Make room for kindness, not hopeless 'mafia' mentality, pope says
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By Junno Arocho EstevesVATICANCITY (CNS) -- Hope cannot remain hidden within but must break free to overcome vengeful, mafia-like mentalitieswith mercy and humility, Pope Francis said. Christiansmust give witness to hope through their lives as Jesus did and make room forhim in their hearts to fight evil by doing good to others, even their enemies,the pope said athis weekly general audience April 5. "Themafiosi think that evil can be overcome by evil. They take revenge; they do so many thingsthat we all know. But they do not know what humility, mercy and meekness are.And why? Because the mafiosi have no hope," he said. Arriving in St. Peter's Square, PopeFrancis made his way through the crowd of 15,000 people, greeting individuals and even making a quickstop to sip some mate tea offered by a group of pilgrims from his nativeArgentina. Arrivingat the stage, the pope spotted a familiar face among the Argentine pilgrims, andwarmly embraced an elderlywoman and spoke to her while other p...
By Junno Arocho Esteves
VATICAN
CITY (CNS) -- Hope cannot remain hidden within but must break free to overcome vengeful, mafia-like mentalities
with mercy and humility, Pope Francis said.
Christians
must give witness to hope through their lives as Jesus did and make room for
him in their hearts to fight evil by doing good to others, even their enemies,
the pope said at
his weekly general audience April 5.
"The
mafiosi think that evil can be overcome by evil. They take revenge; they do so many things
that we all know. But they do not know what humility, mercy and meekness are.
And why? Because the mafiosi have no hope," he said.
Arriving in St. Peter's Square, Pope
Francis made his way through the crowd of 15,000 people, greeting individuals and even making a quick
stop to sip some mate tea offered by a group of pilgrims from his native
Argentina.
Arriving
at the stage, the pope spotted a familiar face among the Argentine pilgrims, and
warmly embraced an elderly
woman and spoke to her while other people in the group reached out to
touch him.
Continuing
his series of talks on Christian hope, the pope reflected on a verse from the First Letter of St. Peter, in
which the apostle calls on Christians to "always be ready
to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope."
The
"secret" to understanding this hope, the pope said, is that it is
rooted in the paschal mystery of Christ's victory over death.
"Our
hope is not a concept nor a sentiment; it is not phone call or a pile of
riches," he said. "No, our hope is a person, it is the Lord Jesus who
we recognize alive and present in us and in our brothers and sisters."
A
person who lacks hope, the pope added, is incapable of giving or receiving the
"consolation of forgiveness" and unable to make room for Christ in their
hearts.
St.
Peter's assertion that "it is better to suffer for doing good" than
doing evil, he continued, doesn't mean that it is good to suffer, but that
suffering for the sake of good means "that we are in communion with the
Lord."
Christians
who wish to follow Jesus' example are called to love and do good, even to
"those who do not wish us well or even harm us," Pope Francis said.
"It
is the proclamation of God's love, an immeasurable love that is unending, that
is never lacking and constitutes the very foundation of our hope," he
said.
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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...
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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 ...
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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...