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L’O S S E RVATOR E ROMANOWEEKLY EDITION

Unicuique suum

IN ENGLISHNon praevalebunt

Fifty-third year, number 12 (2.639) Vatican City Friday, 20 March 2020

Francis joinsin praying the Rosary

On Thursday evening, 19 March, Solemnity of SaintJoseph, the Holy Father joined via streaming from SantaMarta, in praying the Rosary promoted by the ItalianEpiscopal Conference. In his introduction to the prayer, heinvited families, the faithful and all religious communitiesto ask the Lord to protect each family, especially the sickand those caring for them. The following is the translationof Pope Francis’ words which he shared in Italian.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,I join in this moment of prayer that the EpiscopalConference [of Italy] is promoting, as a sign of unityfor the whole country.

In this unprecedented situation, in which everythingseems to be uncertain, let us help each other to remainsteadfast to what really matters. This is the advice Ihave received in so many letters from your Pastorswho, in sharing such a dramatic moment, seek to sus-tain your hope and your faith with their word.

The Rosary is the prayer of the humble and of thesaints. In its mysteries, they contemplate, along withMary, the life of Jesus, the merciful face of the Father.O, how much we all need to be truly comforted, tofeel the embraced by his loving presence!

The truth of this experience is measured in our rela-tionship with others, who at this moment, are ourclosest relatives. Let us be close to one another, beingcharitable, understanding, patient and forgiving.

Though you may be confined to your own homes,allow your hearts to expand so that it may be availableand welcoming to all.

This evening we are praying together, entrustingourselves to the intercession of St Joseph, Guardian ofthe Holy Family, Guardian of all our families. The car-penter of Nazareth too, experienced precariousness andbitterness. Though he worried about the future, heknew how to walk the darkness of certain moments, al-ways letting himself be guided by God’s will withoutre s e r v a t i o n .

P ro t e c t , O Holy Guardian, this our nation.Enlighten those responsible for the common good, sothat they might know — like you do — how to care forthose entrusted to their responsibility.G ra n t intelligence of knowledge to those seeking ad-equate means for the health and physical well-being oftheir brothers and sisters.Sustain those who are spending themselves for those inneed, even at the cost of their own safety: volunteers,nurses, doctors who are on the front lines in curing thesick.Bless, St Joseph, the Church: beginning with her min-isters, make her the sign and instrument of your lightand your goodness.Ac c o m p a n y, O St Joseph, our families: with your prayer-ful silence, create harmony between parents and theirchildren, in a special way with the youngest.Preserve the elderly from loneliness: grant that no onemight be left in desperation from abandonment anddiscouragement.Comfort those who are the most frail, e n c o u ra g e thosewho falter, i n t e rc e d e for the poor.

With the Virgin Mother, beg the Lord to liberate theworld from every form of pandemic.

Amen.

Pope visits two pilgrimage sites in Rome: Saint Mary Major and San Marcello al Corso

Prayers for an end to the pandemic

On Sunday afternoon, 15 March, the Pope went onan unexpected pilgrimage to two places of symbol-ic importance for Rome: the Basilica of Saint MaryMajor and the Church of San Marcello al Corso,to pray for an end to the Covid-19 pandemic. Inboth places the Holy Father invoked the end of thepandemic that is striking Italy and the world andprayed for the healing of the numerous sick andfor the victims, asking for comfort for their families.

Pope Francis left the Vatican at around 4:00 pmand went to Saint Mary Major where he was wel-comed by the Archpriest Cardinal Stanisław Ryłkoand the Dominicans who preside liturgical celebra-tions at the Church. He then headed to the Ba-silica’s chapel where the icon of the Virgin, SalusPopuli Romani is kept. There the Holy Fatheroffered flowers to the Virgin, before praying in si-lence before the Marian image.

The Holy Father then proceeded on foot to theChurch of San Marcello in Rome’s city centre.After offering flowers, Pope Francis prayed at thefoot of the miraculous wooden Crucifix that hadbeen carried in procession through Rome’s streetsin 1522, to invoke an end to the great plague. Thiscrucifix remained intact even after a fire broke outin the Church. At about 5:30 pm, the Holy Fatherheaded back to the Vatican by car.

L’OSSERVATORE ROMANOWEEKLY EDITION

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page 2 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO Friday, 20 March 2020, number 12

VAT I C A NBULLETIN

AUDIENCES

Thursday, 12 March

Archbishop Giacomo Morandi, titu-lar Archbishop of Cerveteri, Secret-ary of the Congregation for theDoctrine of the FaithCardinal Francescco Coccopalmerio,President emeritus of the PontificalCouncil for Legislative TextsFr Roberto D. Dotta, OSB, Abbot ofSaint Paul Outside-the-WallsCardinal Stanisław Ryłko, Archpriestof the Papal Basilica of Saint MaryMajorCardinal Giovanni Battista Re,Dean of the College of CardinalsH.E. Mr Yoshio Mattew Nakamura,Ambassador of Japan, on a farewellvisitSaturday, 14 March

Cardinal Marc Ouellet, PSS, Prefectof the Congregation for BishopsCardinal Leonardo Sandri, Prefectof the Congregation for the OrientalC h u rc h e sArchbishop Santo Gangemi, titularArchbishop of Umbriatico, Apostol-

ic Nuncio of El Salvador; Holy Seeextra-regional Observer at the Cent-ral American Integration System

Sister Yvonne Reungoat, FMA, Su-perior General of the Daughters ofMary Help of Christians

Dr. Sir Ambrogio M. Piazzoni, VicePrefect of the Vatican Apostolic Lib-rary, with his wife, on a farewell visit

Monday, 16 March

Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, Pre-fect of the Dicastery for the Laity,Family and Life

Cardinal Beniamino Stella, Prefectof the Congregation for the Clergy

Mr Paolo Ruffini, Prefect of theDicastery for Communication

Cardinal Giuseppe Betori, Archbish-op of Florence, Italy

CHANGES IN EP I S C O PAT E

The Holy Father accepted the resig-nation of Archbishop Murilo Se-bastião Ramos Krieger, SCI, from hisoffice as Archbishop of São Sal-vador da Bahia, Brazil (11 Mar.).

The Holy Father appointed Cardin-al Sérgio da Rocha as MetropolitanArchbishop of São Salvador da

Bahia. Until now he has served asMetropolitan Archbishop of Brasília,Brazil (11 Mar.).The Holy Father accepted the resig-nation of Archbishop Basile MvéEngone, SDB, from his office asArchbishop of Libreville, Gabon (12M a r. ) .The Holy Father appointed BishopJean-Patrick Iba-Ba, as Archbishopof Lebreville. Until now he hasserved as Bishop of Franceville, Ga-bon (12 Mar.).The Holy Father appointed FrJoseph Mwongela as Bishop ofKitui, Kenya. Until now he hasserved as vicar general of the saidDiocese (17 Mar.).

Bishop-elect Mwongela, 51, wasborn in Kakumi, Kenya. He holds adoctorate in Dogmatic Theology. Hewas ordained a priest on 7 Septem-ber 1996.

Independent and professional MagistratesGIUSEPPE PI G N AT O N E

The meaning and aim of this new law on the judicialsystem are explained in the premises preceding the leg-al text, by the Supreme Pontiff himself, whom my col-leagues and I thank for his attention to justice relatedissues despite these dramatic times.

On the one hand, Pope Francis reiterates what hehas said other times, including most recently on theoccasion of the opening of the judicial year: that thejudicial power must be inspired in its activities by thecardinal virtue of justice, and that in order to achievethis result, both the “personal, generous and responsiblecommitment” of magistrates, and the presence of ad-equate institutions capable of ensuring efficiency andexpediency are indispensable.

On the other hand, the Pontiff emphasizes that thenew rules for the judicial system have become neces-sary due to numerous, important changes made from2000 on, and especially in 2013, with the Vatican CityState’s legislation regarding economic, financial andcriminal matters, also resulting from the adherence tomany international conventions. The Vatican Judiciaryis thus called today to apply extremely modern legisla-tion, and that is largely the result of globalization, butbased on codes dating back many decades. However,above all, the interpretation and implementation ofthese laws must respect the specificity of Vatican Lawwhich, as reiterated by Law n. LV V I of 1 October 2008regarding the sources of law, “recognises the canonicalsystem as the first source of legislation and the first cri-terion of interpretation”.

This reconciliation between old and modern consti-tutes the peculiar aspect of the current historical con-text, and is also another reason for our commitment asmagistrates. As we examine the key aspects of the newlaws, it should be highlighted that one of the criteriainspiring the new law is the conviction that the inde-pendence of magistrates and their professional capacityare indispensable conditions for obtaining those resultsof justice indicated by Pope Francis in his premises. Itis explicitly stated that magistrates, although depend-ent hierarchically on the Pontiff who appoints them,are subject only to the law in the exercise of their func-tion and that they exercise their authority impartially.Specific and rigorous professional requirements are

then indicated with the provision that judges of thefirst and second instance, and in part also the SupremeCourt, may be appointed university professors (em-ployed or retired) that is, jurists with a notable fame.Moreover, precisely in order to meet the diverse needsof the Vatican judicial system, albeit in a small state,on the one hand, experiences in civil, criminal and ad-ministrative matters are considered, and on the other,there is the requirement that at least one of the magis-trates of the offices of the first instance be an expert incanon and ecclesiastic law.

For the first time, specific norms are formulated forthe Office of the Promoter of Justice, thus making adistinction between the presiding magistrate and thepublic prosecutor, at the same time assuring the latterautonomy and independence in the exercise of his du-ties. Also with the aim of guaranteeing conditions ofindependence and efficiency, the organization of theadministrative staff is clearly defined, provision is madefor spending autonomy of the judicial offices and, forcases of the first instance, there be the presence of atleast one full-time judge.

The age limit is increased from 74 to 75, when theresignation letter must be handed in, which will be-come effective upon their acceptance by the Pontiff.

Another important change is the possibility that thePresident of the Supreme Court may add to the judi-cial bench — which is normally composed of three Car-dinals — two other judges appointed on the basis ofthe requirements mentioned above, “whenever this is re-quired due to the complexity of the case or to other reasonsof expediency that may arise”.

It is clear that this regulation is the result of anawareness of the growing technical complexity of pro-ceedings handled by the State and the willingness toensure in this way, the necessary technical and profes-sional capacity, also to the court of last instance. Thelast point which I would like to highlight is attentionto the right of defence that article 26 defines as “inviol-able in every state and level of the proceedings”, in linewith the principles of due process and the presumptionof innocence, already introduced in 2013 to the Codeof Criminal Procedures (Art. 350 bis).

In this context, a detailed regulation of the require-ments for registered lawyers and for possible disciplin-ary measure is foreseen.

Celebrations forHoly Week

Mr Matteo Bruni, Director ofthe Holy See’s Press Office,has announced that celebra-tions for Holy Week have allbeen confirmed and thatplans to implement them intoaction which respect the se-curity measures designed toavoid the spread of Covid-19,are currently being examined.These methods will be com-municated as soon as theyare determined. In any case,celebrations for Holy Weekand Easter will be transmit-ted live on radio and televi-sion throughout the worldand on streaming on VaticanNews and the images will bedistributed by Vatican Media.As announced last week, thePop e’s General Audiencesand Angelus will continue tobe available on live streaminguntil further notice.

number 12, Friday, 20 March 2020 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO page 3

Francis continues his catechesis on the Beatitudes and recalls the key word of his Pontificate

Ministry of mercy

“I remember that this theme was chosen for the first Angelus I recitedas Pope: mercy”. With his thoughts turned to the dawn of hisPontificate, on the eve of the seventh anniversary of the beginning of hisPetrine ministry, Pope Francis dedicated the General Audience onWednesday, 18 March, to the Fifth Beatitude. The following is atranslation of the Holy Father’s catechesis which he delivered on livestreaming from the Library of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,Good morning,Today we will consider the fifthBeatitude which says: “Blessedare the merciful for they shall ob-tain mercy” (Mt 5:7). There is apeculiar aspect to this beatitude.It is the only one in which thecause and the fruit of happinesscoincide: mercy. Those who showmercy will find mercy, they willbe “shown mercy”.

This theme of reciprocity offorgiveness is not found only inthis Beatitude, but is recurrentthroughout the Gospel. Howcould it be otherwise? Mercy isthe very heart of God! Jesus says:“Judge not, and you will not bejudged; condemn not, and youwill not be condemned; forgiveand you will be forgiven” (Lk6:37). It is always the same re-ciprocity. And the Letter of Jamesstates that “mercy triumphs overjudgment” (Jam 2:13).

But it is above all in the“Lord's Prayer” that we pray:“forgive us our debts as we alsohave forgiven our debtors” (Mt6:12); and this question is takenup again at the end: “For if youforgive men their trespasses, yourheavenly Father also will forgiveyou; but if you do not forgivemen their trespasses, neither willyour Father forgive your tres-passes (Mt 6:14-15; cf. Catechismof the Catholic Church, 2838).

There are two things that can-not be separated: forgivenessgranted and forgiveness received.However, many people struggle;they cannot forgive. Often theharm received is so great that be-ing able to forgive feels likeclimbing a very high mountain:an enormous effort; and onethinks: it cannot be done, thiscannot be done. This fact of thereciprocity of mercy shows thatwe have to overturn the perspect-ive. We cannot do this alone. Weneed God’s grace, we must askfor it. Indeed if the fifthBeatitude promises mercy, and inthe “Lord's Prayer” we ask for theforgiveness of debts, it means that

we are essentially debtors and weneed to find mercy!

We are all debtors. All of us.To God who is so generous andto our brothers and sisters. Every-one knows that he/she is not thefather or mother that he or sheshould be, the bride or groom,the brother or sister. We are all“in deficit” in life. And we needmercy. We know that we too havedone wrong. There is alwayssomething lacking in the goodthat we should have done.

However, our very poverty be-comes our strength to forgive! Weare debtors and if, as we heard atthe start, we shall be measuredwith the same measure withwhich we measure others (cf. Lk6:38), then it would suit us towiden our measure and to forgivedebts; to forgive. Each personshould remember that they needto forgive, they are in need of for-giveness and they need patience.This is the secret to mercy: by for-giving one is forgiven. Thus Godprecedes us and he forgives usfirst (cf. Rom 5:8). In receivinghis forgiveness, we too are cap-able of forgiving. One’s ownmisery and lack ofjustice therefore, be-come opportunities toopen oneself up to theKingdom of Heaven,to a greater measure,the measure of Godwho is mercy.

Where does ourmercy come from? Je-sus told us: “Be merci-ful, even as your Fatheris merciful” (Lk 6:36).The more one wel-comes the Father’slove, the more we canlove (cf. CCC 2842).Mercy is not a dimen-sion among others butrather the centre ofChristian life. There isno Christianity withoutmercy [Cf. Saint JohnPa u l II, EncyclicalDives in Misericordia(30 November 1980);Misericordae Vultus Bull(11 April 2015);

Apostolic Letter Misericordia etm i s e ra (20 November 2016)]. If allour Christianity does not lead usto mercy, then we have taken thewrong path because mercy is theonly true destination of all spir-itual journeys. It is one of themost beautiful fruits of mercy (cf.CCC 1829).

I remember that this theme waschosen for the first Angelus that Ihad to recite as Pope: mercy. Andthis has remained very much im-pressed on me, as a message thatI would always have to offer asPope, a message for everyday:mercy. I remember that on thatday I even had an attitude thatwas somewhat “brazen”, as if Iwere advertising a book aboutmercy that had just been pub-lished by Cardinal Kasper. Andon that day I felt very stronglythat this is the message that Imust offer as Bishop of Rome:mercy, mercy, please, forgiveness.

Go d’s mercy is our liberationand our happiness. We live ofmercy and we cannot afford to bewithout mercy. It is the air thatwe breathe. We are too poor toset any conditions. We need to

forgive because we need to beforgiven. Thank you!

SPECIAL GREETINGS

I greet the English-speakingfaithful joining us through themedia, as we continue on ourLenten journey towards Easter.Upon you and your families, I in-voke the strength and peace thatcome from our Lord Jesus Christ.May God bless you!

I offer a special greeting toyoung people, the e l d e rl y, the sickand newlyweds. Tomorrow we willcelebrate the Solemnity of SaintJoseph. In life, at work and with-in the family, through joys andsorrows, he always sought andloved the Lord, deserving theS c r i p t u re s ’ eulogy that describedhim as a just and wise man. Al-ways invoke him, especially indifficult times and entrust yourlife to this great Saint.

APPEAL

Next Friday and Saturday, 20-21 March, the “24 Hours for theL o rd ” initiative will take place. Itis an important Lenten appoint-ment of prayer and drawing near-er to the Sacrament of Reconcili-ation.

Unfortunately, in Rome, inItaly and in other countries, thisinitiative cannot take place in itscustomary manner due to thecoronavirus emergency. However,in all the other parts of the world,this beautiful tradition will con-tinue. I encourage the faithful todraw near to God’s mercy in con-fession in a sincere manner andto pray especially for those whoare being tested by the pandemic.

I am certain that in thoseplaces where the “24 Hours forthe Lord” cannot be celebrated,people will be able to live thispenitential moment through per-sonal prayers.

GENERAL AU D I E N C E

“Rest on the flight to Egypt” by Carlo Francesco Nuvolone

number 12, Friday, 20 March 2020 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO page 4/5

Softening the hardened heart

For a full lifethere is a need to open fossilized hearts,to untie them and thus receive the torrent of lovethat God pours onto every person every day

Scenes taken from the film“Babette’s Feast” by Gabriel Axel

While avoiding any comment ...they find the strength to overcome thedisagreements that divide them, andend up dancing all together holdinghands under the starry sky

Stéphane Audran in a scene from the film

ANDREA MONDA

In 1987, Babette’s Feast, a film scripted and direc-ted by Gabriel Axel, and based on Karen Blix-en’s short story of the same name, won theOscar for Best Foreign Film. Upon seeing thefilm, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was fascinated by it,to the point that he defined it as “one of my fa-vourite films” during an interview with SergioRubin and Francesca Ambrogetti in 2010. Thereis no need to be surprised at this because thisproduction can be defined as a “hymn tom e rc y ”.

The plot

The plot is apparently quite simple: two pioussisters, Marthine and Philippa (their names werein honour of Martin Luther and Philip Melanch-thon), daughters of a Protestant pastor, live aquiet life in a small village on the coast of Jut-land in Denmark. Their days are spent in serviceto the few people who were attached to their latefather — a handful of old people — who almostform a religious community. In their youth, bothMarthine and Philippa had been courted, butthey had refused these advances because of thepossibility of having to leave their father and hismission. In particular, Marthine who had been abeauty, but so unapproachable, that a gallantcavalry officer who had fallen in love with her,immediately realized, without her saying a word,that he could never win her hand; just as Phil-ippa, endowed with a beautiful voice, would notyield to her singing master’s courtship.

The two sisters/nuns live as consecrated vir-gins, as religious, and life becomes an almostmuseum-like preservation of memory and tradi-tion, but the more time passes, the more they be-come retrospective, and nostalgic, and regret setsin. The consequence is that the attempt to recov-er or preserve the original purity seems to be un-dermined by the subtle divisions that emerge

Naturally, the two sisters did not think thatthey or their community had any need of Ba-b ette’s services. After all, Babette was Frenchand presumably a Catholic — (a “papist”, as thesisters’ father had called Papin), and to whomshe was to all intents and purposes a pagan.What good could come from her? The pious sis-ters lived to serve, but they disregarded anythingthat had to do with being served. Nevertheless,the French woman settles in and earns everyone’sappreciation. Then, 14 years later Babette re-ceives 10,000 francs from Paris: from the win-nings of a lottery ticket. The two sisters thoughtthat Babette would use the money to return toFrance; instead, she asks if she may use themoney to prepare a meal in honour of thememory of their father, the pastor, on the cen-tenary of his birth. Though flattered by this ges-ture, Marthine and Philippa interpret the offerof the banquet as a threat to their quiet way oflife, and they ask the villagers to promise not tobreathe a word about food. Once again the twopious sisters are afraid of excessive joy.

Twelve guests arrive, and General LorensLowenhielm, the gallant cavalry officer who hadcourted Marthine in her youth, is amongst them.The delicious food, the atmosphere, and the lovewith which the dishes have been prepared by Ba-bette, help everyone to feel jovial and happy.

While memories of the past resurface, thesplendid quails en sarcophage are served. The

General then recounts the story of the CaféAn g l a i s in Paris, where a female chef used tocook, and who later disappeared without trace: aperson who managed to turn a banquet “into alove affair” with her sublime cuisine. The diners,who were unaccustomed to a life with suchpleasures, are completely seduced and inebriatedby the meal; for it was she who had been thechef at the Café Anglais, but her diners had noway of knowing this. Babette had wanted to or-ganize the meal in order to express her artistictalent once again.

While avoiding any comment about the foodand evading the General’s enthusiastic com-ments, they find the strength to overcome thedisagreements that divide them, and end up dan-cing all together holding hands under the starrysky before heading home.

At the moment of the final toast, the Generaltakes the floor and quotes Psalm 85[84]:11-12:“Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; right-eousness and peace will kiss each other. Faithful-ness will spring up from the ground, and right-eousness will look down from the sky”, which af-firms that “in our human weakness and short-sightedness, we believe that we must choose ourway, in life. And we tremble at the risk we run.We are afraid. But no, our choice is not import-ant. The day comes when we open our eyes andsee and understand that God’s grace is infinite,we just have to wait for it with confidence and

welcome it with gratitude. God does not set con-ditions, He does not prefer one of us to anotherand what we have chosen is given to us and, atthe same time, what we have refused is grantedto us. For mercy and truth have met, righteous-ness and happiness have kissed each other”.

Love and Fear

It is no wonder that the story of Babette’smagnificent meal is, therefore, so loved by apriest who chose miserando atque eligendo as hisepiscopal motto. And, once elected Pope,placed mercy at the focal point of his preaching.Jorge Bergoglio himself, during a trip to Ger-many in the 1980s, discovered the image of theso-called Knotenloeserin Madonna — the “MaryUntier of Knots” — which he brought back toArgentina in various reproductions and is nowthe object of intense popular veneration inBuenos Aires. For a full life there is a need toopen fossilized hearts, to untie them and thusreceive the torrent of love that God pours ontoevery person every day.

In an interview in 2010, the then cardinalstressed that “the characters [of Babette’s feast]are people who live a form of exaggerated purit-an Calvinism, to the point where they experiencethe redemption of Christ as a negation of thethings of this world. When the novelty of free-

to us…. It is our joy, it is our freedom. We arefree. Why? Because we live under grace. We areno longer slaves of the Law: we are free, becauseJesus Christ has liberated us, he gave us free-dom, the full freedom of God’s children, whichwe live under grace. This is a treasure.… Thegrace of Jesus Christ saves us from sin: it savesus! If we — all of us — accept the grace of JesusChrist he changes our heart and from sinnersmakes us saints. To become holy we do not needto turn our eyes up and look somewhere else, orhave as it were the face on a holy card!”.

In short, it is not necessary to be pious and tobe good people — akin to Marthine and Phil-ippa at the beginning of the film, because, as thePope continues: “To become saints only onething is necessary: to accept the grace which theFather gives us in Jesus Christ. There, this gracechanges our heart. We continue to be sinners forwe are weak, but with this grace which makes usfeel that the Lord is good, that the Lord is mer-ciful, that the Lord waits for us, that the Lordpardons us, this immense grace that changes ourheart”. And Grace is just like Babette’s gesture,which was free, and of pure oblation. On this,Pope Francis is sweetly severe: “Listen to thiscarefully: grace is neither bought nor sold; it is agift of God in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ gives usgrace. He is the only one who gives us grace. Itis a present: he is offering it to us, to us. Let usaccept it. This is beautiful. Jesus’ love is likethis: he gives us grace freely, he freely gives it tous. And we must give it freely to our brothersand sisters. It is a little sad when one meetssome who sell grace: in the history of theChurch this has sometimes happened, and it didsuch harm, such harm. However, grace cannotbe sold: you receive it freely and give it freely.And this is the grace of Jesus Christ.... We havereceived this freely, this grace, freely; we mustgive it freely. And this is what, in the end, I wantto tell you. Do not be afraid, do not be afraid.Do not be afraid of love, of the love of God ourFather. Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid to re-ceive the grace of Jesus Christ, do not be afraidof our freedom which is given by the grace of Je-sus Christ”.

within the community. In fact, after the pastor’sdeath, having neither liturgy nor sacraments, foreverything had been focused on his preaching,without him, the religious belief of this smallcommunity becomes abstract and remote, aseries of fragile rules, rather than a lived faith.

In this context, Babette — a refugee from theCommune of Paris insurrection in 1871 — unex-pectedly arrives bringing a letter of introductionfrom Monsieur Papin Babette, Philippa’s singingteacher. In the letter he appeals to the sisters’good hearts, and asks that Babette may be givena room, in return for her services.

Bab ette’s great feast,therefore, represents anexplosion of Grace, aneruption of the Vivify-ing Spirit in a humannucleus that was bynow completely at-ro p h i e d .

But for she who hadarranged it, Babette, ithad the intense savourof a sacrifice and oftotal oblation. Because to buy the ingredients,the drinks, the crystal glasses and table settingswithout telling anyone she had spent all her win-nings. Once again Babette is poor, remains inDenmark; after all, as she pointed out to the twosisters when all the guests had left unaware ofher true identity, “an artist is never poor”. As thecritic Beppe Musicco remarked, “we could saythat Babette’s meal is a quiet celebration of aGrace that comes at every moment and redeemsmistakes, sacrifices and defeats. And whateverhas been abandoned or lost is returned in over-abundance”.

dom arrives in the formof an abundant meal,they are all trans-formed. In truth, thiscommunity didn’t knowwhat happiness was.They lived their livescrushed by pain. Theywere devoted to thegray side of life. Theyfeared love”.

The real enemy oflove is without doubt Fear. This theme is dear toJorge Mario Bergoglio. Three years later, on 17June 2013, while inaugurating the ecclesial con-ference of his diocese as Bishop of Rome, thePope was even more decisive and started fromPa u l ’s Letter to the Romans to emphasize thisverse: “Since you are not under law but undergrace” (which could have been the subtitle ofGabriel Axel’s film). During the inaugurationthe Pope said that the life of Christians means;“walking under grace, because the Lord hasloved us, has saved us, has forgiven us … thisopens us toward a wide horizon and this is a joy

‘Bab ette’s Feast’: one of Pope Francis favourite films

page 6 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO Friday, 20 March 2020, number 12

Tuesday, 4 February

Experiencing God’s lovefor us

During his homily for Mass at Santa Martaon Tuesday, 4 February, Pope Francis drew aparallel between David’s sorrow at the deathof his son Absalom and God’s love for us.The Reading from the Second Book ofSamuel narrates the account of Absalom whohad waged war against David in order to re-place him and of David’s anguish at his son’sdeath: “My son Absalom! If only I had diedinstead of you!”. Those who were with himwere amazed at his reaction. “But why areyou weeping? This person was against you, hehad denied you”, they said. David’s weepingis a historic fact, but it is also a prophecy,”the Holy Father explained. “It makes us seeGo d’s heart, what God does when we turnaway from him”. And he continued, “TheLord is a Father, and he never denies this pa-ternity”.

Pope Francis pointed out that it is duringconfession that we encounter God’s weeping.

humble path, he is not a disciple of Jesus”but “a climber in a cassock”.

Thursday, 13 February

Beware of sliding into worldliness

During his homily celebrated at Santa Martaon Thursday, 13 February, Pope Francis spokeof King Solomon’s apostasy in his elderly ageand warned the faithful against letting theirhearts wander in a similar way. Reflecting onthe day’s Reading (Kings 11:4-13) which re-counts that when Solomon was old and “hiswives turned away his heart after other gods”(v. 4). Kind Solomon began as a “good boy”who asked the Lord for wisdom and receivedit. But Solomon’s heart became weak becausehe allowed his wives who served other gods,to convince him to adore their idols.

“His was not an apostasy from one day tothe next”, Pope Francis pointed out aboutSolomon. He slid into sin. The Lord rebukedSolomon for being led astray: “You turnedaway your heart”. This also occurs in our

after 40 years of service at Casa Santa Martaand who was present at the Mass. Indeed,families are not only made up of father, moth-er, brothers, sisters and grandparents, butrather also of the larger family of those whoaccompany us for some time such as in theworkplace or in our studies. Pope Franciscompared Casa Santa Marta where he lives toa large family. Families, he said, are peoplewho accompany us on our life journey andwhose smiles ad greetings are like seeds thatare sown in our hearts. The Lord, he pointedout, wants us to be in company, not alone.

Referring to Casa Santa Marta as an ex-ample, Pope Francis said that every name, is apresence, a history, a short stay and leaves amark like Luisa, Cristina and the grandmoth-er of the house and Sister Maria who joinedwhen she was very young and decided to con-secrate herself there. He also mentioned Mari-an who left with her child and Elvira, an ex-ample of struggle in life, adding that it wasdifficult to forget others who had retired ormoved elsewhere. It would do us good, theHoly Father suggested, for us to spend sometime today gratefully remembering those whoaccompanied us on our life path and in gratit-ude to God for not leaving us alone.

Pope Francis did not fail to mention theproblems that always arise when people areinvolved, including families. However, sin, pa-tience and apologies for failings are all part offamilies. Offering Patrizia’s farewell as an op-portunity to remember, thank and apologize,he urged everyone to do the same for thosewho accompany us. The Pope’s homily con-cluded with a big thank you to those whowork at Casa Santa Marta and best wishes ofanother 40 years to Patrizia.

Tuesday, 18 February

Open our hearts to compassion

Reflecting on the day’s Gospel passage fromMark in which Jesus rebukes the disciples fortheir hardened hearts as they worry over theshortage of bread, during his homily for HolyMass at Santa Marta on Tuesday, 18 February,Pope Francis spoke about hearts that have be-come hardened. “Have you eyes and cannotsee, have you ears and cannot hear?”, Jesusasks the disciples as he reminds them of themiracle of the multiplication of the loaves.The Lord wants us to have a compassionateheart like his. He wants mercy, not sacrifice.Indeed, the Holy Father stressed, a heartwithout compassion is an idolatrous and self-sufficient heart that is sustained by its ownselfishness and becomes strong only withideologies. He gave the example of the Phar-isees, the Sadducees, the Essenes and theZealots whose hearts had become hardened infulfilling a project which was not of God as itlacked compassion.

Memory is like a medicine against ahardened heart, Pope Francis continued. It isa grace that “keeps hearts open and faithful”.When hearts become hardened, he explained,one forgets about the grace of salvation andgratuitousness and we are led to quarrel, warand selfishness. Indeed, he stressed God’sgreatest message of salvation is God’s com-passion for us, as the Gospel often repeats.“Jesus is the compassion of the Father” andhe is the “slap to every hardness of heart”.

We shall be judged on our compassion forothers at the Last Judgment, not on our ideo-logies. Humility, the memory of our roots andour salvation will help us to be compassion-ate. Because we all have something that ishardened within our hearts, we should ask theLord to give us a righteous and sincere heart.The Pope concluded by reminding the faith-ful that the Lord cannot enter hardened andideological hearts but only hearts that areopen and compassionate like his.

Indeed, Confession is like “going to the Fath-er who weeps for me, precisely because he is aFa t h e r ”. Through David’s sorrow which madehim wish he had died instead of his sonAbsalom, we can gain insight into what Goddid for us. “In Jesus, God dies in our place”.

“It would be good in the difficult momentsin our lives ... in moments of sin, in momentswhen we feel far away from God, to hear hisvoice in our hearts”, reminding us that Jesusdied for us. Just as Jesus wept over Jerusalem,he continues to weep for us when “we do notlet him love us”, the Pope said. The HolyFather concluded his homily by inviting thefaithful to listen to God’s voice in times oftemptation and sin.

Friday, 7 February

There is no humility withouthumiliation

The Holy Father invited the faithful gatheredat Santa Marta for Holy Mass not to “beafraid of humiliation” as this is the path indic-ated to us by Jesus and John the Baptist. Ashe reflected on the day’s Gospel Readingfrom Mark which narrates the beheading ofJohn the Baptist, the Pope explained thatJohn’s task had been “to show the way of Je-sus”, bearing witness to the path chosen byGod for our salvation, hence the path of hu-miliation. Jesus himself had humiliated him-self unto death on the Cross. Both Jesus andJohn had been tempted by the temptation ofvanity and pride and while suffering from akind of “human and spiritual depression”,they both ended “in the most humiliatingway”.

“The path of humiliation chosen by Jesusand John the Baptist is the path that Christi-ans should follow”, Pope Francis said. Onecannot be “humble without humiliation”, hestressed. When we try to draw attention toourselves in the Church and in the com-munity in order to gain a position, we are be-having in a worldly way. This “temptation toclimb” can also happen to priests and this in-tolerance, he continued, and this cannot betolerated. “If a shepherd does not follow the

lives. Most of us do not commit great sins butthe danger lies in “letting ourselves slideslowly, because it is an anaesthetized fall”.Without realizing it, things become relativizedand we lose our faithfulness to God. How“often we forget the Lord and begin to dealwith other gods” such as money, vanity andpride!

“For us”, the Pope explained, “this slipperyslide in life is directed towards worldliness”believing it is alright because “everyone is do-ing it”. As we justify ourselves in this way, welose our faithfulness to God and embracemodern idols. “Let us consider this sin ofworldliness, of losing the authenticity of theGospel, the authenticity of the Word ofGo d”.

At the end of his homily, Pope Francisasked the Lord “for the grace to understandwhen our heart begins to weaken and to slide,so that we can stop”.

Friday, 14 February

Cherish those who accompanyus in life

During his homily for Mass at Santa Marta,on Friday, 14 February, Pope Francis spokeabout the importance of families as he wel-comed Patrizia, an employee who was retiring

Morning Mass at the DomusSanctae Marthae

CONTINUED ON PA G E 7

number 12, Friday, 20 March 2020 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO page 7

Scaffolding erected for the restoration of the drum

Saint Peter’s majestic dome

Mass at the Domus Sanctae Marthae

Thursday, 20 February

Accepting Jesuseven to the Cross

Reflecting on the day’s Gospel onThursday, 20 February, Pope Francisurged the faithful to get to know Je-sus. He identified three steps to helpus learn who Jesus truly is: to know,to witness and to accept the pathGod has chosen for him. KnowingJesus, he explained, means readingthe Gospel, taking children to cat-echesis and attending Mass. To wit-ness Jesus, the Holy Father contin-ued, means to publicly acknowledgehim. In order to do so we need thepower of God and of the Holy Spir-it as we cannot do this on our own.To accept Jesus means to askourselves what is the purpose of Je-sus’ life; Why did he come?

“Witnessing to Jesus is bearingwitness to his death, his Resurrec-tion”, the Holy Father pointed out.It does not mean simply proclaim-ing: “You are God” and stoppingthere. It “means accepting the paththat the Father chose for him: humi-liation”. If we do not accept thispath, he added, then we are not be-ing Christian and “we deserve whatJesus said to Peter: ‘Get behind me,Satan!’.

Satan, Pope Francis pointed out,knows very well that Jesus is the sonof God, but Jesus “refuses to accepthis ‘witness’ in the same way that hedistances Peter when he rejects thepath chosen by Jesus. The Churchtoo makes a mistake when she doesnot follow his path and becomesworldly. The Holy Father concludedhis homily by inviting the faithful toask for the grace of being consistentas Christians and to follow Jesus onhis way to the Cross.

Tuesday, 25 February

Service is the measure ofgreatness in the Church

During his homily for Holy Mass atSanta Marta on Tuesday, 25 Febru-ary, the Holy Father commented onthe day’s Gospel in which Jesus tellshis disciples that “If anyone wishesto be first, he shall be the last of alland the servant of all”. When wemake compromises in trying to liveaccording to the Gospel, we absorbthe spirit of the world which leadsus to dominate, he explained.However, Jesus wants us to followthe path of service.

The attitude of personal ambitionof the disciples and their desire toadvance is the spirit of the world. AsSaint James writes in the day’s FirstReading, the Holy Father contin-ued: “to be a lover of the worldmeans enmity with God”. Indeed,“there are no compromises in the

Gospel and when someone wants tolive in the Gospel while makingcompromises, they ultimately findthemselves with the worldly spirit”.

Many wars and quarrels are pre-cisely the result of worldly desires,the Pope explained, comparingthose infected with worldliness tocareerists who strive for greater re-cognition. Their envy comes fromthe devil and it is through this envyof the devil that “evil enters into theworld. Envy is a worm that pushesyou to destroy, to badmouth others,to annihilate others”, he added.

The greatest in the Church arenot the Pope, bishops or cardinals,the Pope stressed, but rather “thosewho make themselves servants of all,those who serve everyone, not thosewith titles”. It is “whoever welcomesthe humblest one, the one whoserves the most”. Humility, he said,“is the only path against the spirit ofthe world”.

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NICOLA GORI

For some time now, an imposing scaffolding hasbeen mounted around Saint Peter’s majesticdome. The first phase of a significant restoration,part of a major conservation project of the drum,is underway. This intervention has been made ne-cessary by the deteriorating state of conservationof the stone surface. Luca Virgilio, the Fabric ofSaint Peter’s architect, and who was also respons-ible for the restoration of the external façade ofthe Basilica and the so-called minor domes, hashere provided details of what is happening onsite. The restoration of Saint Peter’s great dome,in particular the drum, began on 2 September2019 with the assembly of the scaffolding. Thedrum is characterized “by the presence of sixteenbuttresses that punctuate the entire architecturalsurface”.

The intervention, “is divided into two largelots, each of which includes eight sectors of thed ru m ” explains the architect. The restorationcommenced with the front part of the building —the one that looks onto the square —, so it couldbe the first to be dismantled and permit pilgrimsand visitors to “appreciate the main façade of thedome in its newfound integrity and in its originalwhiteness”.

The project will require four years of work ifthere no unforeseen circumstances. The first twoyears will be dedicated to the first lot, which in-cludes eight panels and eight buttresses. Thesecond lot, to fix the eight buttresses and eightpanels, will also require two years. The two lotscombined, Virgilio notes, and the restoration ofall the external elevations of the Basilica will thenhave been completed. In fact, the façade was re-stored to coincide with the Jubilee in 2000. In2007, the restoration of the external elevationsbegan, and successively the two smaller domes —the Gregorian and the Clementine —, “for a totalarea of over 35,000 square meters”. This presentintervention represents, therefore, the final stageand concerns the restoration of the drum of SaintPe t e r ’s dome.

To get an idea of the total size of the surfaceconcerned, the drum “develops over a total areaof 8,900 square meters of travertine, including thearchitectural overhangs and the surface of the six-teen buttresses, while the protruding part of thedrum develops over a surface of 440 square

meters of exposed brick masonry”. The overallheight of the drum “is 36.63 meters, the circum-ference at the base of the columns of the but-tresses is 168 meters; which at the base of the win-dows is 153 meters”. These imposing dimensionsfor these interventions are therefore significantand a continuation of the previous restoration ofthe side elevations of the Basilica itself and theGregorian and Clementine domes, which beganin April 2007. The smaller domes, the architectpoints out, are “almost identical in shape and sur-face, [and] have a surface of 1,345 square meterseach”.

This project “was founded and developed withthe intention of satisfying both aesthetic andfunctional needs”. In fact, if one of the objectiveswas “to restore the ancient splendor to the com-plex architectural structure of the Basilica, on theother hand there is a need to restore the mechan-ical characteristics of efficiency and safety of thestone which makes up the architectural elements”.

In order to better understand the size of thebuilding site and the complexity of the entiremechanism that was set in motion for a successfuloutcome, it should be considered that “the overallsurface area of the drum is more than two thou-sand square meters larger than the entire façade,

which develops over a total surface area of seventhousand square meters of travertine”. In particu-lar, it was necessary to assemble an imposing met-al scaffolding to carry out the restoration work.This scaffolding, “from the floor level of the ter-race, which is about 43 meters above the groundfloor of the Basilica, will make it possible to reachthe highest level of the building to be restoredwhich is about 80 meters up, and corresponds tothe so-called “giro dei monti” [tour of the moun-tains] above the attic of the dome’s drum”.

From a technical point of view, Virgilio contin-ues, the project includes diagnostic investigationsand the realization of a survey carried out with alaser-scanner. This survey “serves to better under-stand the complex architectural structure de-signed by Michelangelo and Giacomo DellaPorta”. This elaboration “summarizes all the in-formation regarding the state of conservation ofthe materials and the different types of chemical,physical and mechanical deterioration and altera-tion, that are present on the stone”. In addition,on the relief are made “graphs are illustrated,through a record of all the restoration work car-ried out over time”. The project also includes thestudy of stone fragments, stucco-work and partic-ulate deposits, the revision of the lightning pro-tection system and, finally, the cleaning, and theconsolidation and protection of the stone facings.

To sum up, the cleaning, consolidation andprotection are the three main aspects of the inter-ventions aimed at safeguarding this part of thebuilding and delaying the degradation process. Interms of modern restoration, any solution adop-ted in relation to an intervention, as the architectunderlines, “must respect the principle of distinct-iveness and reversibility of the intervention itself”.The restoration of the drum must guarantee “areading of what has happened over its four cen-turies of history, from the effects that the passageof time has produced on the material to whathappened on the day the ashlars were laid”. ForSaint Peter’s, the “cleaning of the stone façaderepresents the principal aim of the restorationwork”; the calibrated choice of the “degree it iscleaned”, without “completely whitening the stonesurface, so as to preserve the precious ‘historicalpatina’ on the building, [and which] constitutesthe highpoint of the whole intervention, becausefrom it the ‘new look’ will appear to our eyesonce the restoration is completed”.

page 8 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO Friday, 20 March 2020, number 12

ANGELUS

At the Angelus on Sunday, 15 March, Pope Francis thankedpriests, who at this time of pandemic, are not behaving like thecharacter Don Abbondio from Th e B e t ro t h e d , but rather aretrying to be close to the people in thousands of ways, throughtheir creativity. His words, which were live streamed from theLibrary of the Apostolic Palace, were a reflection on the Gospelpassage of John on the Samaritan woman. The following is atranslation of the Pope’s remarks which he delivered in Italian.

Thank you to priests who are close to the peopleMarian prayer from the Library of the Vatican Apostolic Palace

Dear Brothers and Sisters,Good Morning!At this moment the Mass for thesick, doctors, nurses and volun-teers, that is being celebrated bythe Archbishop [Mario Delpini]in Milan’s Policlinico (hospital) iscoming to an end. The Archbish-op is close to his people and alsoclose to God in prayer. Lastweek’s photograph of him aloneon the roof of the Duomo, pray-ing to Our Lady comes to mind.I would also like to thank all thepriests, the creativity of priests. Alot of news of this creativity hasbeen reaching me from the Re-gion of Lombardy. It is true thatLombardy has been highly af-fected. There are priests whothink of thousands of ways to beclose to the people, so that thepeople do not feel abandoned;priests with apostolic zeal, whohave fully understood that duringthis time of pandemic, one mustnot be like “Don Abbondio”(character from Th e B e t ro t h e d ).Many thanks to you priests.

The Gospel passage fromtoday, the Third Sunday of Lent,tells us of Jesus’ meeting with aSamaritan woman (cf. Jn 4:5-42).He is on a journey with his dis-

and who is saying to you, ‘Giveme a drink’, you would haveasked him and he would havegiven you living water” (v. 10).

Wa t e r is the focus of this dia-logue. On the one hand, water isan essential element that slakesthe body’s thirst and sustains life.On the other, water is a symbolof divine grace that gives eternallife. In the biblical tradition Godis the source of living water: as itsays in Psalms and in the Proph-ets: distancing oneself from God,the source of living water, andfrom his Law, leads to the worstdrought. This is the experience ofthe People of Israel in the desert.During their long journey to free-dom, as they were dying of thirst,they cried out against Moses andagainst God because there was nowater. Thus, God willed Moses tomake water flow from a rock, as asign of the Providence of God,accompanying his people andgiving them life (cf. Ex 17:1-7).

The Apostle Paul, too, inter-prets that rock as a symbol ofChrist. He says: “And that rockwas Christ” (cf. 1 Cor 10:4). It isthe mysterious figure of his pres-ence in the midst of the People ofGod on their journey. Christ, infact, is the Temple from which,

according to the prophets, flowsthe Holy Spirit, the living waterwhich purifies and gives life.Whoever thirsts for salvation candraw freely from Jesus, and theSpirit will become a wellspring offull and eternal life in him/her.The promise of living water thatJesus made to the Samaritan wo-man becomes a reality in his Pas-sion: from his pierced side flowed“blood and water” (Jn 19:34).Christ, the Lamb, immolated andrisen, is the wellspring fromwhich flows the Holy Spirit whoremits sins and regenerates newlife.

This gift is also the source ofwitness. Like the Samaritan wo-man, whoever personally encoun-ters the living Jesus feels the needto talk about him to others, sothat everyone might reach thepoint of proclaiming that Jesus“is truly the saviour of the world”(Jn 4:42), as the woman’s fellowtownspeople later said. Generatedto new life through Baptism, wetoo are called to witness the lifeand hope that are within us. Ifour quest and our thirst are thor-oughly quenched in Christ, wewill manifest that salvation is notfound in the “things” of thisworld, which ultimately produce

drought, but in he who has lovedus and will always love us: Jesus,our Saviour, in the living water,that he offers us.

May Mary, Most Holy, help usnourish a desire for Christ, fontof living water, the only one whocan satisfy the thirst for life andlove that we bear in our hearts.

After the Angelus, the Holy Fathercontinued:

Dear brothers and sisters, SaintPe t e r ’s Square is closed duringthese days. Therefore, my greet-ings go directly to you who areconnected through the means ofcommunications. In this time ofpandemic in which we findourselves living more or less isol-ated, we are invited to rediscoverand deepen the value of commu-nion that unites all members ofthe Church. United to Christ weare never alone, but rather, weform one sole Body, with he isthe head. It is a union that isnourished by prayer and by spir-itual communion in the Euchar-ist, a practice that is highly re-commended when it is not pos-sible to receive the Sacrament. Isay this to everyone, especially tothose who live alone.

I renew my closeness to all thesick and those caring for them.This extends to all the caregiversand volunteers who help thosewho cannot leave their homes,and those who are meeting theneeds of the poorest and thehomeless.

Thank you so much for all theeffort that each of you is makingto help during this difficult time.May the Lord bless you. MayOur Lady keep you; and pleasedo not forget to pray for me.Have a nice Sunday. Enjoy yourlunch! Thank you.

ciples and takes a breaknear a well in Samaria.The Samaritans wereconsidered heretics bythe Jews, and were verymuch despised assecond-class citizens. Je-sus is tired, thirsty. A wo-man arrives to draw wa-ter and he says to her:“Give me a drink” (v. 7).Breaking every barrier,he begins a dialogue inwhich he reveals to thewoman the mystery of liv-ing water, that is, of theHoly Spirit, God’s gift.Indeed, in response tothe woman’s surprised re-action, Jesus says: “Ifyou knew the gift of God