(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday told prison inmates that God’s mercy embraces everyone and is found in every corner of the world.
On the last day of his Mexican pilgrimage, the Pope travelled to Ciudad Juárez, very close to the US border, where he visited inmates, their families and prison workers in the city’s Prison n. 3.
Until not long ago, Juárez was considered the murder capital of the world as cartel-backed gang warfare triggered souring homicide rates and ‘disappearances’.
To the some 700 inmates gathered in the prison courtyard, Pope Francis noted he was coming to the end of his visit to Mexico and he could not leave with greeting them and celebrating the Jubilee Year of Mercy with them.
He said that to celebrate the Holy Year of Mercy recalls “the pressing journey that we must undertake in order to break the cycle of violence and crime”.
He said that many decades have already been lost “thinking and believing that everything will be resolved by isolating, separating, incarcerating (…) and believing that these policies really solve problems”.
Pope Francis said that the care for prisoners is a moral imperative for the whole of society and that reintegration does not begin “within these walls”, but “before – outside – in the streets of the city”.
“Reintegration or rehabilitation begins by creating a system which we could call social health, that is, a society which seeks not to cause sickness, polluting relationships in neighbourhoods, schools, town squares, the streets, homes and in the whole of the social spectrum. A system of social health that endeavours to promote a culture which acts and seeks to prevent those situations and pathways that end in damaging and impairing the social fabric” he said.
And recognizing that those present have known the power of sorrow and sin and that they cannot undo what they have done , the Pope said that they must now learn to open the door to the future, to tomorrow and believe that things can change.
“ Celebrating the Jubilee of Mercy with you means inviting you to lift up your heads and to work in order to gain this space of longed-for freedom” he said.
Pointing out that he who has suffered the greatest pain, “has experienced hell” can become a prophet in society, the Pope urged those present to work so that “this society which uses people and discards them will not go on claiming victims”.
He also had words of thanks and encouragement to those who work in this Centre or others like it and expressed gratitude for the efforts made by the chaplains, consecrated persons and lay faithful who have dedicated themselves to keeping alive the hope of the Gospel of Mercy in the prison.
“Never forget – he said – that all of you can be signs of the heart of the Father. We need one another to keep on moving forward”.
Please find below the full text of the Pope’s address to prison inmates at the Centre for Social Adjustment n.3 in Ciudad Juárez:
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I am coming to the end of my visit to Mexico, and I could not leave without greeting you and celebrating with you the Jubilee of Mercy.
I am deeply grateful for your words of welcome, which express your many hopes and aspirations, as well as your many sorrows, fears and uncertainties.
During my visit to Africa, I was able to open the door of mercy for the whole world in the city of Bangui. United to you and with you today, I want to reiterate once more the confidence that Jesus urges us to have: the mercy that embraces everyone and is found in every corner of the world. There is no place beyond the reach of his mercy, no space or person it cannot touch.
Celebrating the Jubilee of Mercy with you is recalling the pressing journey that we must undertake in order to break the cycle of violence and crime. We have already lost many decades thinking and believing that everything will be resolved by isolating, separating, incarcerating, and ridding ourselves of problems, believing that these policies really solve problems. We have forgotten to focus on what must truly be our concern: people’s lives; their lives, those of their families, and those who have suffered because of this cycle of violence.
Divine Mercy reminds us that prisons are an indication of the kind of society we are. In many cases they are a sign of the silence and omissions which have led to a throwaway culture, a symptom of a culture that has stopped supporting life, of a society that has abandoned its children.
Mercy reminds us that reintegration does not begin here within these walls; rather it begins before, it begins “outside”, in the streets of the city. Reintegration or rehabilitation begins by creating a system which we could call social health, that is, a society which seeks not to cause sickness, polluting relationships in neighbourhoods, schools, town squares, the streets, homes and in the whole of the social spectrum. A system of social health that endeavours to promote a culture which acts and seeks to prevent those situations and pathways that end in damaging and impairing the social fabric.
At times it may seem that prisons are intended more to prevent people from committing crimes than to promote the process of rehabilitation that allows us to address the social, psychological and family problems which lead a person to act in a certain way. The problem of security is not resolved only by incarcerating; rather, it calls us to intervene by confronting the structural and cultural causes of insecurity that impact the entire social framework.
Jesus’ concern for the care of the hungry, the thirsty, the homeless and prisoners (cf. Mt 25:34-40) sought to express the core of the Father’s mercy. This becomes a moral imperative for the whole of society that wishes to maintain the necessary conditions for a better common life. It is within a society’s capacity to include the poor, infirm and imprisoned, that we see its ability to heal their wounds and make them builders of a peaceful coexistence. Social reintegration begins by making sure that all of our children go to school and that their families obtain dignified work by creating public spaces for leisure and recreation, and by fostering civic participation, health services and access to basic services, to name just a few possible measures.
Celebrating the Jubilee of Mercy with you means learning not to be prisoners of the past, of yesterday. It means learning to open the door to the future, to tomorrow; it means believing that things can change. Celebrating the Jubilee of Mercy with you means inviting you to lift up your heads and to work in order to gain this space of longed-for freedom.
We know that we cannot turn back, we know that what is done, is done. This is the way I wanted to celebrate with you the Jubilee of Mercy, because it does not exclude the possibility of writing a new story and moving forward. You suffer the pain of a failure, you feel the remorse of your actions and in many cases, with great limitations, you seek to remake your lives in the midst of solitude. You have known the power of sorrow and sin, and have not forgotten that within your reach is the power of the resurrection, the power of divine mercy which makes all things new. Now, this mercy can reach you in the hardest and most difficult of places, but such occasions can also perhaps bring truly positive results. From inside this prison, you must work hard to change the situations which create the most exclusion. Speak with your loved ones, tell them of your experiences, help them to put an end to this cycle of violence and exclusion. The one who has suffered the greatest pain, and we could say “has experienced hell”, can become a prophet in society. Work so that this society which uses people and discards them will not go on claiming victims.
I wish also to encourage those who work in this Centre or others like it: the directors, prison guards, and all who undertake any type of work in this Centre. And I am also grateful for the efforts made by the chaplains, consecrated persons and lay faithful who have dedicated themselves to keeping alive the hope of the Gospel of Mercy in the prison. Never forget that all of you can be signs of the heart of the Father. We need one another to keep on moving forward.
Before giving you my blessing, I would like for us all to pray a moment in silence. From the depths of our hearts, may each one of us ask God to help us believe in his mercy.
And I ask you, do not forget to pray for me.
(from Vatican Radio)…
“You are the wealth of this
land. Careful though! I did not say the hope of this land, but its wealth”. Thus the Pope addressed young people on Tuesday, 16
February, in José María Morellos y Pavón Stadium, Morelia. “You have asked me
for a word of hope,” he continued, “and the one word I have to give you, which
is the foundation of everything, is Jesus Christ. When everything seems too
much, when it seems that the world is crashing down on you, embrace his Cross,
draw close to him and please, never let go of his hand, even if they are
dragging you; and, if you should fall, allow him to lift you
up”. The Pope’s address …
(Vatican Radio) On the last day of his pastoral visit to Mexico, Pope Francis on Wednesday visits inmates at a prison in Ciudad Juarez on the U.S.-Mexico border. Before heading back to Rome Wednesday evening, he will also meet people from the working world and celebrate Mass in the city located just across the border from El Paso. On Tuesday, the Holy Father visited Morelia in central Mexico where he celebrated Mass with religious, consecrated people and seminarians and later was greeted by tens of thousands of young people at the local stadium.
Director of the Holy See Press Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi sj says the Pope has come to Mexico as “a messenger of mercy and of peace.” Even through his gestures and small actions, the Pope “was teaching love and demonstrating love and mercy of God… not only through his words,” adds Fr. Lombardi. In this way, continues the Vatican spokesman, the Pope “has contributed very much to the harmony and reconciliation of a society that has dramatic tensions and problems with violence and internal conflicts and disparities of situations in the society.”
In an interview with Vatican Radio’s Veronica Scarisbrick, Fr. Lombardi notes that Pope Francis has made his mark in Mexico “in a very pastoral way, not as a politician, not as a person who comes with easy solutions for problems that are so incredibly difficult. But he demonstrates understanding for the situation, for the people and the temptations that they have: [the] discouragement [they feel] in this situation. And he encourages them, and he witnesses the love of God, and invites [them] to the profound devotion to the Virgin of Guadalupe that is in the heart of Mexicans.”
Pope challenges Mexicans to put love, hope into practice
Pope Francis has also been challenging Mexicans to embrace this witness concretely, in their own lives, in their families and in society, Fr. Lombardi affirms: “I think he leaves to the Mexican people a treasure of hope – a horizon of hope for the future.” It was this message that the Pope stressed in a particular way to the young people he has encountered, “because they are the majority of the society and the future is concretely in their hands even if they have difficulties [in finding] their way in this society.”
Fr. Lombardi observes that one of the things that has impressed Pope Francis the most on this trip is “the love of the people [on the streets] for him.” For the Pope, theirs is a gratuitous, freely-given love: “they come to demonstrate spontaneously in the street to demonstrate sincerely that they love the Pope, the Church. That they desire to be a community which hopes [for] a better situation.” Pope Francis, Fr. Lombardi adds, is “grateful for the witness of love that he has received and he has tried to give his contribution to [the Mexican people] to overcome this historical, difficult moment.”
Moving moments
Fr. Lombardi admits that he personally, found two moments of the trip particularly moving: “the silent dialogue between the Pope and the Virgin of Guadalupe” in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe at the end of Saturday’s Mass in Mexico City. And the moment during Monday’s meeting with families in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, when a severely disabled child in a wheelchair was brought towards the Pope. The episode, Fr. Lombardi remarks, reminded him of the Gospel story “in which the people bring the paralytic to Jesus: the Pope has seen this and then came down from the podium to encounter this child and to bless him…. It was a very [special] moment: the witness of faith of the people bringing this sick young man to the Pope and the love of the Pope” who interrupted the testimonials of families “to go down where he sees this desire of blessing for a person that was in very, very particularly grave sickness.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) This evening Pope Francis will celebrate Holy Mass, this time in Ciudad Juarez at the end of his six day stay in Mexico. But in the morning his first appointment will be at the Cereso 3 State prison in the city which used to be a hotspot of gang power.
Our Correspondent in Mexico Veronica Scarisbrick tells us more.
For many years now Ciudad Juarez has represented first for Mexicans and then for Central Americans a personal dream, that of crossing the border to reach ‘El Norte’, the United States.
This search for a better future for most has often become a dashed dream. For those who make it here crossing the border is often impossible, for those without papers the risk of falling into the hands of traffickers is even greater.
Just imagine for a moment the state of mind of migrant minors who reach this desolate place, dubbed until not so long ago the murder capital of the world. A place notorious for the unsolved murders of hundreds of women and rife with all kinds of violence, much of it gang and drug based.
Located in the middle of the Chihuahuan Desert, it’s Mexico alright but without a crumb of glamour. There’s a river which provides a natural physical divide, and a looming chain link fence divide.
And it’s by this chain link fence that Pope Francis will celebrate Holy Mass on the evening of Wednesday 17th of February at the end of his six day stay in Mexico. Right on the border with the United States, so near that it’s within earshot of the El Paso inhabitants on the other side of the fence.
Pope Francis flies in to Ciudad Juarez in the morning and his first appointment is at the Cereso 3 State prison which used to be a hotspot of gang power.
Officials with the diocese say 800 inmates have already been chosen for that special meeting with Pope Francis, half of them women. On this occasion he will also meet with family members.
Ciudad Juarez is not a place for the faint hearted but it seems that when Pope Francis arrives here the worst of the bloodshed of this once hell hole has been left behind.
Certainly during this Jubilee Year of Mercy it will give Pope Francis a chance to console prisoners, workers, and the inhabitants of this long suffering Mexican City.
Inhabitants many of whom have been orphaned, widowed or simply traumatised by the violence they’ve witnessed.
With Pope Francis in Mexico, I’m Veronica Scarisbrick
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday 16th of February was in the capital of Michoacán, Morelia, hotspot of drug related violence to meet with young people at the ‘José Maria Morelos y Pavòn’ stadium.
Veronica Scarisbrick is in Mexico and reports on this joy-filled encounter
Listen:
When he arrived in what looked more like a golf cart than a pope mobile and made his way over a makeshift lawn, the Pope was greeted by the indigenous people of Michoacán in their traditional embroidered costumes, a splash of yellow, red, blue and a touch of green.
And when a few of the 50.000 of the young people gathered there spoke, they thanked Pope Francis for coming to Morelia and asked him for a word of hope.
One young man, Alberto, highlighted how happy they all were that Pope Francis had come as a messenger of peace and reconciliation. How in Mexico over thirty million young people wish to live in peace.
And then another young man touched on a sore point here. That’s to say the high rates of unemployment which lead many to despair and consequently to avarice, corruption and the temptation of an easy life at the margins of legality. The victims of the drug trafficking, of violence of exploitation are on the increase, he said, and the only thing left for many families is to shed tears for the death of our loved ones. Impunity, he explained, has been on the side of those who kidnap, defraud and kill. Holy Father, he begged, we wish to be builders of peace; we would like our loved ones not to be affected by violence. How can we Catholics receive the peace of Christ and be His messengers like you?
It was a moment of sharing and joy and Pope Francis, who upon his arrival in Mexico had said that one of Mexico’s greatest treasures is that it has a youthful face repeated these words, smiled and seemed to draw energy from so much youth.
He told the young people they should still believe in dreams. That the principal threat to hope is to allow oneself to believe that one is only worth something when one starts wearing the right clothes, the latest brands and fashions, or when one enjoys prestige, or are important because one has money; but in the depths of one heart one does not believe that one is worthy of kindness or love. The biggest threat, he went on to say, is when a person feels that they must have money to buy everything, including the love of others, the biggest threat is to believe that by having a big car you will be happy.
You are the wealth of Mexico, you are the wealth of the Church Pope Francis added. I understand, he insisted, that often it is difficult to feel your worth when you are continually exposed to the loss of friends or relatives at the hands of the drug trade, of drugs themselves, of criminal organizations that sow terror. But hand in hand with Jesus we can believe it is a lie to believe that the only way to live or to be young, is to entrust oneself to drug dealers or others who do nothing but sow destruction and death.
You have asked me for a word of hope, he continued, and the one I have to give to you, is Jesus Christ. When it seems that the world is crashing down around you embrace His Cross, draw close to Him and please never let go of his hand. And then the Pope and the young people burst into song and prayer. And after praying the young people went wild with joy and more song.
(from Vatican Radio)…