(Vatican Radio) Francis began his first full day in Paraguay on Saturday (July 11th) by visiting the Acosta Nu Children’s Hospital in the capital, Asuncion.
Please find below the English translation of his prepared remarks for the children and the hospital staff.
Mr Director,
Dear Childen,
Members of the Staff,
Dear Friends,
I thank you for your warm welcome. Thank you too for giving me this time to spend with you.
Dear children, I want to ask you a question; maybe you can help me. They tell me that you are all very intelligent, and so I want to ask you: Did Jesus ever get annoyed? … Do you remember when?
If this seems like a difficult question, let me help you. It was when they wouldn’t let the children come to him. That is the only time in the entire Gospel of Mark when we hear that he was “annoyed” (cf. Mk 10:13-15). We would say that he was really “ticked off”.
Do you get annoyed every now and then? Jesus felt that way when they wouldn’t let the children come to him. He was really mad. He loved children. Not that he didn’t like adults, but he was really happy to be with children. He enjoyed their company, he enjoyed being friends with them. But not only. He didn’t just want to have them around, he wanted something else: he wanted them to be an example. He told his disciples that “unless you become like children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven” (Mt 18:3).
The children kept coming to Jesus, and the adults kept trying to keep them away, but Jesus called them, embraced them and brought them forward, so that people us could learn to be like them. Today, he wants to tell us the same thing. He looks at us and he says: “Learn from the children”.
We need to learn from you. We need to learn from your trust, your joy, and your tenderness. We need to learn from your ability to fight, from your strength, from your remarkable endurance. Some of you are fighters. And when we look at young “warriors” like you, we feel very proud. Isn’t that right, moms? Isn’t that right, dads and grandparents? Looking at you gives us strength, it gives us the courage to trust, to keep moving forward.
Dear mothers, fathers, grandparents: I know that it is not easy to be here. There are moments of great suffering and uncertainty. There are times of heartrending anguish but also moments of immense happiness. These two feelings often collide deep within us. However, there is no better relief than your tender compassion, your closeness to one another. It makes me happy to know that as families you help, encourage and support each other, so that you can keep going in these difficult moments.
You count on the support of the doctors, nurses and the entire staff of this home. I thank them for their vocation of service, for helping not only to care for, but also to be there, for these young brothers and sisters of ours who suffer.
Let us never forget that Jesus is close to his children. He is very near, in our hearts. Never hesitate to pray to him, to talk to him, to share with him your questions and your pain. He is always with us, he is ever near and he will not let us fall.
There is another thing we can be sure of, and I would say it once again. Wherever there is a son or daughter, there is always a mother. Wherever Jesus is, there is Mary, the Virgin of Caacupé. Let us ask her to wrap us in her mantle, to protect and intercede for you and for your families.
And also, please don’t forget to pray for me. I am certain that your prayers are heard in heaven.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Our correspondent in Asuncion, Linda Bordoni, spoke to the city’s Archbishop to learn his thoughts about the papal visit to Paraguay and discover more about the reality of life there.
Listen to Linda Bordoni’s report whose text can be found below:
The Archbishop of Asuncion, Edmundo Mellia, told me that for Paraguayans from all walks of life, the Pope’s visit is a gift from God.
“We have been awaiting this moment with great trepidation – he said – the countdown has finally ended”.
He explained to me that working closely with the deeply Catholic population, parish priests across the country have been preparing the faithful in three different ways: with prayer; with correct information regarding the Church, the Papacy and their faith; and involving them in a “serene, responsible and joyous” organization of the visit itself.
“Participation – he says – has been exceptional”.
The Pope’s presence here is bringing us much joy, Archbishop Mellia says, but life in Paraguay is not a bed of roses.
And pointing out that thanks to its wealth of natural resources which could well respond to the needs of its tiny population, Paraguay could be a “paradise for all, unfortunately – he said – it is so only for few”.
So, Mellia said, a wealth of resources is a fantastic thing when used for the common good of the nation. But when, because of political corruption and greed, these resources are not channelled towards education, healthcare, the wellbeing of the indigenous population, support of family farming and the good of families across society – but end up in the pockets of the powerful, what is needed is a change of heart, a deep conversion on the part of our political leaders.
And just as he has been doing so far during this intense three-nation Latin American journey, Pope Francis in Paraguay is expected to reiterate his call for social and environmental justice, just as he already has done in his very first discourse to Government authorities reminding them that “an economic development which fails to take into account the weakest and underprivileged is not an authentic development.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Throughout the Holy Father’s Apostolic Journey to Latin America, the Head of the Holy See Press Office, Father Federico Lombardi SJ has been on hand to brief journalists on the Pope’s activities. Our correspondent in Paraguay, Linda Bordoni caught up with Fr Lombardi and asked him for his reflections on the trip so far.
Listen
Fr Lombardi described Pope Francis as being “very happy”, adding, “really I think he is at home… he (the Pope) feels that he’s received with great love with profound devotion. He sees how people on the street are praying waiting for him, are asking for blessing. It’s not curiousity, it’s really profound devotion.”
Speaking about the second leg of the Pope’s visit to Bolivia, Fr Lombardi said that “the Pope encouraged these people’s to grow in human dignity in the building of a society of justice, of participation, of equality of respect of diversities of the ethnic and national identities. And for Bolvia, this multinational and multicultural with many indegenous and ethnic groups, this is particularly important…”
(from Vatican Radio)…