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Fifty-third year, number 18 (2.645) Vatican City Friday, 1 May 2020

The beauty ofThe beauty ofpraying the Rosary at homepraying the Rosary at home

LETTER TO THE FAITHFUL FOR THE MONTH OF MAY

General Audience

Stop persecutions

PAGE 3

Regina Caeli

Sunday’s meditation

PAGE 8

Interview with Hon. Sassoli

Europe, concrete actions

MONDA ON PA G E 4/5

Order of Malta Grand Master dies

Holy Father’s telegram

PAGE 2

For the Pope’s words, see page 7

L’OSSERVATORE ROMANOWEEKLY EDITION

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page 2 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO Friday, 1 May 2020, number 18

VAT I C A NBULLETIN

AUDIENCES

Friday, 24 April

Cardinal Marc Ouellet, PSS, Prefectof the Congregation for Bishops

Cardinal Luis Francisco Ladaria Fer-rer, S J, Prefect of the Congergationfor the Doctrine of the Faith

Cardinal Luis Antonio G. Tagle,Prefect of the Congregation for theEvangelization of Peoples

CHANGES IN EP I S C O PAT E

The Holy Father accepted the resig-nation of Bishop Héctor Salah Zu-leta from his office as Bishop of Ri-ohacha, Colombia (22 Apr.).

The Holy Father appointed BishopFrancisco Antonio Ceballos Escobar,CSSR, as Bishop of Riohacha. Untilnow he has served as titular Bishop

of Zarna and Vicar Apostolic of Pu-erto Carreño, Colombia (22 Apr.).

Bishop Ceballos Escobar, 62, wasborn in Génova, Colombia. He wasordained a priest on 29 June 1985.He was ordained a bishop on 30July 2010, subsequent to his ap-pointment as vicar apostolic of Pu-erto Carreño and titular Bishop ofZarna.

The Holy Father has accepted theresignation of Cardinal RubénSalazar Gómez from his office asMetropolitan Archbishop of Bogotá,Colombia (25 Apr.).The Holy Father appointed Arch-bishop Luis José Rueda Aparicio asArchbishop of Bogotá. Until now hehas served as Archbishop of Popay-án, Colombia (25 Apr.).

Archbishop Rueda Aparicio, 58,was born in San Gil, Colombia. Hewas ordained a priest on 23 Novem-

ber 1989. He was ordained a bishopon 14 April 2012, subsequent to hisappointment as Bishop of Mon-telibano, Colombia. On 19 May 2018he was appointed Archbishop ofPopayán, Colombia.

The Holy Father accepted the resig-nation of Archbishop Paul K. Baky-enga from his office as Archbishopof Mbarara, Uganda (25 Apr.).

The Holy Father appointed BishopLambert Bainomugisha as Archbish-op of Mbarara. Until now he has

served as Auxiliary Bishop of thesame archdiocese (25 Apr.).

Archbishop Bainomugisha, 58,was born in Kashumba, Uganda.He was ordained a priest on 13 July1991. He was ordained a bishop on1 October 2005, subsequent to hisappointment as titular Bishop ofTacia Montana and Auxiliary ofMbarara.

RE L AT I O N S WITH STAT E S

The Holy Father appointed asApostolic Nuncio in Niger Arch-bishop Michael Francis Crotty, titu-lar Archbishop of Lindisfarna andApostolic Nuncio in Burkina Faso(25 Apr.).

Pontiff’s Letter to street newspapers

I know you will come backstronger than before

Pope Francis institutes theJohn Paul I Vatican Foundation

The Holy Father, with the Rescriptum ex audientia Ss.mi of 17 February2020, has instituted the John Paul I Vatican Foundation, in accordancewith the Code of Canon Law and the fundamental Law of the VaticanCity State, thus accepting the proposal to create a body so as to study indepth the person, thought and teachings of his venerable Predecessor,Pope John Paul I — Albino Luciani (26 August 1978 - 28 September 1978)— and to promote the study and dissemination of his writings.

At the same time, the Supreme Pontiff appointed Cardinal Pietro Pa-rolin, Secretary of State, as President of the Foundation (28 Apr.).

Pope sends condolences to the Order of Malta

Fr a ’ Giacomo Dalla Torredel Tempio di Sanguinetto dies

The Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta Fra’Giacomo Dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto died just aftermidnight on 29 April in Rome, at the age of 75. After learning ofthe Grand Master’s passing, Pope Francis addressed a telegram toLieutenant ad interim Fra’ Ruy Gonçalo do Valle Peixoto de VillasBoas. The following is a translation of the Pope’s telegram.

Having learnt the news of the passing of His Most EminentHighness Frà Giacomo Dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto,Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, I wishto express my deepest condolences to the entire order. A zealousman of culture and of faith I recall his total fidelity to Christand to the Gospel, and his generous commitment in carrying outhis office with a spirit of service for the good of the Church, aswell as his dedication to those who are suffering the most.

As I participate in your communal grief, I raise prayers of suf-frage and I invoke the Divine Goodness for his soul and eternalpeace. With these sentiments, I wholeheartedly send to you andto the Grand Magistry, as well as to the family members of thelate Grand Master, my comforting Apostolic Blessing.

FRANCISCUS P P.

In a letter on Monday, 27 April, theHoly Father expressed his solidarity toall those involved in street newspaperswho have been put to the test in thesedifficult times of pandemic. Thefollowing is a translation of his letter.

The lives of millions of people, whoare already facing numerous difficultchallenges in our world and are op-pressed by the pandemic, havechanged and are being seriouslytested. Those most vulnerable, theinvisible, those without an aboderun the risk of paying the highestprice.

I would therefore like to acknow-ledge the world of street newspa-pers, and especially their vendors,who are largely homeless, terriblymarginalized and unemployed: thou-sands of people across the worldwho live and have a job thanks toselling these extraordinary newspa-p ers.

In Italy, I think of the beautifulexperience of the Caritas projectScarp de’ tenis, which allows morethan 130 people facing difficulties tohave an income; and through it, to

access fundamental citizens’ rights.And not only that. I also think ofthe experience of more than 100street newspapers throughout theworld, published in 35 countries andin 25 different languages, thatprovide employment and an incometo 20,500 homeless people in theworld. For many weeks now, streetnewspapers have not been sold andtheir vendors cannot work. I wouldlike therefore to express my solidar-ity with journalists, volunteers, andpeople living thanks to these pro-jects who are doing everything theycan these days through many innov-ative ideas.

The pandemic has made yourwork difficult but I am sure that thegreat network of street newspaperswill come back stronger than ever.Turning our gaze to the poorestthese days can help us all realizehow much is actually happening tous, and what our condition truly is.My message of encouragement andbrotherly friendship goes out to youall. Thank you for the work you do,for the information you provide, andfor the stories of hope that you tell.

number 18, Friday, 1 May 2020 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO page 3

Pope concludes his series of catecheses on the Beatitudes and recalls today’s many martyrs

Stop persecution of Christians in the world

Pope Francis concluded his series of catecheses on the Beatitudes at theGeneral Audience on Wednesday morning, 29 April, and invited thefaithful to pray for the many Christians who are currently beingpersecuted throughout the world for “they are the bleeding limbs ofChrist”. The following is a translation of his reflection on the eighthBeatitude (“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven), which he offered in Italianfrom the library of the Apostolic Palace.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,Good Morning,With today’s audience, we con-clude our journey into the evan-gelical Beatitudes. As we haveheard, the last one proclaims theescatological joy of those perse-cuted for righteousness’ sake.This Beatitude announces thesame happiness as the first one:the Kingdom of Heaven belongsto the persecuted as it does to thepoor in spirit. We thus under-stand that we have reached theend of our joint journey revealedin the previous proclamations.

The poor in spirit, those whomourn, the meek, those whothirst for holiness, mercy, the purein heart and peacemakers maylead to persecution because ofChrist. However, ultimately thispersecution is a cause of joy andof great reward in heaven. Theway of the Beatitudes is an Easterpath that leads us from a life inaccord with the world to one ofGod, from a life led by the flesh— that is by selfishness — to oneguided by the Spirit.

With its idols, its compromisesand its priorities, the world can-not accept this kind of life. The“structures of sin”1 that are oftenproduced by the human mind,and are extraneous to the Spiritof truth that the world cannot re-ceive, (cf. Jn 14:17), cannot but re-ject poverty or meekness or purityand declare life according to theGospel as a mistake and a prob-lem; thus as something to isolate.This is what the world thinks:“These [people] are idealists orfanatics...”. This is how theythink.

If the world lives as a functionof money, then anyone whodemonstrates that life can belived in [self] giving and sacrificebecomes a nuisance to the systemof greed. This word “nuisance” iskey because Christian witness,which is so good for many peoplewho follow it, bothers those whohave a worldly mindset. They seeit as chastising. When holinessappears and the life of the chil-dren of God emerges, there is

Christians in variousparts of the world whoare suffering from per-secution, and we musthope and pray thattheir trials will soonend. They are many:to day’s martyrs out-number the martyrs ofthe first centuries. Letus express our close-ness to these brothersand sisters. We are asingle body and theseChristians are thebleeding limbs of thebody of Christ who isthe Church.

But we also have tobe careful not to readthis Beatitude from aself commiserating, vic-timized perspective. Infact, mankind’s con-tempt is not alwayssynonymous with per-secution: indeedshortly later, Jesus tells

Christians that they are the “saltof the earth” and warns againstthe danger of “losing their taste”because in that case, salt “is nolonger good for anything exceptto be thrown out and trodden un-der foot by men” (Mt 5:13). Thus,when we lose the taste of Christand the Gospel, there is also con-tempt which is our fault.

We have to be faithful to thehumble way of the Beatitudes be-cause it leads us to be of Christand not of the world. It is worthremembering the journey of SaintPaul. When he thought he was arighteous person, he was in fact apersecutor, but when he foundout he was a persecutor, he be-came a man of love who rejoicedin the suffering of the persecutioninflicted on him (cf. Col 1:24).

If God grants us the grace tobe more like the Crucified Christand joined to his Passion, thenexclusion and persecution are themanifestation of new life. Thislife is the same as the life ofChrist who was “despised and re-jected” for us men and womenand for our salvation” (cf. Is 53:3;Acts 8:30-35). Welcoming his

Spirit can lead us to have somuch love in our heart as to offerour life for the world withoutmaking compromises with its de-ceit and accepting its rejection.

Compromises with the worldare dangerous: Christians are al-ways tempted to make comprom-ises with the world, with the spiritof the world. This — re j e c t i n gcompromises and journeying onthe way of Jesus Christ — is thelife of the Kingdom of Heaven,the greatest joy and true happi-ness. And, in persecutions there isalways the presence of Jesus whoaccompanies us, the presence ofJesus who comforts us and thestrength of the Holy Spirit thathelps us to go forward. Let usnot be discouraged when a lifethat is faithful to the Gospeldraws persecution from people.There is the Holy Spirit who sus-tains us in this journey.

SPECIAL GREETINGS

I greet the English-speakingfaithful joining us through themedia. In the joy of the RisenChrist, I invoke upon you andyour families the loving mercy ofGod our Father. May the Lordbless you!

I offer a special greeting toyoung people, the e l d e rl y, the sickand newlyweds. I exhort everyoneto be witnesses of the RisenChrist who shows his disciplesthe now glorious wounds of hisPassion. I extend my heartfeltb l e s s i n g.

1. Cf. Discourse to participants ina workshop entitled: “New formsof solidarity: Towards fraternalInclusion, Integration and Innov-ation”, 5 February 2020: “idolatryof money, greed and corruptionare all ‘structures of sin’ — asJohn Paul II called them — p ro -duced by the ‘globalization of in-d i f f e re n c e ’”.

GENERAL AU D I E N C E

something uncomfortable in thatbeauty that demands taking astance: either to allow oneself tobe questioned and to open one-self to the good or reject thatlight and harden one’s heart, evenuntil oppression and fury (cf. Wis2:14-15). It is interesting and strik-ing to note how hostility grows tofury in the persecution of mar-tyrs. Just look at the persecutionsof the last century, of theEuropean dictatorships: how doesone get to rage against Christi-ans, against Christian witness andagainst the heroism of Christians?

But this demonstrates that thetragedy of persecution is also theplace of liberation from subjec-tion to the success, vainglory andcompromise of the world. Whatmakes those who are rejected bythe world because of Christ re-joice? They rejoice at havingfound something that has morevalue than the entire world. In-deed: “For what does it profit aman, to gain the whole world andforfeit his life?” (Mk 8:36). Whatis the advantage there?

It is painful to recall that inthis very moment, there are many

number 18, Friday, 1 May 2020 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO page 4/5

by ANDREA MONDA

We are speaking to David Sassoli, President of the European Parliament,by telephone on a highly symbolic date, 25 April. Our conversation re-volves around the themes of values, freedom, democracy and pluralismwhich underlie the anniversary. These are not abstract themes; they arethe “s o u rc e s ” from which the care and attention for the concrete life ofpeople come about. Once again, it is from this dimension that we haveto commence in rebuilding a Europe capable of emerging stronger fromthe tremendous crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

On several occasions recently, PopeFrancis has devoted ample space inhis discourses to the theme ofEurope. For example, in the Urbi etOrbi Easter message he said that:“After the Second World War, thiscontinent was able to rise again,thanks to a concrete spirit of solid-arity that enabled it to overcome therivalries of the past. It is more ur-gent than ever, especially in thepresent circumstances, that theserivalries do not regain force, butthat all recognize themselves as partof a single family and support oneanother. The European Union ispresently facing an epochal chal-lenge, on which will depend its fu-ture, and that of the whole world.Let us not lose the opportunity togive further proof of solidarity, alsoby turning to innovative solutions”.I wanted to ask you, as a Catholic,as a citizen, as a political represent-ative, and as President of theEuropean Parliament, what effectdid the Holy Father make on youwhen you heard these words?

The effect was that they were ajust reminder to face this historicchapter with responsibility; be-cause, it is true that Europe is acommunity of interests, but itcannot but be other than a com-munity with a common destiny.In addition, at this moment, theHoly Father’s call is particularlyimportant because he asks us tobe attentive to everyone. I believethat this is the moment when theEurope of States, of nations, ofgovernments, can strengthen itsinstitutions, to be close to all cit-izens, those of the north andthose of the south. To do what?First of all, to review its ownmodel of development, to be ableto better protect people and alsoto safeguard those values that theHoly Father summoned, andwhich are an indispensable ele-ment in sustaining the challengesthat the global world proposes tous. We have a responsibility that

also concerns the legacy of valuesthat these seventy years have giv-en us: freedom, democracy, plur-alism. I believe that at this timewe must be even more proudlyfaithful to European values be-cause the world needs them.

The European Union (EU) findsitself in a situation of having toharmonize the ideal that drove thefounding fathers, with the concrete-ness — including financial —, re-quired in the various historical andpolitical instances it is facing. Towhat extent is it possible to find thedifficult but necessary balance oneach occasion and now especially?

The EU is at a change ofphase, which will need vision andpragmatism. Europe is not builtjust by imagining it as en-lightened. Europe is an immensearea for political debate, and wewant it to be more and more so.But, we also want it to be an areaof participation and not just thecrude defense of national in-terests. That is why the Europeanarea can also be an example anda model for others; not believingthat we are better than others,but that we can offer everyone animportant asset. We must showthat in freedom, in democracy, re-specting the fundamental rightsof individuals and the value oflife, we live better and we can im-prove standards of living. IfEurope crumbles, who else in theworld today would hold high thebanner of human rights? Today,the world is asking for moredemocracy, not less.

The Pope says: “To give furtherproof of solidarity also by resortingto innovative solutions”: at the con-crete level, can the measures thatcame out of the European Councilon April 23, for example the Recov-ery Fund, be considered one of thoseinnovative solutions of which thePope speaks?

Yes, in the poverty of politics,the Council has taken an import-ant step forward. We entered [thesituation] a month and a half agowith our bare hands; we lackedthe tools to deal with a crisis thatwas so deep that it will leave im-portant consequences for our so-cieties, in its wake.

Today, we are emerging from ita little better equipped, withtimely interventions, some ofwhich were long overdue, butthey have been made quickly. Adecision was taken at the Councilon Thursday: to open a “re c o n -struction site” to provide a com-mon European response to theemergency. This is a step forward;and, it was not a foregone con-clusion. We must now base thisreconstruction plan on solidarity.Let me say, however, that I be-lieve that we will not only comeout of this crisis by straighteningout material issues; I believe thatwe will come out of this crisis ifmaterial issues are combined witha recovery of values, thoseEuropean values that are essentialtoday. Therefore, it is good toopen up the building site and thedebate that will follow, while try-ing to reconcile sensibilities,points of view and interests. Theimportant thing to stress,however, is that we have heard allthe Heads of Government call fora common exit from the crisis.We are coming out together, oth-erwise it would be a decline foreveryone; this was not to be takenfor granted a few weeks ago.

You have expressed the need for a“Marshall Plan” for the recovery,financed directly by the MemberStates of the Union. A strategy thatwould highlight the strength of theEuropean Union, but above all itsability to be cohesive and supportive.This is what I have interpreted asthe message that we really need:proximity and not distance. Fromthe role you play, do you perceivethat there has been a snap, achange, that the social dimensionhas entered the centre of theEuropean Union’s thinking?

Yes, because week after weekeveryone has become aware of thedepths of the crisis. And how in-terdependent and connected theeconomies of individual statesare. Europe is built with its crises,Jean Monnet said. That is how it

is. And at each difficult momenteveryone understands that youcan’t do it alone, that no one isself-sufficient. We said that sixweeks ago: either we will comeout of this with a better equippedand stronger European Union, orwe will not. To do this now wewill need to strengthen the insti-tutional level of the Union andmake it capable of leading thenew phase. Should we fightagainst selfishness? Yes, weshould. Should we fight againstan old nationalist idea that existsin all countries? Yes, we do. But,right now we all feel the need forthe world to be able to deal withit if our institutions, theEuropean democratic framework,are going to be more robust andable to take decisions quickly. So,it is not just solutions to the crisisas such; we need solutions to thechange in phase that this crisisimposes on everyone. Let me giveyou an example: we cannot anddo not want to give up freedomsand democracy, but we must alsoadapt them so that they are morecapable of responding quickly,to o.

We need to support an exitprocess to the crisis by reviewingthe way we are. StrengtheningEurope also means changingEurope by adapting the instru-ments with which we entered thestorm. I believe this is an effortthat concerns Brussels, but it con-cerns all the capitals, all thecountries; they too must change.We also need to have a clear ideain the medium and long termrange about where we want to go,what we want to do and how wewant to rebuild. Do we want toreturn to putting the clock backor do we want to set the clock atthe right time, in which, withgreat difficulty, history has placedus? Today, the clock cannot beturned back. In this, Pope Fran-cis’ strong appeal to us is all themore precious, he is right and hegrasps the point, because demo-cracy is strengthened if it looks tothe people, to every person, tothe interests and needs of everyperson. So, the challenge is to re-connect, to rediscover a vocation.Then it is true, we have a planfor reconstruction, a “MarshallPlan”, which, however, unlike theSecond World War, must be fin-anced by Europeans and will not

be financed by others; a planwhich, for example, must tell ushow much change in our eco-nomic model we want, how muchwe want to invest in reconstruc-tion on the Green Deal, and di-gital Europe. The pandemic hasconfronted us with a challenge,the change of phase, of pace, andthis must see us being very care-ful and able to grasp the new ele-ments. We owe this not only tothe tradition and values ofEurope; we also owe this to thepeople who have died, to thepeople who have left us, to thispain that the world is feeling. Wemust come out of it by betterprotecting our societies. Recon-struction is made up of manythings, it contains many ingredi-ents.

A few days ago, in an interviewwith Vatican News, Andrea Riccardi[Italian historian, professor, politi-cian and activist, founder of theCommunity of Sant’Egidio] statedthat in his opinion the pandemichas not made shared action moredifficult, but easier; consequently, thecohesion of everyone to try to changethe situation. But, he also notedhow the EU in the past, and per-haps even today, has neglected hu-man topics, the issues of bonding.The attention to people that PopeFrancis insists on reminds us thatthis is the answer to the real prob-lem of European society, of Westernsocieties, the problem of the greatloneliness of people. Paradoxically,the coronavirus, that condemns us toisolation, has revealed a fact thatwas already present, this greatloneliness. Is it for politics to re-spond to this, and how?

I am convinced that this phase,even as painful as it is, is bring-ing out so many elements of hu-manity. Politics, too, when itcomes out of its oppositions, per-haps even makes this humanityevident. I am referring, for ex-ample, to certain measures, togood practices that manyEuropean governments, both inthe north and in the south, areadopting at the moment andwhich could perhaps be usefuland serve as examples. In Por-tugal, a law has been passed togive a fictitious address to home-less people and migrants so as topermit them access to social careand health services. I believe that

this way of tackling the crisis,drawing on the experiences thatcivil societies are having, is veryimportant because a policywithout citizens lives in an ivorytower and becomes bureaucracy.

Therefore, I think that we willemerge from this period bystrengthening our humanity,which at this moment is manifest-ing itself throughout Europe; thishumanity is a great wealth andwill also prove to be this period’sredemption. Then, we must alsonot fall into visions of the en-lightenment, because we knowthat it is not sufficient to imaginethe new world; we must build it.We must do this step by step,battle after battle, supportingevery step with consensus, be-cause democracy is consensus,and find solutions through shareddecisions. This is the time forgreat reflection on the way polit-ics works. I would like to stress,however, that we are witnessingextraordinary things that are partof the generosity of the men andwomen who are fighting at themoment, who are rolling up theirsleeves; think of all the associ-ations that are being mobilizedthroughout Europe at the mo-ment: what energy they aredemonstrating! I therefore believethat we can be filled with hope,compared to the fatigue and painof these dramatic events. For us,this is a necessity: we need tocharge up and recharge hope,and we can only do so if we [theEU] are close to people.

What role can the European Unionplay in the global post-pandemicsetting? Can the EU become a rolemodel?

It has to become a model, be-cause otherwise it would have nofunction. Unfortunately, in theEuropean area there are virusesother than Covid, which have al-ways tormented the Europeanspirit. One is certainly anti-Semit-ism and the other is nationalism,which are catalysts that producedivision, enemy construction,hatred, and even wars in Europe.We must make the Europeanarea, which it already is, evenmore a point of reference; but, anarea of freedom cannot livewithout responsibility and solid-arity. I believe that this isEurop e’s vocation, which our

fathers handed over to us seventyyears ago, and we must invest init. Europe cannot be useful onlyto itself, because it would have novision, no horizons. It is ofcourse useful to Europeans, toour countries to play a part in theworld, otherwise they would bemarginalized, but it is also usefulfor the world to have a point ofreference. We do not want toemerge from this crisis with moreauthoritarianism and imperialism,but with more democracy andparticipation.

In an interview with L’O s s e r v a t o reRomano a few months ago,Massimo Cacciari [University Pro-fessor, and former Mayor of Venice]used the following expression:“Europe is old, decrepit. It needs afertilizer and looking around, I saythis as a non-believer, and the onlyfertilizer I see in circulation is theCatholic Church, the Catholics”. Ac-cording to you, can the CatholicChurch, Catholics, today play thisrole to regenerate not the Old Con-tinent, but an old continent?

Yes, they can, but this must notbe an alibi for those who are notCatholics, because the risk is toassign a responsibility to Cathol-ics that must belong to everyone.It is always a burden on others,and that is not good. Accordingto the Epistle to Diognetus,Christians live within society, notoutside of it. And others mustalso live in society and must col-laborate. Everyone must do theirpart. In Europe there are so manysensitivities, so many cultures andeveryone must carry their ownshare of the responsibility. Cer-tainly Catholics, Christians, willdo this, but at this moment I be-lieve that it is Europe as a wholethat must have broad shouldersto assume a function in the eyesof the world. For Christians, I be-lieve it is natural to think that thelife of others, of those who areoutside of our space, is the sameas ours, that they should have thesame rights. This is normal forChristians. That is why I believethat Pope Francis’ words are im-pressing everyone and are callingeveryone to [a sense of] respons-ibility, even non-believers.

Society needs to be constantly regen-erated. I recall the figure of SenatorRoberto Ruffilli, who on 16 April1988 was barbarously killed by ter-rorists; one thinks that from theChristian point of view to “fertilize”one must give life, the seed that diesproduces much fruit. Ruffilli haddedicated his whole life to the idealof freedom and democracy, his bookwas entitled “Il cittadino come ar-b i t ro ” [The Citizen as Arbitrator]. Isdemocracy also at stake today inthis crisis in Europe?

I was very close friends withRoberto. His testimony is trulyan example. That title, Il cittadinocome arbitro is very topical. Itcalls upon us to make sure thateverything that comes out of thecrisis has been done for thepeople, not just to sew up theholes within power dynamics.That is why we must come out ofthis crisis by strengthening demo-cratic processes. But how manypeople today are working to di-vide the European area? And whyis there so much effort to divideus, to make us weaker, to frag-ment us, to take us back to oursmall homeland? Why is therethis strong dynamic coming fromoutside Europe, that triggers thisdesire to weaken us? And yet wedo not have an army, we do notgo to war, we do not invadecountries ... I believe that the an-swer is because European valuesand European law are elements ofstrong contradiction at the mo-ment with respect to global dy-namics that see a resumption ofauthoritarianism. That is whyPope Francis did very well to callEuropeans to take responsibility,so that at this moment they canbe a point of reference for re-ap-propriating values that are trulyimportant for man: the value oflife, the value of people’s inalien-able rights, the right to freedom;references that we take for gran-ted, but that are not sothroughout the world.

Is Cardinal Hollerich of Luxem-bourg right then, in saying recentlyin “La Civiltà Cattolica”: “E u ro p ecannot be rebuilt without an idea ofEurope without ideals”?

Certainly. But, we do haveideals even if we find it so hardto express them. The problem isthat all too often, each nations’selfishness, that mean-spirited na-tionalist feeling, the idea that “Iam better than the other”, pre-vents us from unfolding our po-tential and manifesting our iden-tity. I believe that this crisis couldbe an opportunity to freeourselves from the many chainsthat bind us.

Europe means concrete attention to peopleOnly together can we emerge from the crisis

with David Sassoli, President of the European Parliament

I N T E R V I E W

page 6 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO Friday, 1 May 2020, number 18

Tuesday, 7 April

For people suffering fromunjust sentences

During his homily for Holy Mass at SantaMarta on Tuesday morning, 7 April, PopeFrancis spoke about the importance of recog-nizing that we were chosen. Commenting onthe day’s first Reading (Is 49:1-6), he said thatjust like the prophet Isaiah had been chosenbefore he was born, so we too were chosenfrom our mothers’ womb with the vocation ofserving. “Each one of us has a destiny ... thedestiny of being chosen by God”, he ex-plained. We were chosen, “to be a child ofGod, to be a servant of God with the task ofserving”.

Jesus is our example of service as his glorywas to serve until death, the Holy Father con-tinued. Indeed, to serve is not to demand anybenefit for ourselves other than that ofserving. When we distance ourselves from theattitude of serving, this makes us “people whohave apostasized” which leads to building

“mouth and the heart of a disciple”. His loveof money led him beyond rules, and the Popeadded, there is only a small step that separ-ates stealing from betraying. Indeed, “thosewho love money too much betray [others] inorder to have even more”. Thus despite hav-ing had good intentions at first, Judas be-comes a traitor.

The story of Judas also reveals that the dev-il is a poor paymaster: “He is not reliable. Hepromises everything, shows you everythingand in the end leaves you alone in despair tohang yourself”. In fact, when Judas, restlessand tormented between greed and love ofJesus, returns to the priests to ask for forgive-ness, they turn their backs on him and hisd e s p a i r.

There are many “institutionalised Judases inthis world who exploit people”, the HolyFather said, but he reminded the faithful thatthere is also some of Judas in each of us, es-pecially when we have to choose between loy-alty and self interest. We all “have the abilityto betray” and the opportunity to be attracted“by love of money, goods or future well-b eing”.

demic, “we will either bet on life, in favour ofthe resurrection of our people, or we will beton the god of money”. Betting on moneywould mean choosing the tomb of hunger,slavery, war and arms production, leavingchildren without education.

At the end of his homily, the Holy Fatherprayed that the Lord will help us to alwayschoose the good of the people and not to fallinto the tomb of the god of money.

Tuesday, 14 April

For greater unity

During his homily at Santa Marta on Tuesdaymorning, 14 April, Pope Francis commentedon Peter’s invitation to conversion on Pente-cost (Acts 2:36-41). To repent, he said, meansreturning to faithfulness. “There are always il-lusions that attract our attention, and oftenwe follow after these illusions”. However, theHoly Father pointed out, we are called to befaithful both in good times and in bad ones.

Self assuredness, Pope Francis warned,leads to unfaithfulness as witnessed by thefirst King of Judah, Rehoboam (2 Chr 12:1)who felt that his kingdom was so secure thathe abandoned the Lord’s law and all of Israelfollowed him. “Many times when we feel se-cure we begin to make plans and we slowlydrift away from the Lord”. This is because webelieve that our security no longer comesfrom the Lord but rather from an idol.

However, feeling secure is not a bad thing,said Pope Francis. “It is a grace: being securein the knowledge that the Lord is with me”.But when we place ourselves at the centre, westop being faithful and security becomes acrutch that leads to sin. And this occurs often,for the “history of Israel, and the whole his-tory of the Church is full of infidelity”. In-deed, Pope Francis continued, “even amongus, between people, faithfulness is not a virtuethat is highly valued”.

The day’s Gospel Reading from John(21:11-18) offers a key to understanding fidelityin the figure of Mary Magdalene who waitedand wept outside Jesus’ tomb. She “is an iconof fidelity.... She was there, faithful before theimpossible, before the tragedy. Hers is a faith-fulness that led her to think she could carryaway his body”. Pope Francis prayed that wemay have the grace to be faithful “even beforethe tomb and the collapse of so many illu-sions” and to thank him when he gives us se-c u r i t y.

Wednesday, 15 April

For the elderly and the isolated

On Wednesday 15 April, during his homilyfor Holy Mass at Santa Marta, Pope Franciscontinued his reflection from the previous dayon fidelity, and Mary Magdalene as the iconof fidelity. Our fidelity to God “is nothingmore than a response to God’s fidelity”. Inthe day’s first Reading a cripple person ishealed in the name of Jesus. This, the Popeexplained is an example of fidelity. God iscapable “of redoing things, or re-creating … arecreation that is more wonderful than cre-ation”, the Pope said. God’s faithfulness is alike a free feast for us all, he added.

Like a good shepherd who never growstired of seeking his lost sheep, God’s divinefaithfulness led him to seek Peter even afterPeter had denied him during his Passion. Je-sus appeared to him for the first time after theResurrection because God’s faithfulness, thePope underlined, always precedes our own.Therefore, to be faithful, he explained, is topraise this fidelity and to be faithful to it,faithful to his promise. He “walks with hispeople, carrying out his promise close to hisp eople”.

lives based on other kinds of love that are of-ten idolatrous and cause the loss of vocation.

Pope Francis stressed the importance of ourattitude before the God who chose us andanointed us as servants. With the exception ofOur Lady and Jesus, he said, we have allfallen and because of this, Peter’s exampleshould serve as an inspiration. When hedenied Jesus, Peter cried and repented. This,the Pope continued is the path that weshould follow: the path of a servant who asksfor forgiveness when he or she falls. The otherpath, the one followed by Judas, is the pathof the servant who is unable to understandthat he has fallen, resulting in the heart beingopen to passions that lead to idolatry. At theend of his homily, the Holy Father invited thefaithful to remember that our vocation is toserve and prayed that like Peter, we too maybe able to weep when we slip and fall.

Wednesday, 8 April

For the conversion of those whoexploit the needy

As he celebrated Mass on Holy Wednesday, 8April, the Holy Father reflected on slavery.“Betrayal Wednesday” which recalls Judasselling the Master, makes us think of the slavetrade from Africa to America, in which Ju-dases sold their brothers and sisters and ex-ploited them for work. These Judases still ex-ist today, Pope Francis pointed out. They arethose who traffic in human beings. However,Jesus said “you cannot serve God andmoney”; you cannot serve two masters, thusleaving us with two choices: “either serve Godand you will be free in adoration and service,or serve money and you will be a slave tomoney”.

Many people want to serve God andmoney which is impossible, the Pope said,and they become hidden exploiters, who ap-pear socially flawless at the same time as theyexploit their brothers and sisters. “Human ex-ploitation is selling one’s neighbour”, thePope warned.

The Pope then turned to the figure of Ju-das. Although the Lord called him to be adisciple, Judas was never able to have the

Monday, 13 April

For just solutions in the aftermathof the pandemic

The Holy Father began Holy Mass at SantaMarta on Easter Monday, 13 April, with aprayer that government leaders, scientists andpoliticians may find the right way to emergefrom the aftermath of the pandemic with solu-tions that take into account the good of thep eople.

During the homily, he reflected on theday’s Gospel of Matthew in which the RisenLord exhorts some women to ask his disciplesto go to Galilee to meet him. Meanwhile thepriests who know that Jesus’ body is missing,decide to bribe the soldiers so that theywould say that the disciples had stolen thebody. When we hide facts, the Pope ex-plained, we serve the god of money as thepriests tried to do in hiding the evidence andthe truth of the resurrection. This, he stressed,is pure corruption.

The women in the Gospel, Pope Francisexplained, present us with a human choicethat still applies today. It is the choicebetween the joy and hope of Jesus’ R e s u r re c -tion and nostalgia for the tomb. We have thissame choice today. In the time after this pan-

Morning Mass at the DomusSanctae Marthae

number 18, Friday, 1 May 2020 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO page 7

Letter to the Faithful for the month of May

The beauty of praying the Rosary at home

Mary, sign of salvation and hope

First Prayer to Our Lady

O Mary, You shine continuously on our journey as asign of salvation and hope.

We entrust ourselves to you, Health of the Sick,who, at the foot of the cross, were united with Jesus’suffering, and persevered in your faith.

“Protectress of the Roman people”, you know ourneeds, and we know that you will provide, so that,as at Cana in Galilee, joy and celebration mayreturn after this time of trial.

Help us, Mother of Divine Love, to conformourselves to the will of the Father and to do whatJesus tells us. For he took upon himself oursuffering, and burdened himself with our sorrows tobring us, through the cross, to the joy of theResurrection. Amen.

We fly to your protection, O Holy Mother of God; Donot despise our petitions in our necessities, but deliver usalways from every danger, O Glorious and BlessedV i rg i n .

Giovanni Battista Ramenghi,“Our Lady of the Rosary with Saints” (1585)

Free us from this terrible pandemic

In this time of social isolation due thepandemic “I want to encourage everyone torediscover the beauty of praying the Rosary athome in the month of May”. For the upcomingmonth of May, the Holy Father addressed aLetter to the many faithful throughout theworld accompanied by two prayers to OurLady. The Letter and the prayers werebroadcast on Saturday, 25 April. The followingis the English text of the Pope’s letter and thetwo Marian prayers. The first prayer is the onethe Pontiff addressed to Our Lady of DivineLove in a video message on the occasion of theMass celebrated by Cardinal Vicar Angelo DeDonatis on 11 March, Diocesan Day ofPrayer and Fasting. The second Marianprayer is for this occasion.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,The month of May is approaching, a timewhen the People of God express with par-ticular intensity their love and devotion forthe Blessed Virgin Mary. It is traditional inthis month to pray the Rosary at home

within the family. The restrictions of thepandemic have made us come to appreciateall the more this “family” aspect, also froma spiritual point of view.

For this reason, I want to encourageeveryone to rediscover the beauty of prayingthe Rosary at home in the month of May.This can be done either as a group or indi-vidually; you can decide according to yourown situations, making the most of bothopportunities. The key to doing this is al-ways simplicity, and it is easy also on the in-ternet to find good models of prayers to fol-l o w.

I am also providing two prayers to OurLady that you can recite at the end of theRosary, and that I myself will pray in themonth of May, in spiritual union with all ofyou. I include them with this letter so thatthey are available to everyone.

Dear brothers and sisters, contemplatingthe face of Christ with the heart of Maryour Mother will make us even more unitedas a spiritual family and will help us over-come this time of trial. I keep all of you in

my prayers, especially those suffering mostgreatly, and I ask you, please, to pray forme. I thank you, and with great affection Isend you my blessing.

Rome, Saint John Lateran, 25 April 2020Feast of Saint Mark the Evangelist

The Second Prayer

“We fly to your protection,O Holy Mother of God”.In the present tragic situation, when the wholeworld is prey to suffering and anxiety, we flyto you, Mother of God and our Mother, andseek refuge under your protection.

Virgin Mary, turn your merciful eyes towardsus amid this coronavirus pandemic.Comfort those who are distraught and mourntheir loved ones who have died, and at timesare buried in a way that grieves them deeply.Be close to those who are concerned for theirloved ones who are sick and who, in order toprevent the spread of the disease, cannot beclose to them. Fill with hope those who aretroubled by the uncertainty of the future andthe consequences for the economy andemployment.Mother of God and our Mother, pray for us toGod, the Father of mercies, that this greatsuffering may end and that hope and peacemay dawn anew. Plead with your divine Son,as you did at Cana, so that the families of thesick and the victims be comforted, and theirhearts be opened to confidence and trust.

Protect those doctors, nurses, health workersand volunteers who are on the frontline of thisemergency, and are risking their lives to saveothers. Support their heroic effort and grantthem strength, generosity and continuedhealth.

Be close to those who assist the sick night andday, and to priests who, in their pastoralconcern and fidelity to the Gospel, are tryingto help and support everyone.

Blessed Virgin, illumine the minds of men andwomen engaged in scientific research, that theymay find effective solutions to overcome thisv i ru s .

Support national leaders, that with wisdom,solicitude and generosity they may come to theaid of those lacking the basic necessities of lifeand may devise social and economic solutionsinspired by farsightedness and solidarity.

Mary Most Holy, stir our consciences, so thatthe enormous funds invested in developingand stockpiling arms will instead be spent onpromoting effective research on how to preventsimilar tragedies from occurring in the future.

Beloved Mother, help us realize that we are allmembers of one great family and to recognizethe bond that unites us, so that, in a spirit offraternity and solidarity, we can help toalleviate countless situations of poverty andneed. Make us strong in faith, persevering inservice, constant in prayer.

Mary, Consolation of the afflicted, embrace allyour children in distress and pray that Godwill stretch out his all-powerful hand and freeus from this terrible pandemic, so that life canserenely resume its normal course.

To you, who shine on our journey as a sign ofsalvation and hope, do we entrust ourselves, OClement, O Loving, O Sweet Virgin Mary.Amen.

page 8 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO Friday, 1 May 2020, number 18

REGINA CAELI

Pope Francis invited the faithful to embrace a turningpoint involving a shift from thoughts about ‘I’ tothoughts about the reality of God during the ReginaCaeli on Sunday, 26 April. Commenting on the day’sGospel passage from Luke which tells of the disciplesof Emmaus, he said we can do this at home byopening our heart to Jesus, listening to him andpraying. The following is a translation of the HolyFa t h e r ’s words which he delivered in Italian from thelibrary of the Apostolic Palace.

The Pontiff talks about the disciples of Emmaus

Shifting thoughts from ‘I’ to GodDear Brothers and Sisters,Good Morning!To day’s Gospel, which takesplace on the day of the Passover,describes the episode of the twodisciples of Emmaus (Lk 24:13-35). It is a story that begins andends on the move. There is in fact,the outbound journey of the dis-ciples who, saddened by the epi-logue of Jesus’ story, leave Jerus-alem and return home to Em-maus, walking some 11 kilometres.It is a journey that takes placeduring the day, much of it down-hill. And there is the return jour-ney: another 11 kilometres, but atnightfall, partly an uphill journeyafter the fatigue of the outwardjourney and the entire day. Twotrips: one easy in daytime, andthe other tiring at night. Yet thefirst takes place in sadness, thesecond in joy. In the first one,there is the Lord walking besidethem, but they do not recognisehim; in the second one they donot see him anymore, but theyfeel him near them. In the firstthey are discouraged and hope-less; in the second they run tobring the good news of the en-counter with the Risen Jesus tothe others.

The two different paths ofthose first disciples tell us, Jesus’disciples today, that in life wehave two opposite directions be-fore us: there is the path of thosewho, like those two on the out-bound journey, allow themselvesto be paralysed by life’s disap-pointments and proceed sadly;and there is the path of thosewho do not put themselves andtheir problems first, but rather Je-sus who visits us, and the broth-ers who await his visit, that is,our brothers who are waiting forus to take care of them. Here isthe turning point: to stop orbit-ing around one’s self; the disap-pointments of the past, the un-realised ideals, the many badthings that have happened in ourlife. Very often we tend to keep

going around and around.... Toleave that behind and to go for-ward looking at the greatest andtruest reality of life: Jesus lives,Jesus loves me. This is the greatestreality. And I can do somethingfor others. It is a beautiful reality:positive, bright, beautiful! This isthe turning point: to go fromthoughts about I to the reality ofmy God; going — with anotherplay on words — from “if” [se inItalian] to “yes” [sì in Italian].From “if” to “yes”. What doesthis mean? “If he had freed us, ifGod had listened to me, if lifehad gone as I wanted, if I hadthis and that…”, in a tone ofcomplaint. This “if” is not help-ful, it is not fruitful. It helpsneither us nor others. Here areour “ifs”, similar to those of thetwo disciples, whom however,move to a yes: “Yes, the Lord isalive, he walks with us. Yes, wecontinue our journey to announceit now, not tomorrow”. “Yes, Ican do this for the people so thatthey may be happier, so thatpeople may better themselves, tohelp many people. Yes, yes Ican”. From “if” to “yes”, fromcomplaints to joy and peace, be-cause when we complain, we arenot joyful; we are in the grey,greyness, that grey air of sadness.

And this does not help nor allowus to grow well. From “if” to“yes”; from complaints to the joyof service.

How did this change of pace,from “I” to “Go d”, from “if” to“yes”, occur within the disciples?By meeting Jesus: the two dis-ciples of Emmaus first open theirhearts to him, then they listen tohim explain the Scriptures andthen they invite him home. Theseare three steps that we too cantake in our homes: f i rs t , openingour hearts to Jesus, entrustinghim with the burdens, the hard-ships, the disappointments of life,entrusting the “ifs” to him, andthen, the second step, listening toJesus, taking the Gospel in hand,reading this passage in chapter 24of Luke’s Gospel on this veryday; t h i rd , praying to Jesus, in thesame words as those disciples:“Lord, ‘stay with us’ (v. 29). Lord,stay with me. Lord, stay with allof us, because we need you tofind the way”. And without you,there is night.

Dear brothers and sisters, weare always journeying in life. Andwe become what we go towards.Let us choose the way of God,not of self; the way of “yes”, notthe way of “if”. We will discoverthat there are no unexpected

events, no uphill path, no nightthat cannot be faced with Jesus.May Our Lady, Mother of thejourney, who by receiving theWord made her entire life a “yes”to God, show us the way.

After praying the Regina Caeli, theHoly Father continued:

Dear brothers and sisters, yes-terday was United Nations WorldMalaria Day. While we are com-batting the coronavirus pandemic,we must also continue our effortsto prevent and cure malaria,which threatens billions of peoplein many countries. I am close toall the sick, to those who care forthem, and to those who work toensure that every person has ac-cess to good basic healthcare.

I also address a greeting to allthose in Poland who are particip-ating today in the “NationalScripture Reading Day”. I havetold you many times, and Iwould like to say once again, howimportant it is to get into thehabit of reading the Gospel, for afew minutes, every day. Let uscarry it in our pockets, in ourbags. May it always be close tous, even physically, so that weread it a little every day. In a fewdays’ time the month of May willbegin, which is dedicated espe-cially to the Virgin Mary. In ashort Letter published yesterday,I invited all the faithful to praythe Holy Rosary this month,either with your families or onyour own, and to recite one ofthe two prayers that I have madeavailable to everyone. Our Moth-er will help us face this time ofdifficulty we are experiencingwith greater faith and hope.

I wish you all a happy monthof May, and a happy Sunday.Please do not forget to pray forme. Enjoy your lunch. Ar r i v e d e rc i .

“On the road to Emmaus” by He Qi