, for the first time he calls him by the interrupted. Indeed in 13 of the pandemic containment measures that prevent the faithful from generic name “Go d”. And“in a loud voice” he asks the same Gospel, in the moment when Judas assembling. The following is the English text of the Holy question “why?”, the most excruciating “why?”: “Why did leaves the Upper Room to organize his Fa t h e r ’s homily which he shared in Italian, after the you too abandon me?”. These words are in fact those of a betrayal, the Evangelist notes: “after re- proclamation of the Passion of the Lord. Psalm (cf. 22:2); they tell us that Jesus also brought the ceiving the morsel, he immediately went Jesus “emptied himself, taking the form of a servant” experience of extreme desolation to his prayer. But the out; and it was night” (Jn 13:30). (Phil 2:7). Let us allow these words of the Apostle Paul to fact remains that he himself experienced that desolation: But those words of Jesus, today, at the lead us into these holy days, when the word of God, like he experienced the utmost abandonment, which the Gos- end of this Lenten period that has been a refrain, presents Jesus as servant: on Holy Thursday, he pels testify to by quoting his very words. marked by the quarantine due to a pan- is portrayed as the servant who washes the feet of his dis- Why did all this take place? Once again, it was done demic, assume greater value and meaning. ciples; on , he is presented as the suffering for our sake, to serve us. So that when we have our back They make one think that during these and victorious servant (cf. Is 52:13); and tomorrow we will to the wall, when we find ourselves at a dead end, with days, Italy and, by now a good part of the hear the prophecy of Isaiah about him: “Behold my ser- no light and no way of escape, when it seems that God world, are already in the darkness of a vant, whom I uphold” (Is 42:1). God saved us by serving himself is not responding, we should remember that we “night” that prevents or greatly limits us. We often think we are the ones who serve God. No, are not alone. Jesus experienced total abandonment in a every kind of action. All or almost all of he is the one who freely chose to serve us, for he loved us situation he had never before experienced in order to be us find ourselves confined to our homes, first. It is difficult to love and not be loved in return. one with us in everything. He did it for me, for you, for forced to stay there for an uncertain peri- And it is even more difficult to serve if we do not let all of us; he did it to say to us: “Do not be afraid, you are od of time that grows longer, week by ourselves be served by God. not alone. I experienced all your desolation in order to be week, rather than shorter, without the pos- But — just one question — how did the Lord serve us? ever close to you”. That is the extent to which Jesus sibility of movement if not within our do- By giving his life for us. We are dear to him; we cost him served us: he descended into the abyss of our most bitter mestic walls. dearly. Saint Angela of Foligno said she once heard Jesus sufferings, culminating in betrayal and abandonment. We were all taken by surprise: the mod- say: “My love for you is no joke”. His love for us led him Today, in the tragedy of a pandemic, in the face of the ern era was distinguished by movement, to sacrifice himself and to take upon himself our sins. many false securities that have now crumbled, in the face faber by man who became “ ”, “maker” of This astonishes us: God saved us by taking upon himself of so many hopes betrayed, in the sense of abandonment his own fortune, of his own destiny; all the punishment of our sins. Without complaining, but that weighs upon our hearts, Jesus says to each one of us: Already in its very name, the Enlighten- with the humility, patience and obedience of a servant, “Courage, open your heart to my love. You will feel the ment indicated the end of the night, the and purely out of love. And the Father upheld Jesus in his consolation of God who sustains you”. possibility for man, guided by the light of service. He did not take away the evil that crushed him, Dear brothers and sisters, what can we do in comparis- reason, to extend anywhere he wanted re- but rather strengthened him in his suffering so that our jecting all darkness, and with it, fear and on with God, who served us even to the point of being evil could be overcome by good, by a love that loves to betrayed and abandoned? We can refuse to betray him sadness (“Happiness is a new idea in the very end. Europ e”, said Saint-Justat the [National] for whom we were created, and not abandon what really Convention during the French revolu- The Lord served us to the point of experiencing the matters in our lives. We were put in this world to love tion); and lastly, but even more, the post- most painful situations of those who love: b e t ra y a l and him and our neighbours. Everything else passes away, modern era established itself as a result of abandonment. only this remains. The tragedy we are experiencing at this the rapidity of this movement, a dynam- B e t ra y a l . Jesus suffered betrayal by the disciple who time summons us to take seriously the things that are seri- ism that was so optimistic and at the same sold him and by the disciple who denied him. He was be- ous, and not to be caught up in those that matter less; to time unrestrained as to make everything trayed by the people who sang hosanna to him and then rediscover that life is of no use if not used to serve others. (relationships in primis) ephemeral, pre- shouted: “Crucify him!” (Mt 27:22). He was betrayed by For life is measured by love. So, in these holy days, in carious, liquid. the religious institution that unjustly condemned him and our homes, let us stand before the Crucified One — lo ok Everything has stopped now; everything by the political institution that washed its hands of him. upon the Crucified One! — the fullest measure of God’s seems to stagnate. This “f re e z e - f r a m e ” that We can think of all the small or great betrayals that we love for us, and before the God who serves us to the has stopped the sparkling action film in have suffered in life. It is terrible to discover that a firmly point of giving his life, and, — fixing our gaze on the which the western world has been playing, placed trust has been betrayed. From deep within our Crucified One — let us ask for the grace to live in order to some with more conviction than others, heart a disappointment surges up that can even make life serve. May we reach out to those who are suffering and forces us, among other things, to redefine seem meaningless. This happens because we were born to those most in need. May we not be concerned about what the concept of “action”, of that work that be loved and to love, and the most painful thing is to be we lack, but what good we can do for others. Jesus mentions. And the question then is betrayed by someone who promised to be loyal and close Behold my servant, whom I uphold. The Father, who sus- directed precisely at the followers of Jesus to us. We cannot even imagine how painful it was for tained Jesus in his Passion also supports us in our efforts of Nazareth: what and how should they God who is love. to serve. Loving, praying, forgiving, caring for others, in work today, in the full swing of the para- Let us look within. If we are honest with ourselves, we the family and in society: all this can certainly be diffi- lysis resulting from the health emergency? will see our infidelities. How many falsehoods, hypocris- cult. It can feel like a via crucis. But the path of service is Christians already know which actions ies and duplicities! How many good intentions betrayed! the victorious and life giving path by which we were they can and should carry out. They are How many broken promises! How many resolutions left saved. I would like to say this especially to young people, the “works of him who sent me”, but how unfulfilled! The Lord knows our hearts better than we do. on this Day which has been dedicated to them for 35 should they do this at a time when it is He knows how weak and irresolute we are, how many years now. Dear friends, look at the real heroes who come physically impossible to move, to be near times we fall, how hard it is for us to get up and how dif- to light in these days: they are not famous, rich and suc- others? ficult it is to heal certain wounds. And what did he do in cessful people; rather, they are those who are giving them- Last Friday, in his video message broad- order to come to our aid and serve us? He told us selves in order to serve others. Feel called yourselves to cast by Rai Uno (Italian television), the through the Prophet: “I will heal their faithlessness; I will put your lives on the line. Do not be afraid to devote Pope pointed out a path, the only one love them deeply” (Hos 14:5). He healed us by taking your life to God and to others; it pays! For life is a gift that is accessible today to a Christian per- upon himself our infidelity and by taking from us our be- we receive only when we give ourselves away, and our son: “Let us try if we can to make the best trayals. Instead of being discouraged by the fear of fail- deepest joy comes from saying yes to love, without ifs and ing, we can now look upon the crucifix, feel his embrace, buts. To truly say yes to love, without ifs and buts. As Je- CONTINUED ON PA G E 8 and say: “Behold, there is my infidelity, you took it, Jesus, sus did for us. page 6 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO Friday, 10 April 2020, number 15

Saturday, 14 March parent dialogue that the Lord desires; “just as Tuesday, 17 March I am with my own truth”. Because of the For families transparency of the dialogue, the Samaritan For the elderly woman was able to proclaim “Jesus’ Messianic During Holy Mass at Santa Marta on Sat- re a l i t y ”, and bring about conversion. At the Pope Francis began Mass at Santa Marta on urday morning, 14 March, Pope Francis con- end of his homily, the Pope prayed that the Tuesday, 17 March, by praying for the elderly tinued to pray for all those affected by the Lord may grant us the grace to always pray who may be experiencing loneliness and fear pandemic, in particular for families and espe- truthfully, “not with truth that has been dis- at this time, and asked the faithful to be close cially for those with members who have disab- tilled in debates” but with our own truth. to them also in prayer. During the homily, he ilities. “Let us pray for families, so that they reflected on the day’s Gospel Reading from do not lose peace at this time and can suc- Matthew (Mt 18:21-35) on forgiveness, saying ceed in bringing the entire family forward Monday, 16 March that Jesus had left us a catechesis on fraternal with strength and joy”. Reflecting on the day’s Gospel passage, the parable of the prod- For family relationships unity in the passage: “I assure you, when two igal son, the Holy Father paused on the or three of you agree, and ask for a grace, it words and feelings of two groups of people in Pope Francis began Holy Mass at Santa will be granted you” (cf. Mt 18:19). Thus, the parable: the sinners and the Pharisees. Marta on Monday morning, 16 March, by Pope Francis explained, when there is unity, The sinners gathered around Jesus, not know- praying that families who are confined at friendship and peace among brothers and sis- ing what to say, but “wanting to listen”. home, may discover “new expressions of love” ters, this attracts God’s goodness. Wishing to take his authority away, the Phar- and use this opportunity to “creatively redis- As seen in his response to Peter’s question isees, on the other hand, criticized Jesus for cover affection” so that their relationships on whether forgiving someone seven times eating with the sinners and thus being im- may flourish. During his homily, he reflected was enough, Jesus, the Pope stressed, wants p u re . on the day’s Readings for the Third Week in us to always forgive. The Holy Father ac- The sinners, Pope Francis explained, felt Lent (2 Kings 5:1-15; Luke 4:24-30). in which knowledged that this was not easy because the need for salvation, for a guide and a pas- indignation emerges in the behaviour of Naa- “our self-centred hearts are always attached to tor while the Pharisees felt animosity towards man and in that of the people in the syn- hatred, revenge, resentment”. Indeed, he con- them. They felt self-sufficient and despised agogue in Nazareth. Although at the begin- tinued “it seems that attachment to hatred is stronger than attachment to love”. And this incitement to hatred is the devil’s treasure. On the other hand, when “God forgives us he forgets all the evil that we have done.... Morning Mass at the Domus God loses his memory regarding the ugly story of so many sinners, of our sins”, and he asks us to do the same, and forgive. Sanctae Marthae To forgive, the Pope reminded the faithful, is a condition for going to heaven. When we receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, let us ask ourselves if we forgive because “asking the sinners. In the parable the son feels that forgiveness means forgiving. They go togeth- he must leave, and asks his father for his in- heritance. His father complies: “a father er” and cannot be separated. Pope Francis knows how to suffer in silence... waiting for concluded his homily with a prayer asking for the right moment”, feeling pain, tenderness the grace “to lower our heads so as not to be and love, the Pope said. And when the time proud but magnanimous in forgiving”. was right, the father was waiting for him at a distance, as the older son felt indignant. However, the Pope continued, the problem Wednesday, 18 March was really about not understanding the mean- ing of living in the father’s house. Indeed, For those who have died from while the older son had fulfilled his duties, he c o ro n a v i ru s had never entered into a relationship of love with his father. This is why he says: “this sin- Pope Francis began Mass at Santa Marta on ner arrives and you throw a party! And me?”. Wednesday, 18 March, with a prayer for those But the father identifies the problem: “Son who have lost their lives due to the coronavir- you are with me always. And all I have is us, in particular for healthcare workers. Dur- yours”. At the end of his homily, the Pope ing his homily, he spoke about the theme that prayed for the grace that we too may under- united the two Readings of the day (Dt 4:1, 5- stand the older son’s problem: “living in the 9, Mt 5:17:19): the Law that God gave to his house without feeling at home because there people. What is striking, the Pope said, is is no paternal or fraternal relationship”, This Go d’snearness. In Chapter 4 of Deutero- parable, he said, is Jesus’ reply to the Phar- nomy, Moses says: “what great nation is there isees’ condemnation of his attention to sin- ning the people in the synagogue like what that has a god so near to it as the Lord our ners. Jesus says, they shift in perspective when they God is to us”. God does not give his Law like begin to consider that Jesus was just a car- a dictator but like a father who is near to us. penter: “what can he possibly have to teach Sunday, 15 March Indeed, our God is the God of closeness us?”. They become so indignant that they who journeys with his people, who inscribed For public service workers even resort to physical violence. Meanwhile, his law on stone tablets by his own “hand”. Naaman becomes indignant when Elisha sug- However, the Pope continued, mankind’s first On Sunday morning, 15 March, as he celeb- gests that he bathe in the River Jordan seven response to God’s nearness in the re- times, and he too uses violence, albeit verbal, rated Holy Mass at Santa Marta, Pope Fran- vealed two attitudes that were not of close- to express his indignation. Indignation, the cis asked the faithful to pray “for all those ness: hiding and killing. hid in Pope explained “always leads to violence”. who are working to guarantee public services: shame and Cain murdered Abel. Although they were good people, they be- those working in pharmacies, supermarkets, These two attitudes of rejection erase any transportation and police officers”. Comment- came indignant because their idea of God was that he “manifested himself only through the possibility of nearness. But God draws nearer, ing on the day’s Gospel narrative on the and as he does, he appears to become weaker. Samaritan woman and Jesus, he noted that it e x t r a o rd i n a r y ” and that God’s action could not take place in simplicity. Their indignation, When he comes among us, as a man, one of is not a parable but rather a “historical event”. us, he also makes himself weak and carries Indeed he did meet a woman, a sinner and it the Pope said, was thus a reaction against this weakness until his cruel death. Nearness is to her that “for the first time in the Gospel, simplicity. “They despised simple things. And humbles God. He humbles himself to be with Jesus manifests his identity”. Thus “he mani- our God makes us understand that he always fests it to a sinner who has the courage to tell acts through simple things: the simplicity of us. Indeed, when Jesus is with his disciples, him the truth”. And based on that truth, he the house of Nazareth… the simplicity of he accompanies them, teaches them and added, “she went to proclaim Jesus”. everyday work… the simplicity of prayer”. checks them with love. The Pope explained that “one cannot be a Proud people who become indignant are God is near to us and he asks us to be near disciple of Jesus without one’s own truth”. poor in spirit as they are under the illusion to one another and not to distance ourselves The Samaritan woman had the courage to that they are more than they actually are, from him. In this time of pandemic, the Pope dialogue with Jesus; “to interest herself in Je- Pope Francis said. “Many times these people remarked, God asks us to manifest this close- sus’ proposal, in that water, because she knew need to become indignant in order to feel that ness even more through prayer and help. This she was thirsty”. Her courage, the Pope said, they are someone”. Pope Francis concluded proximity, is our inheritance from the Lord. led her to use her own experience as a guar- his homily by asking the faithful to reflect on Let us ask the Lord to be close to one anoth- antee that he was a prophet. It is this trans- the indignation found in the day’s Readings. er, not to hide from each other. number 15, Friday, 10 April 2020 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO page 7

Holy Father’s video message expressing his closeness to families throughout the world Pope establishes emergency aid fund Love’s creativity defeats isolation For those affected by Covid-19 On the eve of Holy Week, in this time of pandemic, Pope Francis wished to express his closeness to all The Holy Father has established an emergency families in Italy and throughout the world in a fund at the Pontifical Mission Societies, in aid special video message televised on Friday evening, 3 of those people and communities who are being April. The following are the English subtitles of the tragically impacted by the spread of Covid-19. Holy Father’s words which he delivered in Italian. The Pope designated US $ 750,000 as an initial contribution to the fund and has asked Church Dear Friends, entities to contribute through the Pontifical Good Evening, Mission Societies in each country, his official This evening I have the chance to enter your channel of support for more than 1,110 dioceses homes in a different way than usual. If you allow mostly in Asia, Africa, Oceania and part of the me, I would like to have a conversation with you Amazon region. The Emergency Fund will be for a few moments, in this time of difficulty and used to accompany communities in mission suffering. I can imagine you in your families liv- countries via Church structures and institutions. ing an unusual life to avoid contagion. I am Cardinal Tagle, Prefect of the Congregation thinking of the liveliness of children and young for the Evangelization of Peoples, welcomed the people who cannot go out, attend school, live announcement: “In her task of evangelization, their lives. I have in my heart all families, espe- the Church is often on the front lines of major cially those who have a loved one who is sick or threats to human well-being. In Africa alone, who have unfortunately experienced mourning ficulty in Italy and in the world. Even if we are there are over 74,000 religious sisters and over due to the coronavirus or other causes. isolated, thought and spirit can go far with the 46,000 priests operating 7,274 hospitals and clinics, 2,346 homes for elderly and the vulner- These days I often think about people who are creativity of love. This is what we need today: able, and educating over 19 million children in alone, and for whom it is more difficult to face the creativity of love. 45,088 primary schools. In many rural areas these moments. Above all I think of the elderly We will celebrate Holy Week in a truly unusu- they are the only providers of healthcare and who are very dear to me. I cannot forget those al way, which manifests and sums up the message education”. He continued, “The Holy Father is who are sick with coronavirus, people who are in of the Gospel, that of Gods boundless love. And calling upon the Church’s entire vast network hospital. I am aware of the generosity of those in the silence of our cities, the Easter Gospel will who put themselves at risk for the treatment of resound. The Apostle Paul says: “And he died to face the challenges ahead”. this pandemic, or to guarantee the essential ser- for all, that those who live should no longer live Archbishop Dal Toso, President of the Ponti- vices to society. So many heroes every day at for themselves, but for him who died for them fical Mission Societies, said: “This fund has the every hour! I also remember how many are in and was raised again” (2 Cor 5:15). In the risen aim of supporting the presence of the Church financial straits and are worried about work and Jesus, life conquered death. This Paschal faith in mission territories, which also suffers the con- the future. nourishes our hope. I would like to share it with sequences of Corona Virus. Through the C h u rc h ’s activity of preaching the Gospel and A thought also goes out to prison inmates you this evening. It is the hope of a better time, in which we can be better, finally freed from evil of practical aid through our vast network, we whose pain is compounded by fear of the epi- can show that no one is alone in this crisis”. demic, for themselves and their loved ones. I and from this pandemic. It is a hope. Hope does not disappoint. It is not an illusion; it is a hope. “I call upon our network of Pontifical Mis- think of the homeless who who do not have a sion Societies, present in every diocese around home to protect them. It is a difficult time for Beside each other, in love and patience, we can prepare a better time in these days. the world, to do what they can to support this everyone. For many, very difficult. The Pope important initiative of the Holy Father”, the knows this, and with these words, he wants to Thank you for allowing me into your homes. Archbishop added. tell everyone of his closeness and affection. Let Make a gesture of tenderness towards those who us try if we can to make the best of this time: let suffer, towards children and towards the elderly. Contributions can be made also to: us be generous, let us help those in need in our Tell them that the Pope is close and pray that IT84F0200805075000102456047 (SWIFT UN- neighbourhood, let us look out for the loneliest the Lord will soon deliver us all from evil. And CRITMM) for:Amministrazione Pontificie people perhaps by telephone or social networks. you, pray for me. Have a good dinner. See you Opere Missionarie, indicating: Fund Corona- Let us pray to the Lord for those who are in dif- so on. Vi ru s .

VAT I C A N BULLETIN CONTINUED FROM PA G E 2 Cornelius Alvin Smith, Governor General of the Commonwealth of served as episcopal vicar for eco- Severiana. Until now he has served of History and Cultural Heritage of the Bahamas. nomic and administrative affairs and as regional counsellor for Asia, su- the Church at the Pontifical parish vicar of Santo Toribio de perior of Mongolia and parish priest Gregorian University in (31 M a r. ) . Mogrovejo Parish of the Cathedral of Mary Mother of Mercy (2 Apr.). LENTEN SERMON (3 Apr.). Bishop-elect Marengo, 45, was Bishop-elect Castro Lalupú, 46, born in Cuneo, Italy. He holds a de- PERMANENT OBSERVER On Friday morning, 3 April, Fr was born in Bellavista-Sullana, Peru. gree in philosophy and theology and , OFM Cap., He holds a degree in theology. He a doctorate in missiology. He was On 28 January, Archbishop Gabriele Preacher of the , was ordained a priest on 6 June ordained a priest on 26 May 2001. G. Caccia, began his mission as new delivered the Fourth Lenten Sermon 2004. Permanent Observer of the Holy See in the Chapel. to the United Nations with the presentation of his Letters of Cre- NECROLO GY VICAR APOSTOLIC dence to Mr António Gueterres, UN The Holy Father appointed as S e c re t a r y - G e n e r a l . Archbishop Daniel Edward Pilar- The Holy Father appointed Fr Counsellor of the Apostolic Peniten- czyk, Archbishop emeritus of Cin- Charlie M. Inzon, OMI, as Vicar tiary Fr Giuseppe Tonello, chancel- STA R T OF MISSION cinnati, USA, at age 85 (22 Mar.) Apostolic of the Vicariate of Jolo, lor, member of the Presbyteral Philippines. Until now he has served Council and of the Disciplinary On 17 January, Archbishop Tymon Bishop Angelo Moreschi, SDB, titu- as Provincial Superior of the Oblate Commission of the Vicariate of Tytus Chmielecki, began his mission lar Bishop of Elephantaria in Missionaries of Mary Immaculate (4 Rome (28 Mar.). as Apostolic in Mali with Mauretania, Vicar Apostolic of Bam- A p r. ) . the presentation of his Letters of bella, Ethiopia, at age 67 (25 Mar.) Credence to H.E. Mr Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, President of the Re- Bishop Henk Kronenberg, SM, Bish- APOSTOLIC PREFECT PONTIFICAL COMMITTEE FOR public of Mali. op emeritus of Bougainville, Papua HISTORICAL SCIENCES New Guinea, at age 85 (25 Mar.) The Holy Father appointed Fr Gior- On 5 February, Archbishop Fortu- gio Marengo, IMC, as Apostolic Pre- The Holy Father appointed as mem- natus Nwachukwu, began his mis- Bishop Giovanni Paolo Gibertini, fect of the Prefecture of Ulaan- ber of the Pontifical Committee for sion as Apostolic Nuncio in The Ba- OSB, Bishop emeritus of Reggio baatar, Mongolia, assigning him the Historical Sciences Fr Marek An- hamas with the presentation of his Emilia-Guastalla, Italy, at of titular episcopal See of Castra drzej Inglot, S J, of the Faculty Letters of Credence to H.E. Mr 97 (3 Apr.) page 8 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO Friday, 10 April 2020, number 15

ANGELUS

Palm Sunday

At the end of the celebration of Holy Mass for Palm Sunday, 5 April, and before imparting his , and reciting the Angelus prayer, Pope Francis offered words of encouragement to the sick and their caregivers. He extended a special greeting to young people, on the occasion of World Youth Day and announced that the symbolic gesture of handing over the World Youth Day Cross from the youth of Panama to those of Lisbon has been postponed to 22 November. The following is a translation of the Holy Fa t h e r ’s words which he delivered in Italian.

Postponement of the handing over of the WYD Cross from the youth of Panama to those of Lisbon An unprecedented World Youth Day Sports is a vehicle for promoting peace and development

Dear Brothers and Sisters, postponed to Christ the King resistance, team spirit, fraternity, those who care for them with self- Sunday, this coming 22 Novem- giving the best of oneself.... So, Before concluding this liturgy, I denial. Let us pray for the de- would like to greet all those tak- ber. While waiting for that mo- let’s launch sports for peace and ceased in the light of paschal ing part via the means of social ment, I urge you young people to development once again. faith. Everyone is present in our communication. In particular, my nurture and witness the hope, Dear friends, let us journey in hearts, in our thoughts, in our thoughts turn to young people all generosity and solidarity that we faith toward Holy Week when Je- prayers. all need at this difficult time. sus suffers, dies and rises. The over the world, who are living May we learn from Mary, that to day’s World Youth Day, celeb- Tomorrow, [Monday] 6 April, people and families who are un- inner silence, that gaze of the rated at the diocesan level, in an is the United Nations Interna- able to participate in the liturgical unprecedented way. The handing tional Day of Sport for Develop- celebrations are invited to gather heart, that loving faith, so as to over of the Cross from the youth ment and Peace. Many sporting together in prayer at home, also follow Jesus on the way of the of Panama to those of Lisbon was events have been suspended dur- aided by the means of technology. cross that leads to the glory of to have taken place today. This ing this period. However, the Let us spiritually gather around the Resurrection. She walks with very significant gesture has been best fruits of sports are emerging: the sick and their families, and all us and sustains our hope.

The night and the light of a humble, heroic, creative love

CONTINUED FROM PA G E 4 to the point of giving his life, and, — fixing for others.... Loving, praying, forgiving, our gaze on the Crucified One — let us ask caring for others, in the family and in society: of this time: let us be generous, let us help for the grace to live in order to serve. May we all this can certainly be difficult. It can feel those in need in our neighbourhood, let us reach out to those who are suffering and like a via crucis. But the path of service is the look out for the loneliest people perhaps by those most in need. May we not be concerned victorious and life giving path by which we telephone or social networks. Let us pray to about what we lack, but what good we can do were saved. I would like to say this especially the Lord for those who are in difficulty in to young people, on this Day which has been Italy and in the world. Even if we are isol- dedicated to them for 35 years now. Dear ated, thought and spirit can go far with the friends, look at the real heroes who come to creativity of love. This is what we need today: light in these days: they are not famous, rich the creativity of love”. Two days later, in his and successful people; rather, they are those homily for Palm Sunday, the Pope returned to who are giving themselves in order to serve the same theme: “We were put in this world others. Feel called yourselves to put your lives to love him and our neighbours. Everything on the line”. else passes away, only this remains”, He in- To live in service can seem like living in the vited Christians to decisively take the path of shadow, in the night, because one is certainly creative love identifying another aspect of this away from the limelight, but truly, there is no love, service. greater light, no stronger fire capable of A new “h e ro i c ” dimension inserts itself here, as the Pope explained when he ad- warming one’s own heart and that of others, dressed young people: “The tragedy we are as freely given and helpful love. A light and a experiencing at this time summons us to take fire that are capable of remaining when all seriously the things that are serious, and not passes, even this night of the pandemic, in- to be caught up in those that matter less to deed even of counteracting it already today, rediscover that life is of no use if not used to when only, apparently, no one can work. serve others. For life is measured by love. So, A.M. in these holy days, in our homes, let us stand before the Crucified One — look upon the Crucified One! — the fullest measure of God’s love for us, and before the God who serves us number 15, Fr i d a y, 10 April 2020 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO page I

The meditations for the Via Crucis 2020 written by the chaplaincy of the House of Detention in Padua Contemplating Calvary from behind bars

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, this year, the however, I was always searching for something Stations of the Cross presided over by the Holy that would be life: strange to say, prison was my Fa t h e r will take place in Saint Peter’s Square on salvation. If, for some, I am still Barabbas, that Friday evening, 10 April. The black Cross will be does not make me angry: I know in my heart that carried around the obelisk at the centre of the Square the Innocent One, condemned like me, came to The text, which was published by the LEV in various find me in prison to teach me about life. languages, may be downloaded free of charge on: Lord Jesus, despite the uproar, we glimpse you w w w. v a t i c a n n e w s . v a / i t / l e v. h t m l among the crowds shouting for you to be crucified; perhaps we too are among them, blind to the evil of which we are capable. From our cells we want to pray to your Father for all those who, like you, are Intro duction condemned to death and for all those who would sub- The meditations on the Stations of the Cross this stitute their own for your supreme judgment. year were prepared by the chaplaincy of the “D ue Let us pray. Pa l a z z i ” House of Detention in Padua. Fourteen O God, lover of life, in the sacrament of Reconcili- people were invited by Pope Francis to meditate ation, you always give us a new opportunity to exper- on the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, bringing ience your infinite mercy. We ask you to grant us the it to bear on their own situations. Those invited gift of wisdom so that we can see every man and wo- included five prisoners, a family that was the vic- man as a temple of your Spirit and respect their invi- tim of a murder, the daughter of a man given a olable dignity. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. life sentence, a prison teacher, a civil , the mother of a prisoner, a catechist, a volunteer religious brother, a prison guard and a priest who was accused and then finally acquitted after eight Second Station years in the justice system. JESUS TA K E S UP HIS CROSS Accompanying Christ on the Way of the Cross, (Meditation by two parents whose daughter was with the raw voices of those who live behind the m u rd e re d ) walls of a prison, is an opportunity to view the great battle between life and death, to discover The soldiers led him away inside the palace (that is, how the threads of good and evil inevitably inter- the praetorium); and they called together the whole twine. Contemplating Calvary from behind bars is battalion. And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and to believe that an entire life can be played out in ‘Crucifixion with the Virgin, Saint John the Evangelist, and a plaiting a crown of thorns they put it on him. And a few moments, as happened to the good thief. Dominican Monk’ by Andrea da Firenze they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” All it takes is to fill those moments with truth: And they struck his head with a reed, and spat upon him, and they knelt down in homage to him. And contrition for sins committed, the realization that First Station death is not for ever, the certainty that Christ is when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the JESUSISCONDEMNEDTOD E AT H the innocent man unjustly mocked. Everything is purple cloak, and put his own clothes on him. And possible for those who believe, because even in (Meditation by a prisoner serving they led him out to crucify him (Mk 15:16-20). the darkness of prison there resounds the pro- a life sentence) clamation full of hope: “For with God nothing During that horrible summer our life as parents will be impossible” (Lk 1:37). If someone holds Pilate addressed them once more, desiring to release died together with that of our two daughters. One of them was murdered along with her closest out to them a hand, those capable of the most Jesus; but they shouted out, “Crucify, crucify him!” A friend by the blind violence of a ruthless man; the horrendous crimes can undergo the most unex- third time he said to them, “Why, what evil has he other, who miraculously survived, was forever de- pected resurrection. We can be certain that “even done? I have found in him no crime deserving death; I prived of her smile. Ours was a life of sacrifices when we tell of evil, we can learn to leave room will therefore chastise him and release him.” But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he should based on work and family. We taught our chil- for redemption; in the midst of evil, we can also be crucified. And their voices prevailed. So Pilate gave dren to respect others and to value serving the recognize the working of goodness and give it sentence that their demand should be granted. He re- poor. We often ask ourselves: “Why did it happen space” (Message of Pope Francis for World Commu- leased the man who had been thrown into prison for to us, this evil which engulfed us?”. We find no nications Day 2020). insurrection and murder, whom they asked for; but Je- peace. Nor is justice, in which we had always In this way, the Via Crucis becomes a Via Lucis. sus he delivered up to their will (Lk 23:20-25). trusted, able to relieve these deep wounds: our The texts, compiled by the , Father condemnation to suffering will never end. Marco Pozza and volunteer Tatiana Mario, were Many times that cry, “Crucify him, crucify Time has not eased the weight of the cross written in the first person, but it was decided not him!” is shouted out in court-rooms and in news- placed upon our shoulders: we are unable to for- to attribute names, for those who took part in this papers. It is a cry I even heard against me: I was get our daughter who is no longer with us. We meditation wanted to lend their voice to all those condemned, together with my father, to a life sen- are elderly, more and more vulnerable and victims throughout the world who are in the same situ- tence. My crucifixion began when I was a child: of the worst pain that can exist: surviving the ation. This evening, in the silence of prison, the when I think back I see myself curled up on the death of a daughter. voice of one wishes to become the voice of all. bus that took me to school, sidelined because of This is difficult to say, but at the moment in Let us pray. my stutter, with no friends. I started to work which despair seems to take over, the Lord in dif- O God, Almighty Father, when I was small, without having a chance to ferent ways comes to meet us, giving us the grace in Jesus Christ your Son study: ignorance prevailed over innocence. Then to love one another as spouses, and to support you assumed the wounds and sufferings of human- bullying stole what was left of childhood from one another, hard as it is. He invites us to keep i t y. this boy born in Calabria during the 1970s. I am the door of our home open to the poor and the Today I have the courage to beseech you, like the more like Barabbas than Christ, yet the harshest despairing, welcoming whoever knocks, even if good thief: “Remember me!” condemnation remains that of my own con- only for a bowl of soup. The commandment to I am here, alone before you, in the dark of this science: at night I open my eyes and I desper- perform acts of charity is for us a kind of salva- prison: poor, naked, hungry and despised, and I ask ately search for a light that will shine upon my tion: we do not want to surrender to evil. God’s love is truly capable of renewing life because, be- you to pour out upon my wounds the balm of forgive- s t o r y. Alone in my cell, when I re-read the pages of fore us, his Son Jesus underwent human suffering ness and consolation, and the wine of a solidarity the Passion of Christ, I burst into tears: after 29 so as to experience true compassion. that strengthens the heart. years in prison I have not yet lost the capacity to Lord Jesus, it pains us to see you struck, mocked Heal me with your grace and teach me hope in the cry, to feel ashamed of my past history and of the and stripped, an innocent victim of inhumane cruelty. midst of despair. evil I did. I feel like Barabbas, Peter and Judas in On this night of sorrow, we plead with your Father My Lord and my God, I believe; help my unbelief. one single person. I am repelled by my past, even and entrust to him all those who have endured viol- Merciful Father, continue to trust in me, to give me though I know it is my story. I have lived for ence and evil. fresh opportunities, years under the restrictive conditions of Article to embrace me in your infinite love. 41b of the Prison Administration Act and my Let us pray. With your help and by the gift of the Holy Spirit, father died under the same conditions. Many O God, our justice and our redemption, who gave I too will be able to recognize you and serve you in times at night I heard him crying in his cell. He us your only Son and glorified him on the throne of my brothers and sisters. tried to hide it, but I knew. We were both Am e n . plunged into deep darkness. In that non-life, CONTINUED ON PA G E 10 page II L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO Fr i d a y, 10 April 2020, number 15 Way of the Cross 2020

CONTINUED FROM PA G E 9 his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said night in prison. He was a man who had lived on to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that a bench for years, without affection or income. the cross, instil your hope in our hearts so that we hour the disciple took her to his own home (Jn 19:25- His only wealth was a box of candies. He has a can recognize you present in the dark moments of our 27). sweet tooth, but he insisted that I bring it to my life. Comfort us in every affliction and support us in wife the first time she visited me: she burst into our trials as we await the coming of your kingdom. Not for a moment was I tempted to abandon tears at that unexpected and thoughtful gesture. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. my son in the face of his sentence. The day he I’m growing old in prison: I dream that one was arrested changed our entire life: the whole day, I will be able to trust others. family went into prison with him. Today people’s To become a Cyrenean, bringing joy to Third Station judgment remains implacable: like a sharp knife, someone. JESUS FA L L S FOR THE FIRST TIME fingers pointed are against all of us, increasing Lord Jesus, from the moment of your birth to the (Meditation by a prisoner) the suffering we already bear in our hearts. time you met a stranger who helped you carry your The wounds grow with each passing day, they cross, you wanted to depend on our help. We too, like Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sor- take our breath away. the Cyrenean, desire to be close to our brothers and rows; yet we esteemed him stricken, struck down by I feel Mother Mary close to me: she helps me sisters and to help in offering the Father’s mercy that God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our not to give into despair and to with the breaks the yoke that oppresses them. transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon pain. I’ve entrusted my son to her: only to Mary him was the chastisement that made us whole, and can I confide my fears, since she herself experi- Let us pray. with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have enced them on the way to Calvary. In her heart O God, defender of the poor and comforter of the gone astray; we have turned every one to his own she knew that her Son would not escape human afflicted, strengthen us with your presence and help us way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us evil, yet she did not abandon him. She stood to bear each day the easy yoke of your commandment all (Is 53:4-6). there sharing in his suffering, keeping him com- of love. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. pany by her presence. I think of Jesus looking It was the first time that I fell, but for me that up, seeing those eyes so full of love, and not feel- fall was death: I took someone’s life. It only takes ing alone. Sixth Station a day to pass from a blameless life to committing I would like to do the same. VERONICA WIPES THE FA C E I blamed myself for my son’s sins. I asked for- an act which encompasses the violation of all the OF JESUS commandments. I feel like a modern version of giveness also for my own responsibility. I beg for that thief who implored Christ with the words the mercy that only a mother is able to experi- (Meditation by a catechist) “Remember me!”. I imagine him less a penitent ence, so that my son can return to life after hav- than someone conscious of being on the wrong ing paid for his crime. I pray constantly for him, My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek”. path. From my childhood I remember the cold so that day by day he can grow into a different Hide not your face from me. Turn not your servant and hostile environment in which I grew up. All man, capable once more of loving himself and away in anger, you who have been my help. Cast me it took was for me to figure out someone’s weak- others. not off, forsake me not, O God of my salvation! (Ps ness in order to transform it into a kind of enter- Lord Jesus, meeting your mother on the way of the 27:8-9). tainment. I was looking for real friends, I wanted cross is perhaps the most moving and most sorrowful to be accepted for who I was, but I was unable. I of all. Between your eyes and hers, we place all fam- As a catechist, I wipe away many tears, letting resented the happiness of others, I felt ham- ilies and friends who feel pained and helpless before them flow: they flood uncontrollably from hearts strung, they asked of me only sacrifices and to the fate of their loved ones. that are broken. Many times I meet despairing obey the rules: I felt like a stranger to everyone souls who, in the darkness of prison, try to find a and I sought revenge at all costs. Let us pray. reason for the evil that to them seems infinite. I hadn’t realized that evil was slowly growing O Mary, Mother of God and Mother of the Their tears are those of defeat and loneliness, of inside me. Until, one evening, my own hour of Church, faithful disciple of your Son, we turn to you remorse and lack of understanding. I often ima- darkness struck: in a second, like an avalanche, and entrust to your loving gaze and to the care of gine Jesus here in prison in my stead: how would the memories of all the injustices I had suffered your maternal heart the cry of all humanity which he wipe away the tears? How would he ease the in life exploded. Anger killed my kindness, I awaits with anguish the day when every tear will be anguish of these men who feel trapped by what committed an evil immensely greater than any of wiped away from their faces. Amen. they have become in yielding to evil? those that I had received. Then, in prison the ill- Coming up with an answer is hard, often im- treatment by others led me to self-hatred: I was possible within the limits of our petty human lo- gic. The way pointed out to me by Christ is to close to ending it all, I had reached the limit. I Fifth Station had also ruined my family: because of me they contemplate, without fear, those faces marred by lost their name and respectability; they had be- SIMON OF CYRENE HELPS JESUS CARRY THE suffering. I am asked to remain there with them, come merely the family of a murderer. I make no CROSS respecting their silence, listening to their pain, and seeking to look beyond prejudice. In the excuses and seek no reductions, I will serve my (Meditation by a prisoner) sentence to the end because in prison I have same way that Christ looks at our own weak- found people who have given me back the faith I As they led him away, they seized one Simon of nesses and limitations with eyes full of love. had lost. Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and Everyone, including those in prison, has an op- portunity each day to become a new person, My first fall was failing to realize that goodness laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus (Lk thanks to Christ’s look which does not judge, but exists in this world. My second, the murder, was 23:26). really its consequence, for I was already dead in- gives life and hope. In this way, the tears that fall can become the side. With my job I helped generations of children seed of a beauty that was difficult even to ima- Lord Jesus, you, too, fell to the ground. Perhaps to believe in themselves. Then one day I found gine. your first fall was the hardest because it was entirely myself lying on the ground. It was as if they Lord Jesus, Veronica had pity on you: she en- new: the impact was hard and left you shaken. We broke my back: my job was the pretext for a countered a suffering person and discovered the face of entrust to your Father all those who are so caught up shameful conviction. I entered prison: prison God. In prayer we entrust to your Father the men in themselves that they are unable to acknowledge the entered my home. Since then I have become an and women of our times who seek to wipe away the sins they have committed. outcast in the city: I have lost my name, I am tears of so many of our brothers and sisters. now known by the crime of which I have been Let us pray. charged, I am no longer the master of my life. Let us pray. O God, you raised mankind up when we had When I think about it, that child with worn-out O God, true light and source of all light, in weak- fallen. We ask you to come to help us in our weak- shoes, wet feet, secondhand clothes comes to ness you reveal the power and radicalism of love. Im- ness and to grant us eyes to see the signs of your love mind: that child was me, I was once that child. print your face in our hearts, so that we can recognize everywhere in our daily lives. Through Christ our Then, one day, my arrest: three men in uniform, a you in all human suffering. Through Christ our Lord. Lord. Amen. rigid protocol, the prison that swallowed me alive Am e n . in its concrete maw. Fourth Station The cross they placed on my shoulders is a heavy one. Over time I have learned to live with JESUS MEETS HIS MOTHER Seventh Station it, to look it in the face, to call it by name: we JESUS FA L L S FOR THE (Meditation by the mother spend many nights keeping each other company. of a prisoner) Inside prisons, Simon of Cyrene is known by SECOND TIME everyone: it is the second name of volunteers, of (Meditation by a prisoner) Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother, and those who mount this Calvary to help carry a his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and cross; they are people who reject the law of the Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother, and pack and listen to their conscience. Simon of what they do”. And they cast lots to divide his gar- the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to Cyrene, too, is my cellmate: I met him my first ments (Lk 23:34). number 15, Fr i d a y, 10 April 2020 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO page III Contemplating Calvary from behind bars

In the past, whenever I walked past a prison, I Life forced me to become an adult without ever staggering steps, raise us when we fall through our looked the other way: “I will never end up in being a child. In my home, everything is a via unfaithfulness. Pour the balm of consolation and the t h e re ”, I said to myself. The times I did look, I crucis: Dad is one of those sentenced to life im- wine of hope on our wounds. Through Christ our felt sadness and darkness: I felt like I was walk- prisonment. The day I got married, I dreamed of Lord. Amen. ing past a cemetery of the living dead. Then one having him beside me: even then he was thinking day, I ended up behind bars, together with my of me, though hundreds of kilometres away. brother. As if that wasn’t enough, I also brought “Such is life!”, I say, to encourage myself. It’s Tenth Station my father and mother in there. From the foreign true: there are parents who, out of love, learn to JESUS IS STRIPPED OF HIS GARMENTS country it had been, the prison is now our home: wait for their children to grow up. In my own (Meditation by a prison teacher) we men were in one cell, our mother in another. I case, for love, I wait for my Dad’s return. looked at them and I felt ashamed of myself. I no For people like us, hope is a duty. When the soldiers had crucified Jesus they took his longer feel like I am a man. They are growing old Lord Jesus, we see your words to the women of garments and made four parts, one for each soldier; in prison because of me. Jerusalem as a warning to each of us. Those words also his tunic. But the tunic was without seam, I fell twice. The first time was when evil attrac- invite us to conversion, to pass from a sentimental re- woven from top to bottom; so they said to one anoth- ted me and I gave in: peddling drugs, in my eyes, ligiosity to a faith rooted in your word. We pray for er, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose was worth more than the work of my father, who those who are forced to bear the burden of shame, the it shall be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture, “Th e y was breaking his back ten hours a day. The suffering of abandonment, the lack of a presence. And parted my garments among them, and for my cloth- second was when, after ruining the family, I for each of us, that the sins of parents may not fall ing they cast lots” (Jn 19:23-24). began to ask myself: “Who am I that Christ on their children. should die for me?”. The cry of Jesus — “Fa t h e r, As a teacher in a prison, I see people entering forgive them; for they know not what they do” — I Let us pray. jail deprived of everything: stripped of all dignity saw reflected in my mother’s eyes: she took on O God, Father of all kindness, you do not aban- because of the crimes they have committed, the shame of all the men of the house to save the don your children in the trials of life. Give us the stripped of all respect for themselves and for oth- family. And I saw it in the face of my father, as grace to be able to rest in your love and to enjoy ers. Every day I see how they become more and he secretly despaired in his cell. Only today can I forever the consolation of your presence. Through more dependent behind bars: they need me even admit it: in those years I didn’t know what I was Christ our Lord. Amen. to help write a letter. These are the unsettled lives doing. Now that I know, I am trying to rebuild entrusted to my care: helpless, frustrated by their my life with the help of God. I owe it to my par- Ninth Station weakness, frequently deprived of even the ability ents: years ago, they sold all that we had of value to understand the wrong they have done. At because they didn’t want me to live on the street. JESUS FA L L S FOR THE THIRD TIME times, however, they are like newborn babies who I owe it above all to myself: the idea that evil can (Meditation by a prisoner) can still be formed. I sense that their lives can continue to guide my life is intolerable. This is start over in another direction, definitively turning what has become my way of the cross. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his away from evil. Lord Jesus, once again you have fallen to the youth. Let him sit alone in silence when he has laid My strength, however, is fading day by day. ground: crushed by my attachment to evil, by my fear it on him; let him put his mouth in the dust — t h e re Encountering daily all this anger, pain and hid- of not being able to become a better person. In faith may yet be hope; let him give his cheek to the one who den malice ends up wearing down even the most we turn to your Father and pray for all those not yet strikes him, and be filled with insults. For the Lord experienced of us. I chose this work after my able to break free from the power of Satan, from all will not cast off forever, but, though he cause grief, he mother was killed in a head-on collision by a his allurements and his manifold seductions. will have compassion according to the abundance of young drug addict: I decided to respond immedi- his steadfast love (Lam 3:27-32). ately to that evil with good. But even though I Let us pray. love this job, I sometimes struggle to find the O God, you do not leave us in the darkness and Falling down is never pleasant; but beyond the strength to carry on. shadow of death. Strengthen us in our weakness, free fact that it is unpleasant, falling over and over In so sensitive a service, we need to feel that us from the bonds of evil and shield us by your again becomes itself a kind of condemnation, as if we are not abandoned, in order to be able to sup- power, so that we may forever sing of your mercy. one is no longer capable of remaining standing. port the many lives entrusted to us, lives that Through Christ our Lord. Amen. As a man, I have fallen all too many times: I each day run the risk of ruin. have also gotten up many times. In prison I often Lord Jesus, when we gaze at you stripped of your Eighth Station think about how many times a child falls to the garments we feel embarrassed and ashamed. Begin- ground before learning to walk: I am coming to ning with the first man, in the face of the naked truth JESUS MEETS THE WOMEN OF JERUSALEM think that these are preparations for all the times we started to run away. We hide behind masks of re- (Meditation by the daughter of a man sentenced to when we will fall as adults. As a child, my home spectability and clothe ourselves with lies, frequently life imprisonment) was like a prison: I lived in fear of punishment, with the threadbare rags of the poor, exploited by our alternating between the melancholy of adults and greedy thirst for money and power. May the Father There followed him a great multitude of the people, the carefreeness of children. Of those years I re- have mercy on us and patiently help us to become and of women who bewailed and lamented him. But member Sister Gabriella, the only happy image: more simple, more transparent, more authentic: ready Jesus turning to them said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, she was the only one who saw the best in me. to abandon definitively the weapons of hypocrisy. do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for Like Peter, I have sought and found many ex- your children. For behold, the days are coming when cuses for my mistakes: the strange fact is that a Let us pray. they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs fragment of goodness always remained alive in O God, you set us free by your truth. Strip us of that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed!’ me. our interior resistance and clothe us with your light, Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on I became a grandfather in prison: I didn’t ex- that we may be the reflection of your glory in the us’; and to the hills, ‘Cover us’” (Lk 23:27-30). perience my daughter’s pregnancy. One day, I world. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. will tell my granddaughter the story of only the How many times, as the daughter of someone goodness I have found and not the evil I have The Eleventh Station in prison, have I been asked: “You love your fath- done. I will tell her about the one who, when I er: do you ever think about the pain he inflicted lay fallen on the ground, brought me the mercy JESUS IS NAILED TO THE CROSS on his victims?”. Over these years I have never of God. In prison, the worst form of despair is to (Meditation by a priest accused and late failed to answer: “Of course, it is impossible for think that life no longer has meaning. It is the r acquitted) me not to think about it”. But then I ask them greatest suffering: of all the lonely people in the this question: “Have you ever thought that, of all world, you feel like the loneliest. It is true that When they came to the place which is called The the victims of my father’s action, I was the first? my life was shattered into a thousand pieces, but Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one For twenty-eight years I have been serving the the wonderful thing is that those pieces can still on the right and one on the left. And Jesus said, sentence of growing up without a father”. For all be put together. It is not easy, but it is the only “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they these years I have lived with anger, restlessness, thing that still makes sense here. do”. And they cast lots to divide his garments. And sadness: his absence is a heavy burden to bear. I Lord Jesus, you fall a third time to the ground the people stood by, watching; but the rulers scoffed at have travelled throughout Italy, from south to and, when everyone thinks that this is the end, once him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if north, to stay with him: I know its cities not for again you get up. We confidently put ourselves in the he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” The sol- their monuments but for the prisons I have vis- hands of your Father and entrust to him all those diers also mocked him, coming up and offering him ited. I seem to be like Telemachus when he went who feel imprisoned in the abyss of their errors, so vinegar, and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, in search of his father Odysseus: my journey takes that they may be granted the strength to get up and save yourself!” There was also an inscription over me to Italian prisons and loved ones. the courage to let themselves be helped. him, “This is the King of the Jews”. One of the crim- Years ago, I missed love because I am the inals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “A re daughter of a prisoner, my mother fell prey to de- Let us pray. you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the pression, the family collapsed. I was left, with my O God, strength of those who hope in you, you give small salary, to bear the weight of this sorry story. peace to those who follow your teachings. Sustain our CONTINUED ON PA G E 12 page IV L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO Fr i d a y, 10 April 2020, number 15 Way of the Cross 2020

CONTINUED FROM PA G E 11 manity again will the convicted person be able to mistake he made. Only in this way will he be able see himself in others, in the victim to whom he to trust and regain the strength to surrender to other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, caused such pain. As much as his path of rebirth Go d’s goodness, and see himself differently. since you are under the same sentence of condemna- can be tortuous and the risk of falling back into Lord Jesus, your body, disfigured by such great tion? And we indeed justly; for we are receiving the evil remains always present, there is no other way evil, is now wrapped in a shroud and consigned to due reward of our deeds; but this man has done to try to rebuild his own personal and communal the bare earth: here is the new creation. To your nothing wrong”. And he said, “Jesus, remember me h i s t o r y. Father, we entrust the Church, born from your pierced when you come in your kingly power”. And he said to The severity of a sentence puts a person’s hope side, that she may never give up in the face of failure him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me to a hard test: it helps him to reflect and question and appearances, but persevere in bringing to all the in Paradise” (Lk 23:33-43). whether the reasons for his actions might become joyful message of our salvation. an opportunity to consider himself from another Christ nailed to the Cross. How often, as a perspective. To do this, though, he has to learn Let us pray. priest, have I meditated on this page of the Gos- how to recognize the person hidden behind the O God, beginning and end of all things, in the pel. When later, one day, they put me on a cross, crime committed. In this process, it sometimes Passover of Christ you redeemed all humanity. Grant I felt the full weight of that wood: the accusation becomes possible to glimpse a horizon that can us the wisdom of the Cross that we may abandon was made in words as hard as nails, the ascent instil hope in that person and once his sentence ourselves to your will with a spirit of joy and gratit- became steep, suffering weighed me down. The has been served, to return to society and hope ude. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. darkest moment was seeing my name pasted out- that people will welcome him back after having side the courtroom: at that moment I realized rejected him. that I was a guiltless man forced to prove his in- For all of us, even those convicted of a crime, nocence. I hung on the cross for ten years: my are children of the same human family. The Fourteenth Station Way of the Cross was populated with dossiers, Lord Jesus, you died as the result of a corrupt JESUS IS LAID IN THE TOMB suspicions, accusations, insults. Each time I was conviction, handed down by unjust judges terrified by (Meditation by a corrections officer) in the courtroom, I looked for the crucifix: I kept the irrepressible force of the Truth. We entrust to your my eyes fixed on it as the law investigated my Father all , judges and lawyers and ask It was the day of Preparation, and the sabbath was s t o r y. that they may be upright in carrying out their service For a moment, shame led me to think that it to the State and its citizens, especially those who suf- beginning. The women who had come with him from would be better to end it all. But then I decided fer the effects of poverty. Galilee followed, and saw the tomb, and how his to remain the priest I always was. I never thought body was laid; then they returned, and prepared of lessening my cross, even when the law permit- Let us pray. spices and ointments. On the sabbath they rested ac- ted it. I chose to submit myself to a regular trial: O God, King of justice and peace, you heard in cording to the commandment (Lk 23:54-56). I owed it to myself, to the young men I taught the cry of your Son the cry of all humanity. Teach us during the years at the seminary, to their families. not to identify the person with the wrong he has done In my mission as a corrections officer, every While I was climbing my Calvary, I found them and help us to see in everyone the living flame of day I experience first-hand the suffering of those all along the way: they became my Cyreneans, your Spirit. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. who live in prison. It is not easy to be faced with they bore the weight of the cross with me, they someone who yielded to evil and inflicted im- dried my many tears. Together with me, many of mense harm on others and their lives. In prison, them prayed for the young man who accused me: The Thirteenth Station an attitude of indifference can create even further they never stopped. The day on which I was fully harm in the history of someone who has failed acquitted, I found myself happier than I had JESUS IS TA K E N D OWN and is paying his debt to justice. A colleague, been ten years before: I experienced first-hand FROM THE CROSS who was my mentor, frequently repeated: “Prison God working in my life. Hanging on the cross, I (Meditation by a volunteer changes you: a good person can become a sadist- discovered the meaning of my priesthood. religious Brother) ic one. An evil person can become better”. The Lord Jesus, the love you showed us to the end led result also depends on me and a firm resolution is you to the cross. Dying, you still forgive us and give Now there was a man named Joseph from the Jewish essential for achieving the goal of our work: that us life. We entrust to your Father all those innocent town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, of offering another possibility to someone who men and women who throughout history have suffered a good and righteous man, who had not consented to did wrong. To attempt this, I cannot limit myself unjust condemnation. May your words resound in their purpose and deed, and he was looking for the to opening and closing a cell, without doing this their hearts: “Today you will be with me in Para- kingdom of God. This man went to Pilate and asked with a touch of humanity. dise”. for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down and By respecting each person’s tempo, human re- wrapped it in a linen shroud, and laid him in a lations can once more flourish little by little with- Let us pray. rock-hewn tomb where no one had ever yet been laid in this oppressive world. It happens through ges- O God, source of mercy and forgiveness, who reveal (Lk 23:50-53). tures, attitudes and words that can make a differ- yourself in the sufferings of humanity, enlighten us ence, even if spoken in a low voice. I am not with the grace that flows from the wounds of the Prisoners have always been my teachers. Sixty ashamed to exercise the permanent diaconate in Crucified One and grant us perseverance in faith years ago, I went into prisons as a volunteer wearing the uniform of which I am proud. I throughout the dark night of trial. Through Christ and I have always blessed the day when, for the our Lord. Amen. know suffering and despair: I experienced them first time, I encountered this hidden world. See- as a child. My small wish is to be a point of ref- ing their faces, I came to realize with clarity that erence for those I encounter behind bars. I work The Twelfth Station I could have been in their place, had my life hard to keep hope alive in people left to them- taken a different direction. We Christians fre- JESUS DIES ON THE CROSS selves, frightened at the thought of one day leav- quently fall into the illusion of feeling that we are ing and possibly being rejected yet again by soci- (Meditation by a civil magistrate) better than others, as our care for the poor allows e t y. us to stand as judges of others, condemning them In prison, I remind them that, with God, no It was now about the sixth hour, and there was as many times as we want, without any appeal. sin will ever have the last word. darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, In his life, Christ willingly chose to take his Lord Jesus, once more you are in the hands of while the sun’s light failed; and the curtain of the stand with the least: he travelled the forgotten temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, crying with a peripheries of the world in the midst of thieves, men, but this time, they are the loving hands of loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit lepers, prostitutes, scoundrels. He wanted to share Joseph of Arimathea and some pious women from my spirit”. And having said this he breathed his last the experience of poverty, solitude, anxiety. I have Galilee, who know that your body is precious. Their (Lk 23:44-46). always thought that that was the real meaning of hands represent the hands of all who never tire of his words: “I was in prison and you came to visit serving you and making visible the love of which hu- As a civil magistrate, I cannot crucify a man, me” (Mt 25:36). man beings are capable. It is this love that makes us any man, to the sentence he is serving: that would Passing by one cell after another, I see the hope in the possibility of a better world. We need only mean sentencing him a second time. He has to death that lives within. Prison continues to bury be willing to let ourselves be met by the grace that pay for the wrong he did: not to do so would individuals alive: theirs are stories that no one comes from you. In prayer, we entrust to your Father, mean trivializing his crimes, justifying the intoler- wants to hear any longer. Each time, Christ says in a particular way, all prison guards and all those able actions he carried out that caused physical to me again: “Keep going, don’t stop. Take them who work in various capacities in prisons. and moral suffering to others. in your arms again”. I cannot help but listen to True justice, however, is possible only through him: even within the worst of persons, he is al- Let us pray. a mercy that does not crucify an individual for ways there, however obscured is their memory of O God, eternal light and endless day, fill with ever, but becomes a guide in helping him to get him. I just need to halt my hectic pace, stop in si- your blessings those who devote themselves to your up and to realize the goodness that, for all the lence before those faces marred by evil and listen praise and to the service of those who suffer in the wrong he has done, is never completely extin- to them with mercy. This is the only way I know countless places of human pain and sorrow. Through guished in his heart. Only by finding his own hu- to accept that person, and avert my gaze from the Christ our Lord. Amen.