(Vatican Radio) The Jubilee for Prisoners celebrated on Sunday gave prisoners, their families, prison chaplains and staff the chance to hear Pope Francis’ message of hope and mercy. In his homily, the Holy Father stressed that “hope was a gift of God” and that “his mercy gives him no rest.”One of those attending the Mass in St Peter’s Basilica was Monsignor Roger Reader, prison advisor to the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales, who dropped into the studios of Vatican Radio following the event.Listen to Lydia O’Kane’s interview with Monsignor Roger Reader Reflecting on the Pope’s homily, Mons Reader said, it was very encouraging to hear that message of hope. It is something, he added, that he himself tries to instill in those prisoners who think that prison is just for bad people. “There is hope for everybody in prison”, he underlined, “prison shouldn’t only be about bad people but should be...
(Vatican Radio) The Jubilee for Prisoners celebrated on Sunday gave prisoners, their families, prison chaplains and staff the chance to hear Pope Francis’ message of hope and mercy. In his homily, the Holy Father stressed that “hope was a gift of God” and that “his mercy gives him no rest.”
One of those attending the Mass in St Peter’s Basilica was Monsignor Roger Reader, prison advisor to the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales, who dropped into the studios of Vatican Radio following the event.
Listen to Lydia O’Kane’s interview with Monsignor Roger Reader
Reflecting on the Pope’s homily, Mons Reader said, it was very encouraging to hear that message of hope. It is something, he added, that he himself tries to instill in those prisoners who think that prison is just for bad people. “There is hope for everybody in prison”, he underlined, “prison shouldn’t only be about bad people but should be about hope and should be about looking for forgiveness and that for everybody with an open heart, forgiveness is there for them.”
So what has been the effect of Year of Mercy on the lives of prisoners? According to Mons Reader there have been many projects associated with the Jubilee, in particular, the prison advisor commissioned an icon of the Mercy of Jesus Christ and each prisoner in England and Wales has been given a copy. He said, the feedback he has received has been tremendous. “They are saying, “you remembered us, the Church is there for us…”” Monsignor Reader added, that there has also been an upsurge in people wanting to volunteer in prisons which, he said was very positive because they have a huge role to play.
During the Angelus on Sunday in St Peter’s Square Pope Francis appealed for better living conditions for prisoners, something the Monsignor feels strongly about, “… you’re never going to rehabilitate somebody by making them live in squalor, that’s not going to work", he said.
Pope Francis waves while traveling by boat in Venice, Italy, for a meeting with young people at the Basilica della Madonna della Salute on April 28, 2024. Earlier in the day he met with inmates at a women's prison. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNARome Newsroom, Apr 28, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).Pope Francis opened his one-day visit to Venice on Sunday morning with a meeting with female inmates where he reaffirmed the importance of fraternity and human dignity, noting that prison can be a place of new beginnings. "A stay in prison can mark the beginning of something new, through the rediscovery of the unsuspected beauty in us and in others, as symbolized by the artistic event you are hosting and the project to which you actively contribute," the pope said to the female inmates gathered in the intimate courtyard of the Women's Prison on the Island of Giudecca. Pope Francis left the Vatican by helicopter at approximately 6:30 in the mo...
Pope Francis prays in front of the tomb of St. Mark the Evangelist inside St. Mark's Basilica in Venice on April 28, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNARome Newsroom, Apr 28, 2024 / 09:35 am (CNA).Pope Francis had a full slate of events Sunday during his day trip to Venice, a trip that tied together a message of unity and fraternity with the artistic patrimony of a city that has been a privileged place of encounter across the centuries. "Faith in Jesus, the bond with him, does not imprison our freedom. On the contrary, it opens us to receive the sap of God's love, which multiplies our joy, takes care of us like a skilled vintner, and brings forth shoots even when the soil of our life becomes arid," the pope said to over 10,000 pilgrims gathered in St. Mark's Square. Framing his homily during the Mass on the theme of unity, one of the central points articulated throughout several audiences spread across the morning, Pope Francis reminded Christians: "Remaining ...
Prayer house at San Simeone, Italy, September 2012. / Credit: Courtesy of Ricostruttori nella preghieraRome, Italy, Apr 28, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).Across Italy there are houses of prayer run by the Ricostruttori (Reconstructors) community, a Catholic movement dedicated to people who are far from the Church but attracted to spirituality, particularly Eastern meditation and Buddhist practices. The Reconstructors was founded in 1978 by Jesuit Father Gian Vittorio Cappelletto. "During the postconciliar period, the Church was faced with the need for new forms of evangelization and apostolate, to reach out to people who were drifting away," Don Roberto Rondanina, priest and superior of the Ricostruttori, explained to CNA. "It was a time when Eastern meditation, Hinduism, Buddhism, the New Age ... were beginning to spread in Europe." "Father Cappelletto, who lived in Turin, sought to understand the meaning of this 'flight to the East' and felt the need to find new forms of sp...