The ceremony was held yesterday in Kabul. Fr. Giovanni Scalese, Ordinary to the Jurisdictional Mission: The situation is deteriorating and all we can do is turn to Heaven. Muslims are "brothers" who belong to another flock. Consecration to the Immaculate Heart helps us to live our time more consciously and in total openness to God's will.
Kabul (AsiaNews) - Afghanistan, the "heart of Asia" has been consecrated to Our Lady of Fatima in order to obtain "the longed for peace". The consecration ceremony of the mission su Juris and Afghanistan to the Immaculate Heart of Mary was held yesterday on the occasion of the centenary of Fatima's last appearance.
The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan worsens day by day. Only last October 9, the Red Cross announced a "drastic" cut in operations due to violence in which nine members of its staff were killed during the year.
The consecration ceremony was held at the chapel of the Italian embassy in Kabul. Fr. Giovanni Scalese, ordinary of the Afghanistan jurisdictional mission, states that there was "good participation" - within the limits of the "little Christian flock" living in the country." The Catholic Chaplin (Dominican Czech) of the NATO base concelebrated with some military, civilian, base operators," recounts Fr. Scalese. "There were the first advisers of the Italian Embassy and, of course, all the Sisters of the Mission and not a few faithful. Many, everywhere in the world, were spiritually united with us.”
The initiative is born because "those who live here avert a experience a strong sense of frustration. For years, not only with military engagement, but with diplomatic activity and humanitarian relief, people have been trying to resolve the situation in Afghanistan, but without any results. Indeed, it could be said that the situation has gradually deteriorated. So here's the idea of turning to Heaven as the last resort. This year is the centenary of Fatima, today is the anniversary of the last apparition: why not devote ourselves (as individuals and as a Christian community) and consecrate this country to the Immaculate Heart of Mary? "
"It implies the conviction that the most difficult and intricate situations can be solved from one moment to the next without the slightest human effort. Those who shape history are outside of history. " The memory of the consecration of Russia, a few years before the fall of the Berlin Wall and at the end of the Soviet Union: "If [it] led to the end of communism, could the consecration of Afghanistan not bring some peace to this battered country? "
The fact that the country is a Muslim majority is not a problem for the priest. As recited in the consecration act, "Afghans do not belong to our flock but are our brothers and sisters and your children; they too have been redeemed by the blood of your Son. " "We are at an important historical moment; perhaps we do not even realize the epochal changes that we are experiencing, "concludes Fr. Scalese. "Consecration to the Immaculate Heart helps us to live our time more consciously and in total openness to God's will."