(Vatican Radio) Colombians are looking not just for peace – a word which can have political connotations – but also for reconciliation as Pope Francis visits the country this week.
That was the message of Father Mauricio Urbina , a priest of the Archdiocese of Bogotà, an assistant to Cardinal Rubén Salazar and pastor of a parish in the nation’s capital.
“Colombia has been a country that has suffered from different… fractures, we can say, along its history, so reconciliation inside the families, and even inside the same church, is very important for us, and I would hope would be the main topic,” said Fr Urbina, speaking with Vatican Radio’s Linda Bordoni.
EVANGELIZATION
Asked about the Pope’s message for priests and religious, which the Holy Father will give on Saturday in the city of Medellín, Fr Urbina said he thought the Church in Colombia has been heading in the direction already pointed out by Pope Francis: Going out of the sacristies, going out of “our own places, our own houses, of our own, also, mental ideas” to evangelize the many Colombians who are waiting for the Gospel. He said he would “receive and hope for” a word in that sense.”
RECONCILIATION
With the world’s attention focused on Colombia, Fr Urbina said he hoped Colombia would be seen as a “place where we can reconcile [with] each other.” Referring to the theme of the Apostolic Visit – “Let us take the first step” – he emphasized that the first step is “toward Christ.” Colombians, he said, “are taking the first step, not towards violence, not towards division, but towards unity, towards making a new reality out of this country that has suffered so much for so many years.”
Father Urbina noted the importance of hearing the voices of the victims of decades old conflict, especially during a meeting with the Holy Father at Villavicencio on Friday. He said it is important to hear the voices of the victims themselves, but also to have their voices heard through the Pope. It is important, he said, to see how Colombians have suffered – but also to see how they are willing to be reconciled to one another.
Listen to the full interview of Father Mauricio Urbina with Linda Bordoni:
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Concluding a long day in Bogotá, which began with an official welcome ceremony and ended with the celebration of Holy Mass in the presence of over one million people, Pope Francis was given a goodnight and goodbye display of fireworks from the city that sees him depart for Villavicencio Friday on day 3 of his apostolic journey to Colombia.
And before turning in for the night at the Apostolic nunciature, the Pope was greeted by a crowd of singing faithful and a group of children and teenagers with mental disabilities waiting for a word and the comforting touch of the man who never fails to uphold their rights and their human dignity.
And sure enough, Pope Francis – who must have been very tired – did not hasten by, but took time to look each of them in the eyes, hugging them fiercely to his chest.
“Vulnerability” a visibly moved Pope said “is the essence of the human person”.
“We are all vulnerable, he continued, except for the Lord himself”.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Amongst the over one million faithful attending the Papal Mass in Bogotá on Thursday there were thousands of victims of Colombia’s conflict and groups of Venezuelan refugees on the run from violence and misery in their own country.
The former in search of the strength needed to forgive, the latter hoping for consolation and support, support they have been receiving from the Churches on the border between the two countries, and from Venezuelan and Colombian Bishops who are setting up an emergency pastoral programme in response to the situation.
In the city’s Simon Bolivar park, the deeply religious faithful listened in sombre silence as Pope Francis denounced the “thick darkness” that sparks violence and takes human lives in Colombia and elsewhere.
He said such darkness is a “thirst for vengeance and the hatred which stains the hands of those who would right wrongs on their own authority, the darkness of those who become numb to the pain of so many victims.”
The Pope has described himself as a “pilgrim of peace” in Colombia which is trying to take the first steps of a difficult post-conflict process. A process set off by the signing of a peace deal between the government and FARC rebels who have disarmed and converted into a political party, and just last week the announcement of a bilateral ceasefire with the ELN rebel group.
Essential steps on the road to peace for sure, but true peace does not yet reign in Colombia where ongoing violence by paramilitary groups and a fistful of smaller rebel militias continues to displace communities and create power vacuums in territories now being taken over by paramilitaries and drug traffickers.
So, well aware of his flock’s deep need for words of enlightenment indicating the direction and beauty of human existence, Pope Francis reminded the faithful to trust in the Lord “whose word – he said – is fruitful even where the hostility of human darkness” destroys and plunders.
“We need to call out to one another, to signal each other” he said, to see each other again as “brothers and sisters, companions on the way, partners in this common cause which is the homeland”.
The Pope concluded his homily quoting the theme of this intense day of faith, support, comfort and commitment in Bogotà: leave selfishness, fears and paralysis behind – he said – and become “artisans of peace, promoters of life”.
In Bogotà with Pope Francis, I’m Linda Bordoni
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis celebrated his first public Mass on Colombian soil on Thursday evening at the Simon Bolivar Park in Bogota, encouraging Colombians to keep trusting in Christ in the difficult journey towards peace and reconciliation.
He pointed to the figure of St. Peter in the day’s Gospel who heeded to Christ’s exhortation to put out into the deep and came up with a wonderful catch.
Noting that, like anywhere else, in Colombia too there is darkness such as injustice, social inequality, corruption, selfishness, disrespect for human life, vengeance and hatred.
The Holy Father said, “Jesus invites us to put out into the deep, he prompts us to take shared risks, to leave behind our selfishness and to follow him…”
Below, please find the official English translation of the Pope’s prepared homily:
Homily: “Artisans of Peace, Promoters of Life”
Bogotá
Thursday, 7 September 2017
The Gospel writer tells us that the calling of the first disciples happened along the shore of Lake Gennesaret, where the people came together to hear a voice capable of guiding them and illuminating them; it was also the place where fishermen used to bring their tiring days to an end, where they looked for sustenance in order to live a dignified and happy life, one not lacking the basic necessities. It is the only time in the whole Gospel of Luke that Jesus preaches near the Sea of Galilee. On the open sea their hopes for a bountiful catch are turned into frustration with what seem to be pointless and wasted efforts. According to an ancient Christian interpretation, the sea also represents the vastness where all peoples live; because of its turmoil and darkness, it evokes everything that threatens human existence and that has the power to destroy it.
We use similar expressions to define crowds: a human tide, a sea of people. That day, Jesus had the sea behind him, and in front of him a crowd that followed him because they knew how deeply moved he was by human suffering… and they knew of his impartial, profound, and true words. Everyone came to hear him; the word of Jesus has something special that leaves no one indifferent; his word has the power to convert hearts, to change plans and projects. It is a word demonstrated by action, not academic findings, cold agreements, removed from people’s pain; for his is a word valid both for the safety of the shore and the fragility of the sea.
This beloved city, Bogotá, and this beautiful country, Colombia, convey many of the human scenarios presented by the Gospel. Here too the crowds come together, longing for a word of life to englighten all their efforts, and to indicate the direction and beauty of human existence. These crowds of men and women, the young and the elderly, dwell in a land of unimaginable fertility, which could provide for everyone. But here, as in other places, there is a thick darkness which threatens and destroys life: the darkness of injustice and social inequality; the corrupting darkness of personal and group interests that consume in a selfish and uncontrolled way what is destined for the good of all; the darkness of disrespect for human life which daily destroys the life of many innocents, whose blood cries out to heaven; the darkness of thirst for vengeance and the hatred which stains the hands of those who would right wrongs on their own authority; the darkness of those who become numb to the pain of so many victims. Jesus scatters and destroys all this darkness with the command he gives to Peter in the boat: “Put out into the deep sea” (Lk 5:4).
We can get tangled up in endless discussions, adding up failed attempts and making a list of all the efforts that have ended in nothing; just like Peter, we know what it means to work without success. This nation knows this all too well, given that in a period of six years, from its beginning, there were sixteen presidents, and the country paid dearly for its divisions (the “foolish homeland”); the Church in Colombia knows also about unsuccessful and fruitless pastoral work…, but, like Peter, we too are able to trust the Master, whose word is fruitful even where the hostility of human darkness renders so many attempts and efforts fruitless. Peter is the man who resolutely accepts Jesus’ invitation, to leave everything and follow him, to become a new fisherman, whose mission is to bring to his brothers the Kingdom of God, where life is made full and happy.
But the command to cast out the nets is not directed only to Simon Peter; he was directed to put out into the deep, like those in your homeland who first recognized what is most compelling, like those who took the initiative for peace, for life. Casting out the nets involves responsibility. In Bogotá and in Colombia a vast community journeys forwards, called to conversion in a healthy net that gathers everyone into unity, working for the defense and care of human life, especially when it is most fragile and vulnerable: in a mother’s womb, in infancy, in old age, in conditions of incapacity and in situations of social marginalization. Great multitudes of people in Bogotá and in Colombia can also become truly vibrant, just and fraternal communities, if they hear and welcome the Word of God. From these evangelized multitudes will arise many men and women transformed into disciples, who with a truly free heart, follow Jesus; men and women capable of loving life in all its phases, of respecting and promoting it.
We need to call out to one another, to signal each other, like fishermen, to see each other again as brothers and sisters, companions on the way, partners in this common cause which is the homeland. Bogotá and Colombia are at the same time the shore, the lake, the open sea, the city through which Jesus has passed and passes, to offer his presence and his fruitful word, to call out of darkness and bring us to light and to life. He calls everyone, so that no one is left to the mercy of the storms; to go into the boat of every family, that sanctuary of life; to make space for the common good above any selfish or personal interests; to carry the most fragile and promote their rights.
Peter experiences his smallness, the immensity of the word and the power of Jesus; Peter knows his weakness, his ups and downs…, as we all know our own, as is known in the history of violence and division of your people, a history which has not always found us sharing the boat, the storm, the misfortunes. But in the same way as Simon, Jesus invites us to put out into the deep, he prompts us to take shared risks, to leave behind our selfishness and to follow him; to give up our fears which do not come from God, which paralyze us and prevent us becoming artisans of peace, promoters of life.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis ’ eagerly awaited discourse to the leaders of the Latin American Bishops’ Conference (CELAM) provided a rich and colourful canvas of ideas and proposals for an integral response to the many challenges of the continent in this time of change.
Francis has deep-rooted ties to CELAM, an institution founded in the 1950s and that has produced a series of key documents for the Church in the continent including the pivotal “Aparecida” document authored by the then Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge Bergoglio.
That Aparecida document, based on the belief that the Church needs to “rid itself from all expired structures that do not favour the transmission of the faith” is widely seen as a sort of a manifesto for Pope Francis’ pontificate, and surfaces again and again in his vision of the role of the Church today.
His speech to CELAM leaders, on this special Thursday in Bogotá, confirmed Bergoglio’s firm conviction that the only way for them to take forward their continental mission is by empowering young people, women and lay people, expanding their role and trusting them to help the Church rise to the many challenges it faces.
The Pope reaffirmed his trust in CELAM and reminded those present that its mission is to place Jesus’ message of salvation at the very heart of the Church “making it the criterion for measuring the effectiveness of its structures, the results of its labours, the fruitfulness of its ministers, and the joy they awaken.”
And echoing words he has already pronounced in more than one occasion since his arrival in Colombia, “Without joy, he said, we attract no one.”
He spoke of the need for closeness and encounter which, he said, are the means used by God “who in Christ always draws near to meet us” and said that “If we do not set out with him on our mission, we quickly become lost and risk confusing our vain needs with his cause.”
He underlined the fact that “mission with Jesus in Latin America today” means being concrete and warned his brother bishops against being paralyzed in “air-conditioned offices” urging them to “speak to men and women in their concrete situations” in “one-on-one contact”.
Francis also addressed CELAM’s role in encouraging intra-continental unity both in the Church and wider society and praised its work to build bridges, tear down walls, integrate diversity and promote encounter and dialogue.
“No lasting construction in Latin America can do without this essential foundation” he said.
Francis’ long and complex discourse ended with a call to the Church in Latin America to put trust and hope in three elements: its young people, women, and laity.
He urged CELAM to invest time and resources in training young people and in empowering lay Catholics whom he described as protagonists in the Church. And he had strong words for the role of women without whom – he said – the Church will lose its power “to be continually reborn,” and that “if we hope for a new and living chapter of faith in this continent, we will not get it without women.”
And with yet another reference to Aparecida’s core message, he concluded saying that Latin America’s deepest problems will not be resolved by “textbook answers” and “talk show platitudes” but through “that Christian simplicity hidden to the powerful, yet revealed to the lowly.”
(from Vatican Radio)…