Pope: "hope" for a truce in Syria
During the Angelus, Francis called for negotiations to share evenly the burden front-line nations must bear in helping migrants. "God does not allow tragedies in order to punish faults", he does not “penalise” for some grave offence and the victims of some tragedies are not worse than others.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – Pope Francis on Sunday expressed hope for the truce in Syria and called for negotiations to achieve a fair share of the burden front-line nations must bear in coping with migrants.
During the Angelus, he told the 30,000 people present in St Peter’s Square that "God does not allow tragedies in order to punish faults", he does not “penalise” for some grave offence and the victims of some tragedies are not worse than others.
"Unfortunately,” he noted, “reports come in every day with bad news: murders, accidents, disasters . . . . In today's Gospel passage, Jesus mentions two tragic events that caused quite a stir at the time: a bloody crackdown by Roman soldiers inside the temple, and the collapse of the tower of Siloam in Jerusalem, which killed eighteen people (cf. Lk 13:1-5).
“Jesus knew the superstitious mind-set of his listeners, and knew that they would interpret such events the wrong way. In fact, they thought that if those people had died so cruelly, it was a sign that God had punished them for some grave offence they had committed. It is as if they were saying, 'they deserved it'.” Conversely, “The fact that they had been spared the disaster was tantamount to feeling 'okay', that they did not deserve it, that 'I am okay'.
“Jesus clearly rejected that view, because God does not allow tragedies in order to punish faults, and does not say that those poor victims were worse than others. Instead, He calls upon us to draw from these painful events a warning that concerns everyone, because we are all sinners. He says to those who asked him, ‘if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!’ (Lk 13:3)."
"Even today, in the face of certain misfortunes and tragic events, we can be tempted to ‘discharge’ the responsibility on the victims, or even God himself. But the Gospel invites us to reflect: What is our idea of God? Do we believe that God is that way, or is it our own projection, a god made 'in our image and likeness'?”
“By contrast, Jesus calls us to change our heart, and make a radical change in the our journey of life, by abandoning compromises with evil – We all do this, hypocrisy. I believe that almost all of us have a little piece of hypocrisy – to take with decisiveness the path of the Gospel. But then again comes the temptation to justify ourselves: 'From what should we convert? Are we not all things considered good people? We thought this way, many times. Are we not believers, are we not sufficiently practicing?’”
"Unfortunately, each of us looks a lot like a tree that has shown to be sterile for many years. Fortunately for us, Jesus is like the peasant who, with limitless patience, gets again an extension for the barren fig tree, ‘leave it for this year also,’ he told the owner, ‘it may bear fruit in the future’ (Lk 13:8-9).”
“A 'year' of grace: the time of Christ's ministry, the time of the Church before his glorious return, the time of our life, punctuated by a number of Lents, which are offered to us as opportunities for repentance and salvation, a time for the Jubilee Year of Mercy. Jesus’ invincible patience. Have you thought about God's patience? Have you ever thought about his irreducible concern for sinners, how they should provoke us to impatience vis-à-vis ourselves! It is never too late to convert, up to the last moment. It is never too late to repent, but it is urgent. Let us start now.”
"May the Virgin Mary sustain us, so that we may open our hearts to God's grace, and His mercy. May she help us to never judge others, but to let us be provoked by daily misfortunes to engage in self-examination and repent ".
After the Marian prayer, Francis spoke about the ceasefire in Syria and the rescue of migrants. He said, “My prayers and yours bear in mind the plight of refugees fleeing wars and other inhuman situations. In particular, Greece and other countries that are on the front line are providing them with generous aid, which requires the cooperation of all nations. A unanimous response can be effective to evenly share the burden. For this reason, we need to focus firmly and unreservedly on negotiations.”
“At the same time, I welcome with hope the news about the cessation of hostilities in Syria, and I call on everyone to pray that this window of opportunity may bring relief to the suffering population, by allowing humanitarian aid, and opening the way to dialogue and much desired peace."
In concluding, the pontiff said, "I would also like reiterate my closeness to the people of the Fiji Islands, hit hard by a devastating cyclone. I pray for the victims and for those engaged in relief operations."
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