(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent a message expressing his condolences and his spiritual closeness to the people of Ivory Coast after gunmen opened fire on holiday-goers at a popular beach resort in Grand-Bassam east of the commercial capital Abidjan.
In a telegram to Bishop Raymond Ahoua F. D. P. of Grand Bassam, Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin said “Upon hearing the news of the heinous attack in Grand-Bassam, His Holiness Pope Francis presents condolences to the bereaved and assures the injured his spiritual closeness.”
15 civilians and three members of the country’s special forces were killed and 33 people wounded in the attack by alleged Islamist extremists. Three of the attackers were also killed.
The message further states that the Holy Father “entrusts the victims to the mercy of God to welcome them into his peace and light.”
Expressing his sadness for the suffering of the Ivorian people, the message continues, “the Holy Father again condemns violence and hatred in all forms. In a sign of consolation, he invokes an abundance of divine blessings on the Ivory Coast and all the families affected by this tragedy.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent a message expressing his closeness to the people of Turkey following a suicide car bombing Sunday evening in Ankara. At least 37 people died and more than 120 were injured after a car loaded with explosives was detonated near bus stops in the Turkish capital.
In a telegram to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin wrote on behalf of the Holy Father that the Pope was “deeply saddened to learn of the injury and tragic loss of life caused by the bombing in Ankara.”
“His Holiness Pope Francis assures the Turkish people of his spiritual closeness and solidarity. He prays for the eternal rest of those who have died and for all who mourn their loss, as well as for the recovery of those affected by this heinous act of violence. Mindful of the generous service being rendered by security and emergency personnel, His Holiness invokes the divine blessings of peace, healing and strength upon the nation.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Each year, Bishops from around the world travel to the Holy Land on a pilgrimage to support the Christian community in the land of Jesus’ birth.
Organized by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, the annual Holy Land Coordination brings together Bishops from different countries, especially countries that have historically had an influence in the Holy Land. This year’s visit included Bishops from the Europe, North America, and South Africa.
Vatican Radio’s Christopher Wells was with the Bishops during the week long pilgrimage. In the day’s leading up to Easter, we’re publishing Christopher’s stories about the Holy Land Coordination visit.
In our first story, Christopher spoke with the Director of the Holy Land Coordination, Father Mark Madden of Liverpool, England, about the visit to the Holy Land.
Listen:
The priorities for the Coordination are quite specific, Fr Madden said, “in that the purpose of the Coordination is not to look at one particular theme and then go on to the next one. But we always act in solidarity with the people we meet every single year. And so, I suppose in some ways, in this year it’s a follow up from last year and previous years.”
Father Madden mentioned in particular the pastoral visit to Gaza ahead of the official opening of the Coordination, as the fulfilment of a promise “that we would always stay in solidarity with the people there.” The Bishops also visited the Cremisan Valley, where Christians are facing the confiscation of their land, and even destruction of their property as the Israeli government attempts to build a security wall. The Coordination returned as well to the Christian community in Beit Jala “again to show them that it’s not, we don’t just look at issues from one year, and go on to the next one, that we will always stay with those people, that we will always stay with those issues.”
The Holy Land Coordination, though, does not simply focus on Israel and the Paletinian territories. “We often, when we look at the Holy Land, we often look at only the Palestinians and the issues and the struggles that they are facing,” said Fr Madden. “But the Jordanians are also facing their own struggles; they’re also facing difficulties as well.” In Jordan, he said, the visit focused on the local Christian community and how they are “coping with the influx of refugees, but also to see the difficulties that the Jordanian Christians are facing.”
Father Madden also spoke about the objectives for the Holy Land Coordination. “I think our goal is primarily to fully see if we can inform the Bishops so that they can go home, because really the work of the Coordination takes place once we go home.” Although the visit is primarily a pastoral one, he said, it also aims at providing the Bishops with the tools they need to advocate in favour of the Christians of the Holy Land. “That’s our main goal: to fully equip the Bishops so they can be great advocates for the Church in the Holy Land, when they get back home and to their own environments.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Monday spoke of a series of events and situations that shed shadows on our lives and lead us to ask difficult questions.
Speaking during morning Mass at the Casa Santa Marta, the Pope remembered a homeless man who recently died of the cold here in Rome; he recalled the sisters of Charity who were killed in an attack in Yemen; and his thoughts flew to the many people who continue to fall ill in the so-called “triangle of death” in the southern Italian region of Campania where the illegal burning of toxic waste causes cancer and despair.
As we are forced to face these “dark valleys” of our time, he said, the only answer is to trust in God.
“Even when we do not understand – such as before the illness of a child – let us put ourselves in the hands of the Lord who never abandons His people” he said.
Reflecting on the Reading of the day that tells of Susanna, a just woman who is “soiled” by the “evil desire” of two judges, but chooses to trust in God rather than succumb to their wish, Pope Francis said that that even when we find ourselves walking in a“valley of darkness” we need not fear evil.
How many dark valleys; where are you Lord?
The Lord, the Pope said, always walks with us, loves us and does not abandon us. And he turned his attention to some of the many “dark valleys” of our time:
“When we look at the many dark valleys, at the many misfortunes, at the fact there are so many people dying of hunger, there is war, there are so many children with disabilities… and asking their parents we discover they suffer from something called a ‘rare disease’… And the things we create ourselves: think of the cancers caused by the “triangle of death”… When you look at all this you ask: ‘where is the Lord’, ‘where are you?’ ‘Are you walking with me?’ This was Susanna’s sentiment. And it is ours too. Look at those four slain sisters of ours: they were serving with love; they ended up murdered in hatred! When you see that doors are being closed to refugees who are left out in the cold… you say: ‘Lord, where are You?’ “.
Why does a child suffer? I do not know why, but I trust in God
“How can I entrust myself to God – the Pope said – when I see all these things? And when things happen to me, each of us may say: how can I entrust myself to You?” There is an answer to this question, he continued, “but it cannot be explained”:
“Why does a child suffer? I do not know: it is a mystery to me” he said.
And recalling Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane the Pope pointed out that although he is suffering he trusts in the Father and knows that all will not end with death, with the cross.
Pope Francis pointed out that Jesus’ last words before dying on the cross were ‘Father into your hands I commend my spirit’ and said: “To trust in God who walks with me, walks with His people, walks with the Church: this is an act of faith. To entrust myself. I cannot explain it, but I place myself in Your hands. You know why”.
Suffering and evil are not final, the Lord is always with us
And this, he said, is the teaching of Jesus: “he who entrusts himself to the Lord our Shepherd, shall lack nothing”.
Even if he finds himself going through the darkest of valleys, Pope Francis said “he knows that the suffering is only of the moment and that the Lord is with him: “Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me”. This – Pope Francis said – is a grace that we must ask for: “Lord, teach me to place myself in your hands, to trust in Your guidance, even in bad times, in the darkest moments, in the moment of death”:
Pope Francis said that “We would do well, today, to think about our lives, about the problems we have, and ask for the grace to place ourselves into the hands of the Lord”.
And he invited the faithful to think of the many men and women who do not even receive a last caress before dying.
“Three days ago a homeless person died here, on the street: he died of cold. In the middle of Rome, a city that has all the possibilities of providing assistence.Why, Lord? Not even a caress … But I entrust myself to You because You never let me down.”
“Lord – he concluded – I do not understand you. This is a beautiful prayer. Without understanding, I place myself in Your hands”.
(from Vatican Radio)…
Calluses – known as hyperkeratosis in the world of science –, ingrown fingernails and toenails,
hypertrophied feet are among the ailments that can now be treated in the clinic
run by the Office of Papal Charities in the colonnade surrounding St Peter’s
Square. Located next to the showers and barber shop, the clinic began providing
podiatrist services on Monday morning, 14 March, for these common and often
painful conditions of those who live on the street. According to Papal Almoner Archbishop Konrad Krajewski, the
service – provided by the Association of Italian Podiatrists – is free of
charge. The project is headed by Mauro Montesi of La Sapienza University of
Rome and president of the Association of Italian Podiatrists. Every Monday from
8:30 am to 12:00 pm one specialist and three third-year podiatry students will
assist those requiring services. The care and the number of days the clinic
provides these services are expected to increase. Podiatrist Silvana De Luca
was the first of five specialists to
work the rotation. Each week the specialist will be accompanied by three
different students. In the near future, the clinic hopes to have additional
medical equipment so as to intervene more effectively. …