ZENIT in Roswell, Georgia, United States "Pope Gives Lessons on How to Be ‘Salt of Earth,’ ‘Light of the World’..." for Tuesday, 7 June 2016
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Pope Gives Lessons on How to Be ‘Salt of Earth,’ ‘Light of the World’ by Deborah Castellano Lubov
Christians are to be salt of the earth and light of the world, and there’s a ‘battery’ that we can use to never run out of either.
According to Vatican Radio, the Holy Father stressed this during his daily morning Mass today at Casa Santa Marta, as he recalled today’s Gospel reading.
The Pope drew inspiration from today’s Gospel reading, when Jesus tells His disciples “You are the salt of the earth,” “You are the light of the world.” Christians, he said, must be salt and light, but never self-serving: salt must add flavor and light must illuminate the other.
The ‘Battery’
The Pope went on to ask, “What must a Christian do in order for the salt not to run out, so that the oil to light the lamp does not come to an end?” The “battery” a Christian uses to generate light, the Pope explained, is simply prayer.
“There are many things one can do, many works of charity, many great things for the Church – a Catholic University, a college, a hospital – you may even be rewarded as a benefactor of the Church with a monument, but if you do not pray, it will be dark and dimly lit,” he advised.
Prayer, Francis continued, is what lights up Christian life, and is a “serious” matter. He underscored that our prayers, in all their forms, must come from the heart.
Regarding the salt that Christians are called to be, he noted, “it becomes salt when it is given to others.” This, Francis explained, is another Christian attitude: “to give of oneself, to give flavor to the lives of others, to give flavor to many things with the message of the Gospel.”
How We Don’t Run Out of Salt, Light
“Salt is something to be used, not to keep for oneself, but to give to others. It’s curious,” he continued, “both salt and light are for others, not for oneself: salt does not give flavor to itself; light does not illuminate itself.”
“Of course, you may be wondering how long salt and light can last without running out if we continue to give of ourselves relentlessly,” he acknowledged, noting, “That’s where the power of God comes in, the Pope explained, because the Christian is salt given to us by God during Baptism, it’s a gift that never ends.”
Pope Francis urged Christians to shine brightly and always overcome the temptation to shine light upon themselves. Calling it ‘mirror spirituality,’ the Argentine Pope said, “It is a bad thing” to want to shine light onto oneself.
“Be light to illuminate, be salt to give flavor and to preserve,” Pope Francis concluded.
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Readings provided by the US bishops’ conference:
Tuesday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 360
Reading 1
1 KGS 17:7-16
The brook near where Elijah was hiding ran dry,
because no rain had fallen in the land.
So the LORD said to Elijah:
“Move on to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there.
I have designated a widow there to provide for you.”
He left and went to Zarephath.
As he arrived at the entrance of the city,
a widow was gathering sticks there; he called out to her,
“Please bring me a small cupful of water to drink.”
She left to get it, and he called out after her,
“Please bring along a bit of bread.”
She answered, “As the LORD, your God, lives,
I have nothing baked;
there is only a handful of flour in my jar
and a little oil in my jug.
Just now I was collecting a couple of sticks,
to go in and prepare something for myself and my son;
when we have eaten it, we shall die.”
Elijah said to her, “Do not be afraid.
Go and do as you propose.
But first make me a little cake and bring it to me.
Then you can prepare something for yourself and your son.
For the LORD, the God of Israel, says,
‘The jar of flour shall not go empty,
nor the jug of oil run dry,
until the day when the LORD sends rain upon the earth.’”
She left and did as Elijah had said.
She was able to eat for a year, and Elijah and her son as well;
the jar of flour did not go empty,
nor the jug of oil run dry,
as the LORD had foretold through Elijah.
Responsorial PsalmPS 4:2-3, 4-5, 7B-8
R. (7a) Lord, let your face shine on us.
When I call, answer me, O my just God,
you who relieve me when I am in distress;
Have pity on me, and hear my prayer!
Men of rank, how long will you be dull of heart?
Why do you love what is vain and seek after falsehood?
R. Lord, let your face shine on us.
Know that the LORD does wonders for his faithful one;
the LORD will hear me when I call upon him.
Tremble, and sin not;
reflect, upon your beds, in silence.
R. Lord, let your face shine on us.
O LORD, let the light of your countenance shine upon us!
You put gladness into my heart,
more than when grain and wine abound.
R. Lord, let your face shine on us.
Alleluia
MT 5:16
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Let your light shine before others
that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
MT 5:13-16
Jesus said to his disciples:
“You are the salt of the earth.
But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned?
It is no longer good for anything
but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
You are the light of the world.
A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.
Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket;
it is set on a lampstand,
where it gives light to all in the house.
Just so, your light must shine before others,
that they may see your good deeds
and glorify your heavenly Father.”
Vatican Organizes International Conference on Leprosy by Rocío Lancho García
The Pontifical Council for Health Care Ministry, together with several Foundations, has organized an International Congress titled “Towards Holistic Care for People with Hansen’s Disease, Respectful of Their Dignity,” which will be held in Rome on June 9-10.
During the press conference to present the event today, Monsignor Jean-Marie Mupendawatu, the dicastery’s secretary, stressed the need to study the situation and to promote its prevention as well as to supply information, such as assistance to affected individuals, assuring them of eventual social reintegration. He also specified that more than 230 researchers, volunteer workers, professionals and former patients from more than 45 countries around the world will take part in the Congress. All of them will be present next weekend for the Jubilee of the Sick, which will end on Sunday in Saint Peter’s Square with a Mass presided over by the Pope.
For his part, Father Augusto Chendi, M.I., under-secretary of the dicastery, mentioned that in her 2,000 years of history, the Church has never failed to be at the side of sick individuals, especially those suffering from leprosy. Therefore, this Congress hopes to “propose again Jesus’ gesture, namely, ‘to touch’ the complex reality of individuals affected by leprosy.” It is a very ancient and feared disease that forced, and sadly still does today, on those who suffer it such marginalization, which causes their social death even before the physical, he specified. He also explained that, with a renewed awareness of the different problems that leprosy patients endure, the Congress hopes to propose again the simple gesture of “touching” and “receiving.”
In fact, the under-secretary noted that today, although the disease is perfectly curable, often it continues to be accompanied by a heavy social stigma: individuals that suffer it, even when they are completely cured, are regarded as “different” and socially marginalized.
Father Chendi added that leprosy continues to spread among the poor of the less developed countries, who also have the greatest difficulty to access care.
In this connection, he said that the commitment against leprosy must not be limited to the medical dimension, but that for individuals directly affected, as well as for their families, it must also entail the social aspects, in order to “eliminate in so far as possible, the profound causes of the sickness,” namely, poverty and under-development, singling out and taking early care of individuals that suffer the disease, and informing and educating the people to do away with the social stigma, unfortunately still very rooted and persistent.
In this same line, he explained how the Church, without emphasis and without seeking notoriety, has developed a task not only of care but also of “solidarity” and “tenderness,” as well criticism of the social stigma.
Cardinal Dziwisz: ‘This Will Be the World Youth Day of Mercy’ by ZENIT Staff
Ahead of World Youth Day 2016, July 26-31, in Krakow, Poland, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz says this will be the World Youth Day “of Mercy.”
According to Vatican Radio who spoke with the Archbishop of Krakow, who served as personal secretary to the Polish Pope, the cardinal said the young people from around the world “wish to come to Krakow to meet the Holy Father, but I also think that they want to come here in this Year of Mercy, because Krakow is the capital of the Divine Mercy.”
This celebration, taking place in the homeland of St. John Paul II, founder of the youth days, will draw young people from some 194 countries.
“There,” the Polish city’s archbishop recalled, “Jesus Christ gave messages to the whole world: he give them to Sister Faustina, but what could she do alone? Then another apostle, came John Paul II, who brought this message, this fire on the devotion of Divine Mercy to the whole world; and now the Holy Father Francis comes, with the same theme, that of mercy.”
Since Pope John Paul II’s pontificate, Cardinal Dziwisz observed, his successors have reached out to young people and actively participated in World Youth Days.
“Certainly, we see a continuity,” he noted, “John Paul II began it, then followed Pope Benedict XVI and now Pope Francis. John Paul II saw that young people seek, ask, you have to give them answers, we must guide them. Young people need a good shepherd.”
Patriarch Sako’s Letter to Muslims on Month of Ramadan by ZENIT Staff
Below is the letter of Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako, Chaldean Patriarch of Babylon, to Muslims on the month of Ramadan. The text has been provided by the Patriarchate:
* * *
Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako
Sisters and Brothers,
We as a Church wish you a “Ramadan – Fasting”, and bind our wishes with yours, expressing our solidarity, sincere feelings, respect and prayers from the bottom of our hearts that may God watch over Iraq and protect Iraqis.
The month of Ramadan provides a privilege time for fasting, praying, repent and changing of mentality and approaches (metanoia) in order to live in peace with oneself and with others. It is an opportunity to practice compassion and charity. Since a person cannot be a real believer unless he is honest, peacemaker and serving.
In such harsh and worrying circumstances that have troubled the country, leaving thousands killed and wounded; millions of displaced people and huge destruction, I urge you to make this month an “exceptional Ramadan” in terms of:
1. Renouncing sectarianism and fundamentalism.
2. Building a culture of reconciliation.
3. Promoting shared values of tolerance, neighborhood and friendship.
4. Endorsing peaceful coexistence, dialogue and mutual respect.
This way, you will make the celebration of the upcoming “Al-Fitre”, a double feast: where you will rejoice the religious occasion as well as the triumph of reconciliation, and peace. On this event, we extend our compliments to the Iraqi Forces, for their victory, hoping that all the Iraqi territories will be released from ISIS.
To conclude, be sure that we will be praying during this month, that your fasting and praying will enlighten and direct the hearts of all Iraqis toward the birth of a new Iraq, in which all its’ citizens will be treated equally, safeguard their dignity and bring them security and stability.[Original text: English] [Courtesy of Chaldean Patriarchate of Babylon]
Fifteenth Meeting of Council of Cardinals In Progress by Deborah Castellano Lubov
The fifteenth meeting of the Council of Cardinals charged with assisting Pope Francis in the governance of the Universal Church is taking place in the Vatican. The ‘C9,’ as they are commonly called, are studying the plans for reforming the Apostolic Constitution “Pastor Bonus” on the Roman Curia. The 14th meeting, whose conclusions can be seen below, occurred April 11-13.
The meeting will continue until tomorrow afternoon. As is customary, the Holy Father will be absent from tomorrow morning’s meetings, as he addresses the faithful during his weekly General Audience.
The Council of Cardinals consists of the following nine prelates: Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello, president of the Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State; Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz Ossa, Archbishop Emeritus of Santiago, Chile; Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay; Cardinal Reinhard Marx, Archbishop of Munich; Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya, Archbishop of Kinshasa, Congo; Cardinal Sean Patrick O’Malley, Archbishop of Boston; Cardinal George Pell, prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy; Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga, Archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras; and Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State.
The C9’s 14th meeting was April 11-13. After this 15th meeting, its next two meetings will take place on Sept. 12-14 and Dec. 12-14.
***
On ZENIT’s Web page:
Conclusion of the C9’s 14th Meeting: https://zenit.org/articles/popes-council-of-cardinals-concludes-3-days-of-meetings/
Forum: ‘The Sacred Heart of Jesus’ by Cardinal Donald Wuerl
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Jesus’ heart figures prominently in the story of salvation. During his ministry he revealed himself as “gentle and lowly in heart” (Matthew11:29). And upon his death on the Cross, when his side was pierced with a lance, blood and water from his heart flowed from the wound (John 19:34). Christians have always seen this as symbolic of the sacraments of salvation – baptism and the Eucharist.
Likewise, the blood and water which flowed from the heart of Jesus are also symbolic of the origin of the Church, the spouse of Christ. Citing Saint Ambrose, the Catechism teaches that just as Eve was formed from the side of Adam, so was the Church formed from the side and pierced heart of Jesus, the new Adam (CCC 766).
These events, which influenced the development of the Church’s devotion to the Sacred Heart, help us to see that the term “Sacred Heart” really stands for the entire mystery of our Savior Jesus Christ, the totality of his being – tender mercy and infinite love, the salvation of mankind. Furthermore, just as the Risen Jesus invited Thomas to put his hand into his side (John 20:27), so too does the Lord want us to enter into his side to touch the heart of our salvation.
For those who would suggest a harsh God of rigorous punitive justice, devotion to the Sacred Heart can serve as an antidote, inspiring a trust in the compassion of our Redeemer who takes upon himself the misery and sin of the world. Through the transformative power of the heart of Jesus, which is on fire for love of humanity, we are made new again.
“The Heart of Jesus is the ultimate symbol of God’s mercy,” affirms Pope Francis. And this “is not an imaginary symbol, it is a real symbol, which represents the center, the source from which salvation for all humanity gushed forth.” In particular, he says, “from the Heart of Jesus, the Lamb sacrificed on the Cross, flow forgiveness and life for all people.”
Jesus, who is fully God and fully man, came to save us from a dire situation, one from which we could never extricate ourselves through our own efforts. He came to save us from sin and death. This is accomplished in a special way in the Sacrament of Confession. Born of the heart of Jesus, it remains one of the marvels of his endless love that he would make forgiveness and spiritual renewal so readily available to us. In the simple acts of contrition, sacramental confession, absolution and penance, we are restored to a whole new life.
Confession serves a real human need that has not diminished with the passage of time. The human race has, unfortunately, not outgrown its tendency to sin. When we sin, we are injured and feel the burden of our transgressions whether we have a sense of sin or not. And when we fail to treat our wounds, when we continue to carry all that baggage with us, accumulating more along the way, it only makes life all that harder. However, Jesus came to heal us and give us rest from such burdens, and he gave his Church the power and the means to do this through this sacrament.
The fruits of Confession are manifold and profound. We experience them primarily in the order of grace. Sometimes we notice an improvement in our prayer life. Sometimes we sense renewed strength in our moral struggles. Nearly always the person who enters into the heart of Jesus in the confessional experiences the immense relief of a great weight being lifted from him or her.
Regular examinations of conscience and Confession make for a happier life. That is the promise of Jesus and the message of the Church. It is Good News that we need to proclaim to the world.
This forgiveness is a very great gift, but even that is merely a precondition for something greater – the gift of the Lord’s own divine life. God loves us in spite of our weaknesses. In fact, he loves us so much that he wants to help us overcome them. Our purpose in life – what God has planned for us – is to be transformed into Christ. For this to happen, Jesus has opened his Sacred Heart to us and, like Saint Thomas, we need only accept his invitation to enter into it.
This blog post draws from passages of my book “The Light is On for You: The Life-Changing Power of Confession (2014).”
***
On the NET:
To the original post on Cardinal Wuerl’s blog: http://cardinalsblog.adw.org/
Pope’s Address to Meeting of Judges Against Human Trafficking by ZENIT Staff
Here is a ZENIT translation of the address Pope Francis gave Friday evening to a group of judges and magistrates, gathered by the Pontifical Academy for Social Sciences, for a summit against human trafficking.
—
I would like to warmly greet you and renew the expression of my esteem for your cooperation and contribution towards human and social progress, a task of which the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences is more than capable.
If I’m happy for this contribution and proud of you, it is also in consideration of the noble service you can offer to humanity — both through an understanding of this very present phenomenon of indifference and its extreme forms in the globalized world — as well as the solutions in face of this challenge, seeking to improve the living conditions of the neediest among our brothers and sisters. Following Christ, the Church is called to engage herself, in other words, there is no room for the Enlightenment adage, according to which the Church must not meddle in politics. The Church must meddle in great politics because — I quote Paul VI — “politics is one of the highest forms of love, of charity.” And the Church is also called to be faithful to people, even more so in the case of situations where wounds and dramatic sufferingd are present, and where values, ethics, social sciences and faith are involved; situations in which your testimony as individuals and humanists, together with your own social expertise, is particularly appreciated.
In the course of these recent years there have been many important activities at the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, under the vigorous drive of its President, Chancellor and some external collaborators of prestigious reputation, whom I thank from my heart. Activities in defense of the dignity and freedom of men and women of today and, in particular, in the eradication of human trafficking and new forms of slavery, such as forced labor, prostitution, organ trafficking the drug trade and organized crime. As my predecessor Benedict XVI said, and as I myself have affirmed on several occasions, these are real crimes against humanity that should be recognized as such by all religious, political and social leaders, and reflected in national and international laws.
The meeting on December 2, 2014 with the religious leaders of the most influential religions in this globalized world, and the summit on July 21, 2015 with the Mayors of the major cities of the world, have shown the willingness of this Institution in pursuing the eradication of the new forms of slavery. I hold a special memory of these two meetings, as well as of the significant youth seminars, all due to the initiative of the Academy.
Some might think that the Academy should move, rather, in the realm of the pure sciences, of more theoretical considerations. This responds, certainly, to an Enlightenment conception of what an Academy should be. An Academy must have roots, and roots in the concrete, otherwise it runs the risk of fomenting a liquid reflection that vaporizes and comes to nothing. This divorce between the idea and the reality is evidently a past cultural phenomenon, rather of the Enlightenment, but which still has its influence.
Now, inspired by the same motivations, the Academy has brought you together, judges and prosecutors from around the world, with practical experience and wisdom in the eradication of human trafficking, smuggling and organized crime. You have come here representing your colleagues with the praiseworthy aim of making progress in spreading awareness of these scourges and, consequently, manifesting your irreplaceable mission to face the new challenges posed by the globalization of indifference, responding to society’s growing concern and respecting national and international laws. To take charge of one’s own vocation also means to feel and proclaim oneself free — judges and attorneys free from what? From the pressures of governments, free from private institutions and, of course, free from “structures of sin,” of which my predecessor John Paul II spoke, in particular, of the “structure of sin,” free from organized crime. I know that you endure pressures, you endure threats in all this, and I know that to be a judge, an attorney today is to risk one’s skin, and this merits recognition of the courage of those who wish to continue to be free in the exercise of their juridical function. Without this freedom a nation’s judiciary is corrupted and sows corruption. We all know the caricature of justice for these cases, no? Justice with its eyes bandaged, with the bandage falling and covering its mouth.
Fortunately, for the realization of this complex and delicate human and Christian project of freeing humanity from the new slaveries and organized crime, which the Academy has undertaken following my request, we can also count on the important and decisive synergy of the United Nations. There is greater awareness of this, a strong awareness. I am grateful that the representatives of the 193 UN Member States unanimously approved the new Sustainable Development Goals and, in particular, Goal 8.7. This reads: “take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labor, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labor, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2015 end child labor in all its forms.” — up to here the resolution. We can well say that now such goals and targets are a moral imperative for all Nations Members of the UN to achieve.
To this end, we must generate a crosscutting wave of “good vibes” to embrace the whole of society from top to bottom and vice versa, from the periphery to the center and back, from leaders to communities, and from villages and public opinion to the key players in society. As the religious, social and civic leaders have realized, achieving this requires that judges too become fully aware of this challenge, feeling the importance of their responsibility towards society, sharing their experiences and best practices and acting together — important, in communion, in community, that they act together — to break down barriers and open new paths of justice to promote human dignity, freedom, responsibility, happiness and, ultimately, peace. Without over-extending the metaphor, we could say that the judge is to justice as the religious leader and the philosopher are to morality, and the ruler — or any other personalized figure of sovereign power — is to the political. But only in the figure of the judge is justice recognized as the first attribute of society. And this must be recovered, because the increasing tendency is to liquefy the figure of the judge through the pressures, etcetera that I mentioned earlier. And yet, it is the first attribute of society. It arises in the biblical tradition itself, no? Moses had to institute seventy judges to help him, to judge the cases, the judge to whom one appeals. And also in this process of liquefaction, the forcefulness, the concreteness of the reality affects peoples. In other words, peoples have an entity that gives them consistency, that makes them grow, and carry out their own projects, assume their failures, assume their ideals, but they are also suffering a process of liquefaction, and all that is the concrete consistency of a people tends to be transformed into the mere nominal identity of a citizen, and a people is not the same thing as a group of citizens. The judge is the first attribute of a society of people.
In calling together these judges, the Academy wants nothing more than to cooperate, in the measure of its possibilities, according to the UN mandate. I take this opportunity to thank those Nations that through their Ambassadors to the Holy See have not been indifferent or arbitrarily critical but, on the contrary, have actively collaborated with the Academy to make this summit possible. The Ambassadors that did not feel this necessity, or who washed their hands, or who thought it wasn’t so necessary, we expect at the next meeting.
I ask the judges to fulfill their vocation and their essential mission: to establish justice, without which there is no order, or sustainable and integral development, or social peace. Undoubtedly, one of the greatest social ills of today’s world is corruption at all levels, which weakens any government, participatory democracy and the activity of justice. Judges, you are responsible for executing justice, and I ask you to pay special attention to justice in the field of human trafficking and smuggling and, in face of this and of organized crime, I ask you to take care not to fall into a web of corruption.
When we say “execute justice,” as you well know, we do not mean seeking punishment as an end in itself, but, in the case of penalties, that they be given for the re-education of the wrongdoers in the hope that they can be reintegrated in society, in other words, there is no valid punishment without hope. A punishment shut-in on itself, which leaves no room for hope, is a torture, it’s not a punishment. I base myself also on this to affirm the position of the Church against the death penalty. Of course, a theologian said to me that in the concept of Medieval and Post-Medieval theology, the death penalty had hope: “we hand them over to God.” But times have changed and this is no loner right. Let us leave God to choose the moment … the hope of reintegration in society: “Not even a murderer loses his personal dignity, and God Himself pledges to guarantee this” (Saint John Paul II, EV, n.9). And if this delicate connection between justice and mercy applies to those responsible for crimes against humanity as well as to every human being, it is a fortiori true especially for the victims who, as the term suggests, are more passive than active in the exercise of their freedom, having fallen into the trap of the new slave hunters. These victims so often betrayed even in the most intimate and sacred part of themselves, that is to say, in the love they aspire to give and take, and that their families owe them or that their suitors or husbands promise them, who instead end up selling them into the forced labor and prostitution market or the sale of organs.
Judges today are called more than ever to focus on the needs of the victims. The victims are the first who need to be rehabilitated and reintegrated into society – and their traffickers and executioners must be given no quarter and pursued. The old adage is useless: they are things that have existed since the world is the world. The victims can change and, in fact, we know that their life can change with the help of good judges, of the people that assist them and of the whole of society. We know that not a few of these individuals are lawyers, politicians, brilliant writers or have a successful job serving the common good in a valid way. We know how important it is that each former victim is encouraged to talk about having been a victim as a past experience now valiantly overcome; of being a survivor or, better said, a person with a life of quality, whose dignity has been restored and freedom claimed. And in this matter of reinsertion I would like to transmit an empirical experience. When I go to a city, I like to visit the prisons – I have already visited several – and it’s curious, without detracting from anyone, but as a general impression I have seen that prisons whose Director is a woman are better than those whose Director is a man. This isn’t feminism, it’s curious. In this matter of reinsertion, woman has a special talent, a special touch that, without losing energies, reinserts individuals, locates them again – some attribute it to the root of maternity. But it is curious. I mention it as a personal experience, it is worthwhile to rethink it. And here, in Italy, there is a high percentage of prisons directed by women, many young women, who are respected and treat prisoners well. Another experience I have had is that at the Wednesday Audiences it’s not unusual for a group of recluses to come — from this or that prison –, brought by the male or female directors, to be there. In other words, they are gestures of reinsertion.
You are called to give hope in doing justice. From the widow seeking justice insistently (Luke 18:1-8), to the victims of today, all fuel a desire for justice as hope that the injustice that passes through this world is not final, that it does not have the last word.
Perhaps it may help to apply, according to the characteristics of each country, on every continent and in every legal tradition, the Italian practice of recovering the ill-gotten gains of traffickers and criminals and offering them to society and, concretely, for the reintegration of the victims. The rehabilitation of the victims and their reinsertion in society, always really possible, is the greatest good we can do to them, to the community and to social peace. Of course, the work is hard, it does not end with the sentence; it ends afterwards by seeking the support, growth, reinsertion and rehabilitation of the victim and of the individual responsible for the suffering.
If there is anything that runs through the evangelical Beatitudes and the protocol of the Divine Judgment with which we will all be judged, according to the Gospel of Matthew (Chapter 25), it is the issue of justice: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, those who suffer for justice, blessed are those who mourn, blessed are the meek, blessed are the peacemakers, blessed of my Father are those who treat the neediest and least of my brothers and sisters as myself. They – and here I am referring especially to judges – will have the highest reward: they shall inherit the earth, and they shall be called children of God, they shall see God and enjoy eternity with the Father.
In this spirit, I am encouraged to ask judges, prosecutors and academics to continue their work and carry out, within their own means and with the help of Grace, successful initiatives that honor them in the service of people and of the common good. Thank you very much.
[Original text: Spanish] [Translation by ZENIT]
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