(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. …
(Vatican Radio) The Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, on Sunday said the sacrifice of four Missionaries of Charity and 12 others – who were murdered in Yemen at a home for the elderly on 4 March – was “a very strong witness for all Christians around the world that love has no boundaries, love is a very important obligation for all Christians, but it sometimes comes at a great cost.”
The Archbishop was speaking on TV2000, the television network belonging to the Italian Bishops’ Conference.
He said he was “full of admiration” for those who would not abandon the elderly under their case, “remaining there despite all of the risks.”
Speaking about the migration crisis in Europe, Archbishop Gallagher said it “requires a response of generosity and magnanimity.”
“We hope that the EU countries can work together to find a common solution to this dramatic situation,” he said, adding the “problem is not going away.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Sunday evening announced through a video-message the winner of the Global Teacher Prize , a $1 million award presented by the Varkey Foundation.
The Pope’s announcement had been previously recorded in the Vatican, and was played at the awards ceremony in Dubai.
Listen to our report:
“I would like to congratulate the teacher Hanan Al Hroub for winning this prestigious prize due to the importance she gives to the role of play in a child’s education,” Pope Francis said.
The winner of the prize is a primary school teacher in the West Bank city of al-Bireh just outside Ramallah. She grew up in a refugee camp, and now teaches refugees.
“A child has the right to play,” – Pope Francis said – “Part of education is to teach children how to play, because you learn how to be social though games, and you learn the joy of life.”
Al-Hroub later told the Associated Press it was “amazing” to hear the Pope say her name, and said she would use the million-dollar prize money to create scholarships for students who excel in order to encourage them to choose careers in teaching.
During her acceptance speech, Al-Hroub reiterated her commitment to non-violence and dialogue, a theme also touched on in Pope Francis’ video-message.
“A population that is not well educated because of wars, or by other reasons that exist in order not to get any education, is a population that decays,” said Pope Francis. “That is why I would like to highlight the noble profession of a teacher.”
(from Vatican Radio)…