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L’O S S E RVATOR E ROMANOWEEKLY EDITION

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IN ENGLISHNon praevalebunt

Fifty-third year, number 26 (2.653) Vatican City Friday, 26 June 2020

On the Feast of Saint Thomas More

Humour is a fundamental Christian virtue

Pope to delegation from Lombardy

Positive energy

PAGE 5

Interview

Bernice Albertine King

GISOTTI ON PA G E 10

In the Litany of Loreto

Three new invocations

PAGE 4

‘Sir Thomas More’ by HansHolbein, the Younger (1478-1535)

General Audience

On the prayer of David

PAGE 3

Prayer for Good HumourThe following is Saint Thomas More’s Prayer for Good Humourwhich the Holy Father recites each day.

Grant me O Lord, good digestion,and also something to digest.Grant me a healthy body, andthe necessary good humour to maintain it.Grant me a simple soul that knowsto treasure all that is goodand that doesn’t frighten easily at the sight of evil,but rather finds the means to put things backin their place.Give me a soul that knows not boredom,grumbles, sighs, and laments,nor excess of stress, because of thatobstructing thing called “I.”Grant me O Lord, a good sense of humour,Allow me the grace to be able to take a joketo discover in life a bit of joy,and to be able to share it with others.Saint Thomas More, pray for us.

ANDREA MONDA

“The profound joy of the heartis also the true preconditionfor ‘humour’; and so ‘h u m o u r, ’under a certain aspect, is anindicator, a barometer offaith”. And, “joy is very closelyunited to a sense of humour. AChristian who does not have itis missing something … to me,a sense of humour is the hu-man attitude closest to God’sgrace”.

The first statement is fromthe 1980s and is from JosephRatzinger; the second is fromsome 40 years later and comesfrom Pope Francis, but it isunderstood that it is not anextemporaneous quip, disen-gaged from a ‘daily practice’.Indeed on that same occasionthe Pope indicated that “for 40years I have recited SaintThomas More’s prayer”, pre-cisely for this reason, in orderto have “a sense of humour.Christian joy and a sense ofhumour always go together”.

So it is fitting to recallthese statements on the FeastDay of Saint Thomas More, aman who, armed with a smile,was able to face his life, filledwith triumphs and unexpecteddefeats, glory and persecution,and above all to joyously meetthe greatest challenge, anunjust death sentence im-

posed by his old friend, KingHenry VIII.

Hence, a sense of humour isa weapon, or better stated, it isa virtue, that a Christian can-not fail to cultivate. ThomasMore did so and was a happyman, able to offer happiness tothose who were near him.More than happy, he wasblessed, strong because he wasable to live his personal‘b eatitude’ that he summed upin this brilliant witticism:“Blessed is he who can laughat himself, because he will nev-er stop having fun”. Christianirony is above all self-irony, anattitude that suspends thetrenchant judgment of othersand at the same time is quickto recognize, mercifully, one’sown limitations. It is in thispoint that the associationbetween humour and humility— another fundamental Chris-tian virtue — is welded. Thetwo words come from the sameroot: humus, soil, which is alsothe same root of humanitas.One is a human being if he re-cognizes he was born of dirt,composed of mud, limited. Onthis fragile, ‘dirty’ essence,however, according to the bib-lical narrative, God breathedhis spirit, elevating humanityto the loftiest of creatures, inHis image and likeness, deliv-ering him from the merely nat-ural. And it is not by chancethat another way to say hu-mour, sense of humour, is tospeak of spirit: a humorousman is spirited, able to joke‘with spirit’. When Pope Fran-cis, for about seven years,preaches the necessity forChristians to become spiritualmen and women, to be opento the work of the Holy Spirit,this also includes the appar-ently secondary effect of be-coming spirited men and wo-men, able to smile first andforemost at themselves. In fact,Pope Bergoglio has oftenwarned against all forms of ri-gidity, inviting the People ofGod to dissolve any stringencythat makes the heart sclerotic.The oil that melts the heart isalso composed of this healthyand humble humour. Prayer isfundamental in order to nour-ish this humility that frees us;perhaps the same prayer ofSaint Thomas More, which thePope has recited daily for 40years and which — so simpleand powerful as to need nofurther comment — accompan-ies this text.

L’OSSERVATORE ROMANOWEEKLY EDITION

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page 2 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO Friday, 26 June 2020, number 26

VAT I C A NBULLETIN

AUDIENCES

Thursday, 18 June

Cardinal Francesco Montenegro,Archbishop of Agrigento, Italy, withthe coadjutor Bishop AlessandroDamiano, and with Archbishop Vin-cenzo Bertolone, S D P, of Catanzaro-SquillaceH.E. Count John Cornet d’Elzius,Ambassador of Belgium, on hisfarewell visitFriday, 19 June

Cardinal Angelo Becciu, Prefect ofthe Congregation for the Causes ofSaintsSaturday, 20 June

Cardinal Marc Ouellet, PSS, Prefectof the Congregation for BishopsH.E. Mr Godwin George Umo,Ambassador of Nigeria, on hisfarewell visitH.E. Mr Sibi George, Ambassadorof India, on his farewell visitDoctors, nurses and healthcareworkers from Lombardy, ItalyMonday, 22 June

Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, VicarGeneral of His Holiness for theDiocese of RomeCardinal Stanisław Ryłko, Archpriestof the Papal Basilica of Saint MaryMajor

Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, Presi-dent of the Pontifical Academy forLifeThursday, 25 June

Cardinal Luis Francisco Ladaria Fer-rer, S J, Prefect of the Congregationfor the Doctrine of the FaithArchbishop Alfred Xuereb, titularArchbishop of Amantea, ApostolicNuncio to Korea and to MongoliaMr Gilbert F. Houngbo, Presidentof I FA D

H.E. Mrs Safia Taleb al Souhail,Ambassador of Iraq to Italy, withher husbandFather Alois, Prior of Taizè

CHANGES IN EP I S C O PAT E

The Holy Father appointed as Bish-op of Caxito, Angola, Fr MaurícioAgostinho Camuto, C S S P. Until nowhe has served as director of the Rá-dio Ecclesia National Catholic Ra-dio (15 June).

Bishop-elect Camuto, 56, wasborn in Colungo Alto, Angola. Amember of Congregation of theHoly Spirit, he was ordained a prieston 28 July 1991. He completed hisstudies in theology and in socialcommunication.

The Holy Father appointed as Bish-op of Uruaçu, Brazil, Fr GiovaniCarlos Caldas Barroca. Until nowhe has served as parish priest of SãoMiguel Arcanjo in Recanto dasEmas-DF (17 June).

Bishop-elect Caldas Barroca, 51,was born in Brasilia, Brazil He wasordained a priest on 3 December1994. He completed his studies inphilosophy and theology.

The Holy Father appointed as Bish-op of Gozo, Malta, Fr AnthonyTeuma. Until now he has served asepiscopal delegate for the family andhead of the John Paul II Family In-stitute of Gozo (17 June).

Bishop-elect Teuma, 56, was bornin Xaghra, Malta. He was ordaineda priest on 25 June 1988. He com-pleted his studies in theology andphilosophy and holds a doctorate inthe science of education.

The Holy Father accepted the resig-nation of Bishop Luigi Marruccifrom his office as Bishop of Civ-itavecchia-Tarquinia, Italy (18 June).The Holy Father appointed BishopGianrico Ruzza as Bishop of Civ-

itavecchia-Tarquinia. Until now hehas served as titular Bishop ofSubaugusta and Auxiliary of Rome,Italy (18 June).

Bishop Ruzza, 57, was born inRome, Italy. He was ordained apriest on 16 May 1987. He was or-dained a bishop on 11 June 2016,subsequent to his appointment astitular Bishop of Subaugusta andAuxiliary of Rome.

The Holy Father appointed as Aux-iliary Bishop of the Diocese of SanCristóbal de Venezuela, Venezuela,Fr Juan Alberto Ayala Ramírez, as-signing him the titular episcopal Seeof Rusubisir. Until now he hasserved as episcopal vicar for the “Es-píritu Santo” territorial zone andparish priest of “Nuestra Señora delos Ángeles” in La Grita (18 June).

Bishop-elect Ayala Ramírez, 46,was born in San Pedro de Pre-gonero, Venezuela. He was ordaineda priest on 1 November 2002. Heholds a licence in education, a spe-cialization in priestly formation andvocational pastoral care, and a Mas-ter’s in Neurocompetencias para laeducación.

The Holy Father accepted the resig-nation of Archbishop FrancescoPanfilo, SDB, from his office as Arch-bishop of Rabaul, Papua NewGuinea, (19 June).The Holy Father appointed BishopRochus Josef Tatamai, MSC, as Arch-bishop of Rabaul. Until now he hasserved as Bishop of Kavieng, PapuaNew Guinea (19 June).

Archbishop Tatamai, 57, was bornin Raduna, Papua New Guinea. Hewas ordained a priest on 26 Novem-ber 1989. He was ordained a bishopon 29 September 2005, subsequentto his appointment as titular Bishopof Accia and Auxiliary of Kerema,Papua New Guinea. On 29 Novem-ber 2007 he was appointed Bishopof Bereina, Papua New Guinea andon 22 June 2018 he was appointedBishop of Kavieng.

The Holy Father appointed as Bish-op of Duluth, USA, Fr Michel Mul-loy. Until now he has served as dio-cesan administrator of the said Dio-cese (19 June).

Bishop-elect Mulloy, 67, was bornin Mobridge, USA . He was ordaineda priest on 8 June 1979. He carriedout his ecclesiastical studies at SaintPaul Seminary in Saint Paul, USA .

The Holy Father appointed as Bish-op of Mandeville, Jamaica, Fr JohnDerek Persaud. Until now he hasserved as vicar general, vicar for the

clergy and administrator of thecathedral (19 June).

Bishop-elect Persaud, 63, wasborn in Georgetown, Guyana. Hewas ordained a priest on 14 July1985. He holds licence in canon law.

The Holy Father appointed as Bish-op of Copiapó, Chile, Fr RicardoBasilio Morales Galindo, O. de M.Until now he has served as apostolicadministrator sede vacante et ad nu-tum Sanctae Sedis of the Archdioceseof Puerto Montt, Chile (20 June).

Bishop-elect Morales Galindo, 47,was born in San Fernando, Chile. Amember of Order of Our Lady ofMercy, he was ordained a priest on 3March 2006. He is a lawyer andholds a bachelor’s degree in theo-logy, a licence in education, and adiploma in canon law.

The Holy Father appointed as Aux-iliary Bishop of the Archdiocese ofSanto Domingo, Dominican Repub-lic, Fr José Amable Durán Tineo, as-signing him the titular episcopal Seeof Tacia montana. Until now he hasserved as rector of the Santo Tomásde Aquino national seminary inSanto Domingo (20 June).

Bishop-elect Durán Tineo, 48,was born in San José de las Matas,Dominican Republic. He was or-dained a priest on 6 January 2000.He carried out his ecclesiasticalstudies and he holds a licence inyouth pastoral care.

PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FORLE G I S L AT I V E TEXTS

The Holy Father appointed as mem-bers of the Pontifical Council forLegislative Texts the following: Car-dinal Luis Antonio G. Tagle, Prefectof the Congregation for the Evan-gelization of Peoples; Cardinal LuisFrancisco Ladaria Ferrer, S J, Prefectof the Congregation for the Doc-trine of the Faith; Cardinal Domi-nique Mamberti, Prefect of the Su-preme Tribunal of the Apostolic Sig-natura; and Cardinal Joseph KevinFarrell, Prefect of the Dicastery forthe Laity, Family and Life (19 June).

AD M I N I S T R AT I O N OF THEPAT R I M O N Y OF THE

APOSTOLIC SEE

The Holy Father appointed Mr Fa-bio Gasperini as secretary of the Ad-ministration of the Patrimony of theApostolic See (15 June).

NECROLO GY

Bishop Anton Schlembach, Bishopemeritus of Speyer, Germany, at age88 (15 June)

Benedict XVIreturns to the

Va t i c a nBenedict XVI returned to his res-idence at the Mater Ecclesiaemonastery in the Vatican onMonday 22 June, upon returningfrom a four-day visit to Germany.On Thursday, 18 June, JosephRatzinger had travelled to Reg-ensburg to visit his brother Georgwho, at 96, is in poor health. ThePope emeritus left the seminaryof the German town shortly after10:00 am for Munich airport,from which he departed a fewminutes after noon. His flight ar-rived at Rome’s Ciampino airportat 1:00 pm and returned to theVatican by automobile.

number 26, Friday, 26 June 2020 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO page 3

When a person lacks poetryhis soul limps

The Holy Father reflects on the prayer of David

At the General Audience on Wednesday, 24 June, Pope Francisaddressed the faithful from the Library of the Apostolic Palace. Hecontinued his series of catecheses on prayer, with his focus on Davidwho, while both saint and sinner, full of contradictions, was constant inprayerful dialogue with God. The following is a translation of the HolyFa t h e r ’s catechesis, which he shared in Italian.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,Good morning!On our itinerary of catecheses onprayer, today we meet King Dav-id. Favoured by God even fromhis youth, he is chosen for aunique mission that plays a cent-ral role in the history of thePeople of God and of our ownfaith. In the Gospels, Jesus iscalled “son of David” a numberof times; in fact, like him, He wasborn in Bethlehem. According tothe promises, the Messiah wouldcome from the descendants ofDavid: a King completely afterGo d’s heart, in perfect obedienceto the Father, whose action faith-fully realizes His plan of salvation(cf. Catechism of the CatholicC h u rc h , 2579).

D avid’s story begins on thehills surrounding Bethlehem,where he grazes the flock of hisfather, Jesse. He is still a boy, thelast of many brothers. So muchso that when the prophet Samuel,by God’s order, goes in search ofthe new king, it seems almost asif his father has forgotten abouthis youngest son (cf. 1 Sam 16:1-13). He worked in the open air:we can think of him as a friend ofthe wind, of the sounds of nature,of the rays of the sun. He hasonly one companion to comforthis soul: his harp; and duringthose long days spent in solitude,he loves to play and to sing to hisGod. He also played with theslingshot.

Therefore David is, first andforemost, a shepherd: a man whotakes care of animals, who de-fends them from oncomingdanger, who provides for theirsustenance. When, by God’s will,David will have to care for hispeople, the actions he will takewill not be very different fromthese. This is why the image ofthe shepherd frequently occurs inthe Bible. Even Jesus defineshimself as “the good shepherd”,whose behaviour is different thanthat of the mercenary; he offershis life on behalf of the sheep; heguides them; he knows each ofthem by name (cf. Jn 10:11-18).

David learned a lot from hisprevious job. So, when theprophet Nathan reproaches himfor his very serious sin (cf. 2 Sam12:1-15), David understands rightaway that he has been a badshepherd, that he has despoiledanother man of his only sheep

which he loved, that he is nolonger a humble servant, but aman crazy for power, a poacherwho loots and preys on others.

A second characteristic traitpresent in David’s vocation is hispoet’s soul. From this small obser-vation, we can deduce that Davidwas not a vulgar man, as is oftenthe case with individuals who areforced to live for long periodsisolated from society. He is, in-stead, a sensitive person wholoves music and song. His harpwould accompany him always:sometimes to raise a hymn of joyto God (cf. 2 Sam 6:16), othertimes to express a lament, or toconfess his own sin (cf. Ps 51:3).

The world that presents itselfbefore his eyes is not a silentscene: as things unraveled beforehis gaze he observed a greatermystery. That is exactly whereprayer arises: from the convictionthat life is not something thattakes us by surprise, but an as-tonishing mystery that inspirespoetry, music, gratitude, praise,even lament and supplication inus. When a person lacks that po-etic dimension, let’s say, when helacks poetry, his or her soullimps. Thus, tradition casts Davidas the great artist be-hind the compositionof the Psalms. Many ofthem, at the beginning,often bear an explicitreference to the king ofIsrael, and to some ofthe more or less nobleevents of his life.

David, therefore, hasa dream: that of beinga good shepherd.Sometimes he will liveup to this task, othertimes less so; what isimportant, however, inthe context of the his-tory of salvation, isthat he is a prophecyof another King, whomhe merely announcesand prefigures.

Let us look at Dav-id; let us think about

David. Holy and sinful, perse-cuted and persecutor, victim andmanslayer, which is a contradic-tion. David was all of this, to-gether. And we too have recordedevents in our lives that are oftenopposed to each other; in thedrama of life, all people often sinby inconsistency. There is a singlegolden thread running throughD avid’s life, that gives unity toeverything that happens: his pray-er. That is the voice that is neverextinguished. David the saintprays: David the sinner prays;David the persecuted prays; Dav-id the persecutor prays. EvenDavid the manslayer prays. Thisis the golden thread that runsthrough his life. A man of prayer.That is the voice that is never si-lenced: whether it assumes tonesof jubilation or those of lament, itis always the same prayer; onlythe melody changes. In so doing,David teaches us to let everythingenter into dialogue with God: joyas well as guilt, love as well assuffering, friendship as much assickness. Everything can becomea word spoken to the “Yo u ” whoalways listens to us.

David, who knew solitude, wasin reality never alone! In the end,

this is the power of prayer in allthose who make room for it intheir lives. Prayer gives you nobil-ity, and David is noble becausehe prays. But he is a manslayerwho prays; he repents and his no-bility returns thanks to prayer.Prayer gives us nobility. It is cap-able of securing our relationshipwith God who is the true Com-panion on the journey of everyman and woman, amid life’sthousand adversities, good orbad: but always prayer. Thankyou, Lord. I am afraid, Lord.Help me, Lord. Forgive me,Lord. David’s trust is so greatthat, when he was persecuted andhad to flee, he did not let anyonedefend him: “If my God humili-ates me thus, he knows what he isdoing”, because the nobility ofprayer leaves us in God’s hands.Those hands wounded by love:the only sure hands we have.

SPECIAL GREETINGS

I greet the English-speakingfaithful joining us through themedia. Upon you and your fami-lies I invoke the joy and peace ofthe Lord. May God bless you!

I hope that the summer seasonmay be a time of serenity and agood occasion to contemplateGod in the masterpiece of his cre-ation.

I address my thoughts to thee l d e rl y, to young people, to the sickand to newlyweds. Today is theFeast of the Nativity of SaintJohn the Baptist. Let us learn,from the one who was the pre-cursor to Jesus, the capacity tobear witness to the Gospel withcourage, beyond our own differ-ences, preserving the harmonyand friendship that are the foun-dations of credibility of any pro-clamation of faith.

My blessing to all!

GENERAL AU D I E N C E

‘King David Playing the Harp’by Gerard van Honthorst

page 4 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO Friday, 26 June 2020, number 26

Pop e’s video message to maritime personnel, fishermen and their families

Thank you for your important contribution

Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments

Three new invocations in the Litany of Loreto

With Alex Zanardi in thesign of inclusion

Pope Francis has written a letter of encourage-ment to Alex Zanardi, the former Formula Onedriver and Paralympic champion who sufferedserious head injuries on Friday, 19 June, when helost control of his handbike while competing inthe Italian road race, Obiettivo tricolore.

Zanardi is an inspirational Italian athlete who,after losing both his legs in a life changing acci-dent during the 2001 American Memorial CARTrace in Germany, turned to the sport of handbikeracing, for which to date he has won four Para-lympic gold medals.

In the handwritten letter, which was publishedby the Gazzetta dello Sport, The Holy Fatherpraises the 53-year-old Zanardi, who now remainshospitalized, for offering “an example of how tosucceed in starting again after an unexpectedstop”. The Pope notes that through sport,Zanardi has “taught how to live the life of protag-onists, making disability a lesson in humanity”and “giving strength to those who have lost it”.

Both Zanardi and the Pontiff, along with otherathletes and teams, also share a common bond intheir support of the charity auction “We Run To-gether” ( w w w. c h a r i t y s t a r s . c o m / We R u nTo g e t h e r ) ,to which they have each donated items to the ini-tiative which aims to raise funds for the staff ofhospitals in northern Italy that have been heavilyimpacted by Covid-19. More than just a charity,however, as the Pope pointed out as he receivedAthletica Vaticana on 20 May, “We Run Togeth-er” also expresses the beauty that sport is able tomove “at the pace of the weakest”, thus truly of-fering “the same dignity” to everyone, whether anOlympic champion, a prisoner, a migrant, a per-son with mental or physical disability.

In a video message released on Wednesdayafternoon, 17 June, the Holy Father thankedmaritime personnel, fishermen and theirfamilies for their important contribution tohumanity, especially during this difficult time ofthe pandemic. “Your work as maritimepersonnel and fishermen has thus become evenmore important”, he said, since it is providingour greater human family with food and otherprimary needs”. The following is the Englishtext of the Pope’s message, which he deliveredin Italian.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,These are difficult times for our world, forwe have had to deal with the sufferingcaused by the coronavirus. Your work asmaritime personnel and fishermen has thusbecome even more important, since it isproviding our greater human family withfood and other primary needs. For this, weare grateful to you. But also because weknow the risks involved in your work.

In these past months, your lives and yourwork have seen significant changes; youhave had to make, and are continuing tomake, many sacrifices. Long periods spentaboard ships without being able to disem-bark, separation from families, friends andnative countries, fear of infection… Allthese things are a heavy burden to bear,now more than ever.

I would like to say something to all ofyou. Know that you are not alone and thatyou are not forgotten. Your work at sea of-ten keeps you apart from others, but you

are close to me in my thoughts and prayers,and in those of your chaplains and the vo-lunteers of Stella Maris. The Gospel itselfreminds us of this, when it speaks to us ofJesus and his first disciples, who were fish-ermen.

Today I would like to offer you a mes-sage and a prayer of hope, comfort andconsolation in the face of whatever hard-ships you have to endure. I would also offer

a word of encouragement to all those whowork with you in providing pastoral care formaritime personnel.

May the Lord bless each of you, yourwork and your families, and may the VirginMary, Star of the Sea, protect you always. Itoo give you my blessing and I keep you inmy prayers. And I ask you, please, not toforget to pray for me. Thank you.

Pope Francis has approved the insertion ofthree new invocations into the Litany of theBlessed Virgin Mary, also know as Litany ofLoreto. This was announced in a letter, dated20 June, sent by the Cardinal Prefect and theArchbishop Secretary of the Congregation forDivine Worship and the Discipline of the Sac-raments to the Presidents of all the EpiscopalConferences. The following is the English text of the Letter.

Prot. N. 296/20

LETTER TO THE PRESIDENTS OFCONFERENCES OF BISHOPS ON THE

INVO CATIONS“MAT E R MISERICORDIÆ”, “MAT E R SPEI”,

AND “SOLACIUM MIGRANTIUM”TO BE INSERTED INTO THE

LI TA N Y OF LORETO

Vatican City, 20 June 2020,Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the

Blessed Virgin MaryYour Eminence,Your Excellency,

The Church which walks along the path-ways of history as a pilgrim towards theheavenly Jerusalem and enjoys inseparablecommunion with Christ her Spouse and Sa-viour, entrusts herself to her who believed inthe word of the Lord. We know from theGospel that the disciples of Jesus had in factlearned from the very beginning to praise

her as “blessed amongst women” and tocount on her maternal intercession. Thetitles and invocations which Christian pietyhas reserved for the Virgin Mary over thecourse of the centuries, as the privileged andsure way to an encounter with Christ, are in-numerable. Even in this present momentwhich is marked by feelings of uncertaintyand trepidation, devout recourse to her,which is full of affection and trust, is deeplyfelt by the People of God.

Discerning this sentiment and welcomingthe desires expressed, the Supreme Pontiff,Pope Francis, wishes to provide that in theformulary of the litany of the Blessed VirginMary, called “The Litany of Loreto”, the in-vocations “Mater misericordiæ”, “Matersp ei” and “Solacium migrantium” should beinserted.

The first invocation shall be placed after“Mater Ecclesiæ”, the second after “Materdivinæ gratiæ”, while the third shall beplaced after “Refugium peccatorum”.

With every good wish and kind regard,we wish to entrust this notification to youfor your information and application.

Sincerely in the Lord,

Cardinal Robert SarahP re f e c t

ARTHUR RO CHEArchbishop Secretary

number 26, Friday, 26 June 2020 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO page 5

Holy Father thanks doctors, nurses and healthcare workers for being silent artisans of the culture of closeness and tenderness

Make precious use of the energy invested“Now it is time to make precious use ofall this positive energy that has beeninvested”. These were Pope Francis’words to representatives of the areas ofItaly most impacted by the Covid-19pandemic, whom he received inaudience in the Clementine Hall onSaturday morning, 20 June. Thefollowing is a translation of the HolyFa t h e r ’s address, which he delivered inItalian.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,We l c o m e !I thank the President of the Lom-bardy Region for his words. I cordi-ally greet the Archbishop of Milan,the Bishops of Bergamo, Brescia,Cremona, Crema and Lodi, and theother authorities present. I greet thedoctors, nurses, healthcare and civilprotection workers and the Alpinetroopers. I greet the priests and con-secrated people. You have come asrepresentatives of Lombardy, one ofthe Italian regions most impacted bythe Covid-19 pandemic, along withPiedmont, Emilia Romagna andVeneto, particularly Vo’ Euganeo,represented here by the Bishop ofPadua. Today I symbolically em-brace these regions as well. And Igreet the representatives of Rome’sSpallanzani Hospital, a medical unitthat has done a great deal in bat-tling the virus.

Over the course of these troubledmonths, various organizations ofItalian society have worked hard to

In the vortex of an epidemic withdisturbing and unexpected effects,the reliable and generous presenceof medical and paramedical staff be-came a certain reference point, firstand foremost for the sick, but in atruly special manner for families,who in this case did not have theopportunity to visit their loved ones.And thus they found in you health-care workers, to a certain degree,other family members, capable ofcombining professional skill with theattention that is a tangible expres-sion of love. Patients often felt theyhad ‘angels’ at their side, whohelped them recover their healthand, at the same time, comforted,

supported, and at timesaccompanied them to thethreshold of the final en-counter with the Lord.These healthcare work-ers, sustained by the con-cern of hospital chap-lains, witnessed God’scloseness to those whosuffer; they were silentartisans of the culture ofcloseness and tenderness.The culture of closenessand tenderness. And youwere its witnesses, evenin the little things: in thecaresses..., even with cellphones, you connectedelderly persons who wereabout to die, with theirson, with their daughter,to say goodbye to them,to see them for the lasttime...; small gestures ofthe creativity of love....

confront the health emergency withgenerosity and commitment. I amthinking of national and regional in-stitutions, of municipalities; I amthinking of dioceses and of parishand religious communities; of somany volunteer associations. Wehave felt more deeply than ever anappreciation for doctors, nurses andall healthcare workers on the frontlines in providing an arduous and attimes heroic service. They have beenvisible signs of humanity that warmthe heart. Many of them becamesick and sadly, some died in exer-cising their profession. Let us re-member them in our prayers withmuch gratitude.

This was good for all of us. The wit-ness of closeness and tenderness.

Dear doctors and nurses, theworld has been able to see howmuch good you have done in a situ-ation of great trial. Even exhausted,you continued to commit yourselveswith professionalism and self-sacri-fice. How many doctors and para-medics, nurses, were unable to gohome and thus slept there, whereverthey could because there were nobeds in the hospital! And this cre-ates hope. You [addressing the Presid-ent of the Region] spoke of hope.And this creates hope. You have allbeen one of the important pillars ofthe entire country. My esteem andmy sincere gratitude — and I can

well imagine everyone’s sentiments— go to you here present and toyour colleagues throughout Italy.

Now it is time to make precioususe of all of this positive energy thathas been invested. Do not forget! Itis a richness that in part, surely, was‘uncomp ensated’ during the dramaof the emergency; but in a large partit can and must bear fruit for thepresent and future of the society ofLombardy and of Italy. The pan-demic deeply marked the lives of in-dividuals and the history of thecommunity. In order to honour thesuffering of the sick and of so manydeceased, above all, the elderly,whose life experience should not beforgotten, we must rebuild our to-morrow: it requires everyone’s com-mitment, strength and dedication. Itmeans setting out anew from thecountless witnesses of generous andgratuitous love, that have left an in-delible impression in consciencesand in the social fabric, teachinghow much need there is of closeness,care, sacrifice in order to nurture fra-ternity and civil coexistence. And,looking to the future, Fra Felice’sdiscourse in the lazarette, in Man-zoni [The Betrothed, chapter 36]comes to mind: he looks at tragedy,he looks at death, with so muchrealism, but he looks to the futureand carries on.

In this way, we can emerge fromthis crisis spiritually and morallystronger; and that depends on theconscience and responsibility of eachone of us. Not alone, however, buttogether and with the grace of God.As believers it is up to us to witnessthat God does not abandon us, butin Christ he gives meaning even tothis reality and to our limitations;that with his help we can face themost difficult trials. God created usfor communion, for fraternity, andnow more than ever the pretensionof being wholly focused upon one-self — of making individualism theguiding principle of society — hasproved illusory — it is illusory. Butlet us be attentive because, as soonas the emergency has passed, it iseasy to slide, it is easy to fall backon this illusion. It is easy to quicklyforget that we need others, someoneto take care of us, to give us cour-age. Forgetting that we all need a

Father who stretches his hand out tous. Praying to him, invoking him, itis not an illusion; the illusion isthinking we can do without this!Prayer is the soul of hope.

In these months, people were un-able to participate in person in litur-gical celebrations, but they neverstopped feeling they were a com-munity. They prayed individually oras a family, even by means of socialcommunications, spiritually unitedand perceiving that the Lord’s em-brace surpassed the spatial limita-tions. The pastoral zeal and creativecare of priests helped people to con-tinue the journey of faith and not toremain alone in the face of pain andfear. This priestly creativity that de-feated some, a few ‘adolescent’ ex-pressions against the measures of au-thority, who have the obligation tosafeguard people’s health. Mosthave been obedient and creative. Ihave admired the apostolic spirit ofso many priests, who reached peopleby telephone, or went knocking ondoors, calling at homes: ‘Do youneed anything? I will do your shop-p i n g. . . ’. A thousand things. Close-ness, creativity, without shame.These priests who remained besidetheir people in attentive and dailysharing: they have been signs ofGo d’s comforting presence. Theyhave been fathers, not adolescents.Regrettably quite a few of themhave died, as have doctors and para-medical staff too. And even amongyou there are several priests whowere sick and thank God have beenhealed. Through you I thank all theItalian clergy, who have offeredproof of courage and love to thep eople.

Dear brothers and sisters, I renewto each of you and to those whomyou represent my deep appreciationfor what you have done in this ardu-ous and complex situation. May theVirgin Mary, worshiped in manyshrines and churches in your lands,accompany you and sustain you al-ways with her maternal protection.And do not forget that with yourwork, all of you, doctors, paramed-ics, volunteers, priests, religious, laypeople, who have done this, youhave begun a miracle. May you havefaith and, as that tailor, and theolo-gian who missed his calling used tosay, “I have never found that theLord began a miracle without finish-ing it well” [Manzoni, The Betrothed,ch. 24]. May he complete this mir-acle that you have begun! For mypart, I continue to pray for you andfor your communities, and I warmlyimpart a special Apostolic Blessingto you. And please, do not forget topray for me. I need it. Thank you.

[Blessing]Now, the ‘l i t u rg y ’ of greeting. But

we have to be obedient to the regu-lations: I will not make you comehere; I will come, passing by, togreet you courteously, as one mustdo, as the authorities have told us todo. And in this way, as brothers andsisters, we shall greet and pray forone another. First let us take aphoto together and then I will cometo greet you.

number 26, Friday, 26 June 2020 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO page 6/7

When the gaze elbows the heartI hear the echo of these words

when I am among people in theseweeks, and looking at everyone in-tent on their social distancing, Iask myself what will become ofour relationships, which werealready comp ro mised by the pois-on of a profound separation wellbefore Covid-19. Certainly it is notcontact that creates relationshipsbut rather a fruitful communica-tion between eyes and soul. It isnot a mask that keeps us apart, itis not the contemporary idol ofconnectivity that brings us closer.Relationships arise when the gazeelbows the heart. There is a mo-ment when the tragic destiny ofOliver Twist depends on the sig-nature of a judge. Everything isalready prepared to go a certainway; Oliver is quiet and the judgeis distant from him. No words, nocontact between the two until themute gaze of a desperate childmanages to distract a bored ex-ecutor of the law from his listless-ness. And things change. There-fore, thank you dear Charles forbeing very alive, lively and thriv-ing, keeping awake this verysimple yet revolutionary hypothes-is: what can happen if we trulylook at those who are beside us?

Charles Dickens: 150 years since his death

“Covent Garden Market” (1864), Phoebus Levin

Not always a gentleman

ANNALISA TEGGI

For many weeks I havebeen struggling to speakand write. I seem to haveonly those short and dry

Montale syllables, and in any caseI feel a great need for silence. Wecannot deny that we have beendeeply shaken and that we havesuffered, even those who were notdirectly affected by the virus, adull ache that is difficult to put aprecise face on, to cry properly —like children — and then start over.So I read a lot, looking for voicesto be sincere companions, in adeep and pensive silence.

I find myself in agreement withElsa Morante on the evidence thatwe treasure authors among ourdearest friends when they dosomething that is the opposite ofthe atomic bomb; rather thanmaking reality explode into crazedfragments, they present it to usmore complete and vivid. “Thevery reason for art, its justification,its reason for being and surviving,or if you prefer, its function, is ex-actly this: to prevent the disinte-gration of the human conscience,in its daily routine, and its ex-hausting and alienating usage ofthe world; to constantly restore toit, in the illusive and fragmentaryand used confusion of external re-lationships, the integrity of what isreal or, in a word, reality” (cf. ElsaMorante, Pro o contro la bombaatomica).

Who saves you from having aworn out relationship with theworld? Who tears you away frombeing alienated from your dailylife? If these were the hypothesesupon which to build an anthologyof friend-father-mother writers,Charles Dickens would be myband leader. And I know that it isnot a literary term, but I imaginehim beating a drum or blowing ablaring trumpet, and behind himan infinite crowd of men and wo-men and children — all his charac-ters.

The calendar informs us that 9June marks 150 years since hisdeath, which immediately makesus bring up one of his best open-ings. “Marley was dead: to beginwith. There is no doubt whatever”(A Christmas Carol). There is nodoubt whatever that Charles Dick-ens is dead. But precisely in thatstory, the deceased Marley had thetask of calling back to life a livingcadaver like Scrooge. Dante wouldbe the first to remind us that thedead can save us who, whilebreathing and walking and talk-ing, are one step away from ashutdown worse than physicaldeath.

For this reason Dickens’ voice isamong those that cannot bedefined as deceased, because it iscapable of reawakening in those

who read him the haphazard, ex-cessive and incredible joy of beingthere. There is no worse heresythan saying that we have hadenough of mankind and of theworld; but it is true that there arewounds so great in evil and inspite to make us feel that strainthat Morante speaks of. I confessthat my relationship with theworld has always suffered from avery strong skepticism; I am veryfearful and unhappy by nature.My soul is in perpetual reversefrom relationships and events, andhas undergone a true brainwash-ing all the times that it has livedamong Dickens’ pages, and I am along way from knowing him com-prehensively. An invigorating exer-cise that I use as an energy sup-plement is reading the beginningsof his stories. A talented writer —perhaps he already exists and Iam unaware of him — should dojustice to the power of Dickens’opening lines.

Let us consider for a moment:to break the silence in order to be-gin to say something is an act ofextreme trust in Creation, in pres-ences, in encounters, in the valueof what there is.

Let us take just one example:“The first ray of light which illu-mines the gloom, and converts in-to a dazzling brilliancy that ob-scurity in which the earlier historyof the public career of the immor-tal Pickwick would appear to beinvolved” (The Pickwick Papers):this is a beginning that is truly abeginning, the separation of dark-

ness from light. Every writer,whether aware or not, experiencesan intense relationship with God’sCreation; and if he dares to callinto question a powerful stream oflight in the style of Caravaggio —he needs to intensely reach out toknow what comes to light. Dick-ens took from darkness a myriadof human figures that are dazzlingeven if they remain on the scenefor a single line. Each one has hisflair of light, in good or in evil.And something of this blindingluminosity remains in view of there a d e r.

I admit, for example, that I findmyself lingering a great deal overmany figures who appear and thendisappear in everyday life, an un-usual gesture or smirk makes theminteresting to me, and when ithappens, I know whom to thank(sometimes I even murmur “Yo u ,Charles, would have written us anovel with that lady with thedisheveled hair”). The darkness offorgetfulness and listlessness wasnot defeated once and for all, andthus we return there: such is artwhen it tries to switch on withinus an integral gaze of reality. Notonly that: it also gives us the urgeto be a living part of that formid-able experiment that is being.

Mr Pickwick comes to mindevery time that, well beyond im-portant health issues, I want tolock myself in a disenchanted andgrumbling quarantine. “GoswellStreet was at his feet, GoswellStreet was on his right hand — asfar as the eye could reach, GoswellStreet extended on his left; andthe opposite side of GoswellStreet was over the way. ‘Such,’thought Mr Pickwick, ‘are the nar-row views of those philosopherswho, content with examining thethings that lie before them, looknot to the truths which are hiddenbeyond. As well might I be con-tent to gaze on Goswell Street forever, without one effort to pene-trate to the hidden countrieswhich on every side surround it.’And having given vent to thisbeautiful reflection, Mr Pickwickproceeded to put himself into hisclothes, and his clothes into hisp ortmanteau”. We can alwaysclose ourselves off, to look at thisworld so paradoxical and unpre-dictable from our room, or else wecan be a living part of the storythat mysteriously unfolds whendarkness and light are separated.

There is no better expressionthan that of Mr Pickwick: to pen-etrate the mystery. This is the rad-ical choice that we make everytime we leave the house. We enter

headlong into a fabric of relation-ships that only fools can deludethemselves into classifying into so-cial, economic, psychologicalgrids. In Hard Times, as he ob-served Stephen Blackpool, a work-er on the job, Dickens left us amoving memorandum: “It isknown, to the force of a singlepound weight, what the enginewill do; but not all the calculatorsof the National debt can tell methe capacity for good or evil, forlove or hatred, for patriotism ordiscontent, for the decompositionof virtue into vice, or the reverse,at any single moment in the soulof one of these quiet servants,with the composed faces and theregulated actions. There is nomystery in it; there is an un-fathomable mystery in the meanestof them, for ever”.

D ickens’ narrative is a garden, athriving scene of lively and sur-prising relationships. His criticswould not hesitate to say that it isa twisted and luxurious, excessivejungle. He was a man with the in-satiable eyes of humanity and I donot at all wish to blame him for it.He told his friend and biographerJohn Forster that people whothink they are very distant fromeach other rub elbows every day.

GABRIELE NICOLÒ

As never seen before. Incolour. To celebrate150 years since thedeath of Charles Dick-

ens, on 9 June, the CharlesDickens Museum in Londonorganized an exhibition thatpresents images of the writer“re t o u c h e d ” with an added dis-crete but significant, dose ofcolour. The exhibition is ready

but it still has not opened dueto the coronavirus emergency. Itis waiting for the easing of thelockdown restrictions. The cur-ator of the initiative, FrankieKubicki, states that these im-ages aim to attract the public,especially young people, toDickens, whose stories, so vividwith salient details and discre-tions in relief, are themselves“in colour”. Kubicki adds thatDickens loved taking long dailywalks, and when the sun wasshining, this healthy practice al-lowed the writer to end up witha nice tan. The “re t o u c h i n g ” ofthe photographs does justice tothis aesthetic element. At thesame time the curator emphas-izes that although there may bemany photographs from Dick-ens’ era, most of them were notwell made. The exhibitiontherefore aims to deliver the fig-ure of Dickens by means of col-our, in order to better enhanceappearances, features and ex-pressions, thus recreating whatthe author himself did with thecharacters that inhabit his nov-els. Characters whose features,even the most minute, areshaped by a pen that, in termsof description, is second tonone.

From the photograph to thewritten page. “The Mystery ofCharles Dickens” by British au-thor Andrew Norman Wilson(London, Atlantic, 2020) hasrecently been published. It isalready being discussed, be-cause, after recognizing Dick-ens’ genius as a writer, joining aunanimous chorus, the authorformulates a certainly less thanflattering judgment of him as aman. Wilson affirms that Dick-ens was characterized by an

enormous ego that bore thesigns of vacuous self-satisfactionand of an unrestrained spirit ofcompetition with other writersof his era: all seasoned with ahealthy dose of hypocrisy. Atthe same time Wilson castsmore than a shadow over Dick-ens’ fidelity as a husband andfather of 10 children, insinuat-ing the suspicion of not exactlyinnocent affairs. He then refersto the writer’s attempt to admithis wife Catherine to an insaneasylum. Failing in that purpose,the writer left home, abandonedhis spouse, who had been oftenmistreated by him, and his ex-tensive progeny.

Wilson’s book — emphasizes“The Times”, which announcedthis intriguing editorial novelty— is also a denunciation of theills that afflicted Victorian soci-ety, voted “more for appearancethan substance”, oblivious, bey-ond empty proclamations, bey-ond the jarring contrastbetween rich and poor, as wellas hesitant to promote necessaryand focused reforms intendedto favour a civil context opento novelty and progress. In thathistorical phase “an abyss” wascreated in which English societygradually went belly-up. It wasto Dickens’ credit, the authorpoints out, that he had thecourage — overcoming all formsof censure — to affix that abyssin order to recover from its dis-tant and grim depths, prejudice,hypocrisy, self-righteousnessand corruption and then, withgreat virtuosity, to transfuse thisamalgam of material into thepages of his novels. His was atrue act of magic, Wilson un-derscores. Finally a complimentfor Dickens.

An image on exhibit at theCharles Dickens Museum, London

page 8 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO Friday, 26 June 2020, number 26

At the Pontifical Universitieseverything is set for the new academic year

Online lessons, reception, organization: even during lockdown no one is left behind

ROBERTO CETERA

There is no environment in Rome more interna-tional than that of the Pontifical Universities.Every year hundreds of young clerics and laypeople from around the world arrive in the Etern-al City to begin a course of academic studies,theological and otherwise. Very often the studiesare related to second and third levels of study (li-cences and doctorates), but it is not uncommonto find students also working toward their bachel-or’s degrees at the Capitoline universities, oftenlodging in the various colleges of their countriesof origin. For this reason, the sudden interruptionby the pandemic has upset life in these environ-ments more than elsewhere. When the lockdownbegan it was just a few weeks after exams hadended for the winter session, and lessons for thesecond semester had just begun. How did theCatholic universities react? And more importantly,what are they planning and how are they prepar-ing for the next academic year?

“I would say that the reaction was swift andpositive for all the institutions”, explained FrMauro Mantovani, Rector of the Salesian Uni-versity and President of the Conference of Rect-ors of the Pontifical Universities and Institutes ofRome (Cruipro), which coordinates the 22 aca-demic institutions present, nine of which are uni-versities. It is significant that this positive evalu-ation should come precisely from the Rector ofthe university most stricken by the virus: with atleast 62 people infected, several individuals hos-pitalized, and Fr Gregorio Jaskot who lost hislife. But from the Rector’s words it seems clearthat the sorrow over the loss of a beloved confreredoes not diminish the will to respond and returnto the university’s inspiring mission as soon aspossible. “We immediately implemented distancelearning, strengthened by the fact that we hadalready been experimenting for some time withforms of digital instruction. After all, our uni-versity is also known for the bachelor’s pro-gramme in social communication science. But weare very well aware that the best of technologiescan never replace the value of in-person participa-tion in the educational relationship, as was alsoexplained clearly in the recent indications offeredby the Congregation for Catholic Education on 7May. You can imagine that for the children ofDon Bosco the difference between mere learningand the educational process is something that ispart of our DNA . As is well known, we also offer“lay”, so to speak, baccalaureate courses in psy-chology, education, communication science, thuswe also have a significant proportion of lay stu-dents. In the Easter season we distributed a ques-tionnaire to all our students in order to monitorhow they were adapting to these extraordinarylearning methods, and I must say that the resultshave been very encouraging. In keeping with thetradition that aims to keep our psychology de-partment among the most prestigious in Italy, wealso launched a psychological support system forour students and their families, cognizant of thecorrelated widespread psychological harm that thevirus is spreading.

As for the next academic year we have alreadyprepared the course schedule, which is in com-plete continuity with those of prior years; allcourses are confirmed. We are planning as if thelessons will be able to be face-to-face, but if thisis not possible we will work with the flexibility ofonline teaching, bolstered by the experience ofthese recent months. Likewise, if there are stu-dents who still cannot be present in Rome in Oc-tober, we will certainly accept them, and by videothey will be able to follow the lessons takingplace in the classroom. We will definitely notleave anyone by the wayside. I think that evenwhen the situation returns to normal, the use of

multimedia in teaching will continue, making ourlessons richer and more stimulating.

The one real concern at the moment is with re-gard to visas and entry permits for non-Europeanstudents. I hope there will be a particular sensi-tivity to this aspect on the part of the govern-ment; but I repeat that if any student is unable toarrive in time for October, he or she will not beleft behind. One point I would like to emphasizeas President of the Conference of Rectors is thatthere has never been such a strong collaborationamong all the Pontifical Universities in Rome asthere has been in this situation. And it is a wealththat will not be dispelled”. “I would like to thankL’Osservatore Romano for giving us this opportun-ity to send a message to all its readers, especiallybishops and major superiors: do not be afraid tosend clerics, seminarians, novices and lay peopleto Rome next year as usual: they will be guaran-teed health safety and the customary high-levelcurricula that all our universities offer”.

“At the Gregorian the situation is not muchdifferent, if not for the higher number of foreignstudents, mostly residents in the national colleges.In total they are nearly 75 per cent of our 2,800students”, noted Fr Mark A. Lewis, Vice Rectorof the prestigious academic institution, “but fewreturned to their countries when the pandemicbroke out” he continued, adding that:

“At the end of February when the situationbegan to become serious we gave ourselves threeobjectives: maximum attention and care for thehealth conditions of our staff and our students;immediate activation of distance learning and on-line submission of all educational materials neces-sary for continuing studies; a commitment not tomodify the university’s academic calendar, alsoconfirming the dates of both grades and advance-ment, whether online or in-person. We sought todigitize as much material as possible in order toremedy the lack of access to the library. Our li-brary consists of approximately half a millionbooks. Our three reading rooms reopened on 18May with their seating capacity reduced to athird, that is, 75 seats, which can be reserved on-line. We are pleased to say that the entire period-ical section is now accessible online, and this is agreat help to our doctoral candidates. Thus, weare pleased with our ability to respond”, Fr Markcontinued. “Even the programming for next yearis proceeding swiftly: we have confirmed the com-mencement of the academic year on 5 October,and we are well prepared to proceed with a mixedsystem of online and in-person participation. Wehave modified classroom logistics to allow for so-cial distancing. And we are recording preparatoryItalian language lessons for new students, in or-der to help them begin their courses with a basic

knowledge; especially for cases of delayed arrivalsto Rome due to visa problems. We are also co-ordinating with the principal national collegeswhere most of our students generally stay, so thatthey too will be ready for the annual return. Weare maintaining the same tuition fees as this year,but we hope that with the global economic uncer-tainty there will not be a decrease in the vital flowof scholarships that the Propaganda Fide and oth-er foundations dispense to our students”. FrNuno da Silva Gonçalves, Rector of the Gregori-an, had no hesitation: “We will definitely be pre-pared to welcome and support both the studentswho are in Rome and those who are not able toget here due to difficulties with internationaltravels or visas. We will not leave anyone behindor alone”.

In the splendid setting of the Aventine Hill,the University of Sant’Anselmo stands out like afortress visible from most of Rome’s historicalcentre. Prof. Bernhard Eckerstorfer, an AustrianBenedictine monk, is the Rector of the Anselmi-anum which, along with the faculties of Theologyand Philosophy, is famous for the PontificalLiturgical Institute and for the institute of mon-astic spirituality. His strong, purposeful energydoes not hide his subtle amazement over events:“Do you understand? I was appointed Rector ofthis university last 16 December. My head wasfilled with plans and new ideas. I had barely afew weeks to look around me and meet the pro-fessors, and this pandemic swooped in on us! ButI can assure you that none of the developmentprojects that we have in mind for the universitywill be set aside”.

“With regard to Sant’Anselmo as the PontificalUniversity with the greatest number of foreignstudents in Rome, I am very confident that wewill have no defections. Our institution is bothuniversity and college; we host, in our monasticway of life, approximately 120 students, out of700 enrolled. Did you know? I am very proud:none of our students has left the college due tothe coronavirus! And this is because of our specif-ic characteristic: la stabilitas monastica. Which inthis instance is not just a spiritual lifestyle butalso a guarantee of health security. No one leavesthe abbey unless absolutely necessary, while guar-anteeing a satisfying and stimulating living envir-onment. Indeed we have started to receive enrol-ment applications for next year, actually condi-tioned on lodging at the college. Bishops, abbotsand superiors feel more at ease knowing that theirstudents will be in a protected study environmentthat does not require transfers. After all, as youwell know, in 15 centuries of Benedictine monasti-

CONTINUED ON PA G E 9

Pontifical University of Sant'Anselmo in Rome

number 26, Friday, 26 June 2020 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO page 9

At the Pontifical Universities everything isset for the new academic year

CONTINUED FROM PA G E 8

The black heart of AmericaSpike Lee’s latest film “Da 5 Bloods”

GA E TA N O VALLINI

A manifesto against racism. Spike Lee’s latestfilm, Da 5 Bloods cannot be otherwise inter-preted. Thus nothing new? Only in part, becauseif it is true that the African American director hasmade condemnation and the fight for civil rightsthe brand of his movies, it is also true that in thiswork there is something different from the past,even from the preceding BlacKkKlansman, despitethe latter being more successful cinematographic-ally. A bit war movie, especially in the vein ofApocalypse Now, and modern western — echoingThe Treasure of the Sierra Madre — Da 5 Bloodswants to dig deeper into America’s heart of dark-ness. It is a remarkable coincidence that the filmwas released in streaming on Netflix during thedays in which the United States was inflamed byprotests over the killing of George Floyd.

The plot unfolds around the trip down memorylane of four African American Vietnam War veter-ans — Paul (Delroy Lindo), Otis (Clarke Peters),Melvin (Isiah Whitlock Jr.), and Eddie (NormLewis) — who decide to return to the Asian coun-try in search of their squad leader, Norman(Chadwick Boseman) who died in battle.However, we soon discover that they are motiv-ated by another goal: to retrieve the gold barsthey had found in the wreckage of a downed CIAairplane they had hidden during the war.

But what follows — from the search for Nor-man who becomes a sort of guide for his com-panions thanks to his commitment to the AfricanAmerican cause, to the recovery of the gold, per-sonal spoils of war, considered as “comp ensation”for the government’s treatment of African Americ-ans — appears to be merely an adventurous pre-text to launch the umpteenth accusation againstracist America. In fact, the prologue is an eventoo-explicit montage of period film and photo-

graphs whose objective is to link the military es-calation in Southeast Asia to the racial conflict inthe United States.

In the first scene Muhammad Ali states in aninterview: “My conscience won’t let me go shootmy brother, or some darker people, or some poorhungry people in the mud for big powerfulAmerica. And shoot them for what? They nevercalled me ‘nigger’, they never lynched me, theydidn’t put no dogs on me, they didn’t rob me ofmy nationality”. There are other familiar voicesand well known stories: fragments of speeches byMartin Luther King, Malcolm X, Angela YvonneDavis and Bobby Seale; the closed fists of Tom-mie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Olympicsin Mexico City; the napalm bombings; studentprotests at Ohio’s Kent State University repressedwith bloodshed by the national guard; the assas-sination of black activists perpetrated by the po-lice at Jackson State University in Mississippi;but also the first man on the moon and muchm o re .

Between the present and the inevitable flash-backs, Spike Lee compiles a sort of chronologicalhistory of violence and abuse of power thatharkens back to that original sin from which thenation has been unable to redeem itself despitedecades of proclamations, condemnations andprotests. The society is harsh, the lives of blackpeople, even harsher, and his protagonists seem alitmus test with their rage, their recriminations, thedemons of the past and the not always transparentchoices. But it is certainly not the director’s inten-tion to offer a reassuring portrait of reality. If any-thing he aims to exasperate it, to make the incon-sistencies even more evident. And then to makeso ciety’s contradictions emerge. The choice to notmake the protagonists look younger in the flash-backs to 1971 Vietnam seems to underscore the factthat in 50 years things have not changed. That

conflict is thus just a pretext, the symbolic back-ground on which the director paints his convulsivefresco of the black heart of America.

Thus, while on the one hand Da 5 Bloods —which had been scheduled to preview at the 2020Cannes Film festival and to be released in Italywith the addition of the words Like Brothers in thetitle — winds up being a bit confused and attimes not entirely credible in the unraveling ofthe events of the four protagonists, there is nodoubt about its political intent. Ultimately, SpikeLee is brilliant even though this is not his best at-tempt at directing, and not far from his film Dothe Right Thing in terms of commitment. Andtoday as one part of America continues to fight awar at home, this is exactly what blacks needed.

Congregation for the Causes of Saints

Promulgation of Decrees

On Friday, 19 June, the HolyFather received in audience Car-dinal Angelo Becciu, Prefect ofthe Congregation for the Causesof Saints. During the audience,the Supreme Pontiff authorizedthe same Congregation to pro-mulgate the following Decrees re-g a rd i n g :

— the miracle attributed tothe intercession of the vener-able Servant of God MamertoEsquiú of the Order of FriarsMinor, Bishop of Córdoba, Ar-gentina, born on 11 May 1826in San Josè de Piedra Blanca,Argentina, and died on 10January 1883 in La Posta delSuncho, Argentina;

— the miracle attributed tothe intercession of the vener-able Servant of God Fran-ziskus Maria of the Cross (Jo-hann Baptist Jordan), priest,Founder of the Society of theDivine Saviour (Salvatorians)and of the Congregation of theSisters of the Divine Saviour,born on 16 June 1848 inGurtwell, Germany, and died

on 8 September 1918 in Tafers,Switzerland;

— the miracle attributed tothe intercession of the vener-able Servant of God JoséGregorio Hernandez Cisneros,layperson, born on 26 October1864 in Isnotú, Venezuela, anddied on 29 June 1919 in Cara-cas, Venezuela;

— the martyrdom of the Ser-vant of God Maria LauraMainetti (in the world TeresinaElsa), professed sister of theCongregation of the Daughtersof the Cross, Sisters of SaintAndrew, born in Colico, Italyon 20 August 1939, and killedin hatred of the faith inChiavenna, Italy on 6 June2000;

— the heroic virtues of theServant of God Gloria Maríaof Jesus Elizondo García (inthe world: Esperanza), Superi-or General of the Congrega-tion of the Missionary Catech-ists of the Poor, born on 26August 1908 in Durango, Mex-ico, and died in Monterrey,Mexico on 8 December 1966.

“Da 5 Bloods” film poster

cism there have been many stories of ab-beys and monasteries that have been for-midable bulwarks against epidemics andplagues. In the practical sphere, we im-mediately began working online,strengthened by the fact that we hadalready been offering e-learning courseson one of our platforms for several years.We also have a great focus on asyn-chronous lessons: in case students areunable to come to Rome, they will stillbe able to follow the lessons regardlessof the time zone. For this reason we areinvesting some 7,000 euros per classroomin order to equip each one with camerasand suitable technologies for recordingand transmitting lessons. And, in respectof copyright laws we are seeking to digit-alize as many texts as possible from ourlibrary, which is a treasure trove ofunique liturgical and monastic materials.I think that at the end of this pandemicwe will be stronger than before. I amthinking especially of two aspects: multi-media will finally allow us to bring theo-logical culture even into our cloisteredmonasteries around the world, andmoreover will make lessons more stimu-lating, allowing for outside interventionsby experts and ‘digitally-visiting’ p ro f e s s -

ors. And then tell me: how can anyonegive up the opportunity to study theo-logy in Rome? It is a unique experiencein life; unmissable”.

If one cannot give up Rome, imaginegiving up Jerusalem. Fr Alessandro Co-niglio, OFM is a professor and secretaryof the faculty of Franciscan biblical stud-ies in the Holy City, the S B F, connectedwith the Antonianum University ofRome. “Our institution is highly special-ized and small in numbers, in which weprovide only second and third levelcourses. Since last March we too havebeen doing only online lessons and threelicentiate dissertations have already beendefended with this method. The impactof the pandemic in Israel has not beenas tragic as in the rest of the world, andthe country is already recovering. We toohope to recommence soon, because in-person participation is essential for us;our advantage is studying immersed inthe environment of the Holy Land”.From Rome like Jerusalem the messageespecially to bishops is the same: “Weare ready. We are restarting. Do not beafraid to send your students. With flex-ibility from instruments, of course, butwith our longstanding quality and pas-sion”.

page 10 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO Friday, 26 June 2020, number 26

The Pope and my fatherunited in the same dream

I N T E R V I E W

Bernice with her father Martin LutherKing, November 1964 (photo: Flip Schulke)

with Bernice Albertine King

Pope Francis with Bernice on 12 March 2018

CONTINUED ON PA G E 11

ALESSANDRO GISOTTI

On 19 June, the African American community cel-ebrated ‘Juneteenth’, the day that recalls the endof slavery. It was on June 19th in 1865 that UnionSoldiers arrived in Galveston, TX, declaring theend of the Civil War. Referred to by millions ofAfrican Americans as ‘Freedom Day’, this year’scelebration took place in a particular climate dueto the protests sparked by the barbarous killing ofGeorge Floyd by a policeman.

L’Osservatore Romano and Vatican News inter-viewed Bernice Albertine King, daughter of Mar-tin Luther King, Jr, regarding her dedication toequality, the culture of peace and the value ofnonviolence. A passionate human rights activistlike her father, and president of the King Centerin Atlanta, Bernice Albertine feels there is astrong sense of harmony between her father andPope Francis, whom she met twice in 2018.

Not only the United States, but the entire world, isshocked by George Floyd’s death. Do you think thatthis time, the changes that should have taken place inthe wake of similar tragic killings of other African-Americans, can finally occur?

I think that, because the world was already onalert due to Covid-19, the video of George Floydbeing so callously and cruelly murdered by a po-lice officer was an even more vitriolic indictmentof America and of the world, really. Millionsaround the world seem to have realized, as myfather said, that “we are conf ro n t ed with the fierceurgency of now”. Law enforcement agencies,faith-based organizations and corporations arereaching out to Black leaders with a “What mustI do to be saved?” type of response. Some cor-porations are providing tremendous resources toorganizations that focus on social justice and ra-cial equity. Other companies are looking at howto create a cultural climate conducive to establish-ing true racial equity, from the board room to Csuites to supplier diversity. A number of law en-forcement agencies are reexamining their policies.Some of these agencies have already started to re-imagine what community engagement can andshould look like beyond the act of policing andwith the inclusion of concern for social services. Ido believe that the reactions and responses thistime are more widespread and passionate, withmore white people than ever before joining inprotest. If we unite further with focus on strategicgoals, we will prove to be more productive for thecause of justice.

In addition to the “evident” racism that we see insuch tragic situations, there is another form of “ra c i s mthat does not make the news”: racism at work, ineducation, in living conditions. Covid-19 has affectedthe African-American community much more than thewhite community in the USA. How is it possible todefeat this “invisible” ra c i s m ?

First, let me say that I believe people’s refusalto see is what makes systemic and institutional ra-cism seem invisible. The more we want to see andthe more we want to effectuate change, the moreevident the destructive, dehumanizing nature ofracism becomes. So, I think we defeat it first byrefusing to turn a blind eye, by gathering inform-ation on the issues and by educating ourselves onthe root causes and outcomes of racism. Informa-tion gathering and education are the 1st and 2ndsteps of Nonviolent Social Change. Then, I thinkwe have to commit to doing what my father de-scribes as “our nettlesome task” in his book,Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Com-munity? He said that we must “discover how toorganize our strength into compelling power, sothat the government [and other institutions andsystems of power] cannot elude our demands.”

Fifty-seven years ago, your father delivered his historic“I have a dream” speech. This dream still seems along way off, but everyone says it is a dream thatcannot be renounced. What do you think your fatherwould do today in a situation like the one we arenow living?

I believe that my father would be guided byhis philosophy of nonviolence, which correspon-ded with his following of Jesus Christ. I think hewould remind us of how we arrived at this mo-ment and of our history of violence, racism andinjustice as a nation and as what he called a

violence, which he said is a descending spiral. Ofcourse, I believe he would compel us to embracenonviolence, which is strategic, courageous, love-centered and organized, in order to realize theBeloved Community, which includes the eradica-tion of what he called the Triple Evils of racism,poverty, and militarism.

Pope Francis launched an appeal after George Floyd’sdeath. He said that we cannot close our eyes beforeracism. At the same time, he recalled that violenceonly leads to self-destruction. How did you receive hiswords which are so in tune with your father’s?

I agree with Pope Francis that violence onlyleads to self-destruction. Our means must coherewith our desired end, and if that desired end ispeace, we certainly cannot achieve peace with vi-olent methods. This is aligned with my father’sbeliefs, as well. He stated and believed, as do I,that “Nonviolence is the answer to the crucialpolitical and moral questions of our time.” In hislast speech, I’ve Been To The Mountaintop, de-livered the night before he was assassinated, hesaid, “It is no longer a choice between violenceand nonviolence in this world; it’s nonviolence ornonexistence. That is where we are today”. Thatis still where we are today. We are facing a choicebetween chaos or community. If we embrace viol-ence, we are thereby selecting chaos, which ulti-mately leads to self-destruction in our WorldHouse. If we embrace nonviolence, we will ad-vance in building a more just, equitable, humane,and peaceful world.

Martin Luther King said: Justice “at its best is lovecorrecting everything that stands against love”. This isthe heart of the message of nonviolence your fatherembodied. How can we build a “revolution of tender-ness”, as Pope Francis calls it?

I think that building a “revolution of tender-ness,” as Pope Francis called it, or a “re v o l u t i o nof values,” as my father said, is contingent uponus realizing that there’s learning involved in therevolution. We have to learn more about eachother, learn more about the condition of human-ity, learn how to, as my father said, “live togetheras brothers and sisters”, so that we don’t perishtogether as fools, and learn a way of engagingand destroying injustice and inhumanity withoutdestroying each other. I believe that way is nonvi-olence. Kingian Nonviolence, which The KingCenter calls Nonviolence365™, is the method ofthinking and acting, inclusive of six principlesand six steps, that can guide us in the revolution.

The “Black Lives Matter” movement is involving thewhole world. Many people, especially young people,are protesting against racism and racial discrimina-tion in many of the capitals in Europe, and in other

“World House”. The second thinghe would do is come alongsideyoung people to undergird theirprotest efforts with strategies thatsupport organizing and mobilizingto effectuate sustainable nonviolentsocial change. He would put a de-mand on influencers in the sectorsof politics, arts, media, entertain-ment, criminal justice, healthcareand education to ensure racialequity and justice. He would alsoput a demand on churches to aligntheir professions of faith with worksthat create just and equitable cir-cumstances for Black and Brownpeople, as well as for economicallymarginalized communities, not onlyin the United States, but aroundthe world. And he would, as he of-ten did while he was living, sharethat we cannot cure violence with

number 26, Friday, 26 June 2020 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO page 11

The Pope and my fatherunited in the same dream

CONTINUED FROM PA G E 10

Hope does not fear Covid-19or malaria and malnutrition

I N T E R V I E W

with Fr Guy-Gervais Ayite

countries. What are your hopes for the future? Doyou think that we all will take a step forward inthe challenge of human fraternity?

I am hopeful that we will harness our energyto focus on the ultimate goal of building theBeloved Community, which is not a utopia. Asmy mother, Coretta Scott King, said, “the Be-loved Community is a realistic vision of anachievable society, one in which problems andconflict exist, but are resolved peacefully andwithout bitterness. In the Beloved Community,caring and compassion drive political policiesthat support the worldwide elimination ofpoverty and hunger and all forms of bigotryand violence”. If we have this mutual, power-ful ultimate goal, I believe that we can travelthe road of nonviolence to get there. We havethe capacity and the rising passion to do that.Now, we must employ the will in our stride to-ward building the Beloved Community.

GIORDANO CONTU

“Seeing and hearing what is happening in theworld due to the pandemic, thank heaven, thesituation in Benin is not at all dramatic”, Fr Guy-Gervais Ayite, Superior Provincial of the Camil-lians in Benin-Togo, stated to L’Ossservatore Ro-mano. After the discovery of the first case of theinfection in mid-March, today the situation isstable, with 305 people infected, 188 recoveredand 4 deaths. The government’s decision not toorder a lockdown spurred a great deal of debate,but the priest explains that “it would be absurdnot to recognize the extreme economic fragility ofthese families. They often live on less than twoeuros per day, and this little money is earned onlyby leaving home in the morning to go to work.One would rather die of Covid-19 than of hun-ger: sadly one has no choice”.

Indeed, malaria and malnutrition are the otherplagues that afflict the country. Thus, during thepandemic, on 17 May, municipal elections wereeven held. Voting required the use of masks andphysical distancing of at least one metre atpolling stations. “In a socio-economic contextsuch as ours, where one truly fears the worst —the Camillian father explained — the statistics in-spire cautious optimism”. Most of the infectedpeople have mild symptoms or are asymptomatic.The system used to fight the pandemic requiresisolation of the sick and a treatment ofchloroquine for them and for those who havecome into contact with them. However, in Beninthere are so many other problems that somewhatovershadow Covid-19: between March and todaythere have been more than 1,250 deaths due tomalaria. “All it takes is to go around the villages”— Fr Guy-Gervais says — “to note that less thanhalf of the children are being educated due to thelack of economic means”.

According to World Food Program (WFP) data,approximately 10% of families suffer from food

“There were moments of panic when two deathswere recorded: the first one in a private clinicwhich then closed for a month, the second in apublic facility in which they closed a depart-ment”.

The two episodes raised the attention thresholdfrom the healthcare point of view. “Swab tests arebeing done but in a highly selective, very limitedway”, the missionary says. “Swabs are not dire c t lyavailable to hospitals, but are managed centrallyby the government”.

The Camillians have been working for decadesin Benin, where they manage several healthcarefacilities and La Croix hospital in Cotonou. Manyconfreres have degrees in medicine or nursing andthey immediately set to work to prevent thespread of Covid-19: by adopting the guidelines ofthe World Health Organization (WHO) and rais-ing awareness in patients who visit the centres.

“Educating for prevention is the only bastionfor avoiding disaster”, says the Superior Provin-cial, “especially in a country like Benin that be-

fore the outbreak of the pandemic had fewer than15 ventilators”. The government keeps the popula-tion informed on good practices to follow, andhas ordered the use of masks, while gloves areonly present in hospitals and health facilities.

The charism of the Camillian fathers is servingGod in the sick, even putting their own lives atrisk, as stated in their Order’s forth vow. In timesof pandemic, Fr Guy-Gervais reflects, “thisreawakens our commitment in the heart of thissituation, just as our confreres had done at vari-ous times during the plague in the heart ofEurop e”. With the coronavirus missionary workhas changed, especially “the way of conceivingpatient triage and hygiene”, the missionary con-tinues, “aware that collective salvation depends onthese factors. We reviewed the traffic pattern ofpatients in the clinics and tried to limit, notwithout effort, family visits”. It is thanks to thereligious that the poor are more easily able to ac-cess care.

The people of Benin are aware of the dangersof the virus: they have accepted the limitationsimposed by the government; they wear makeshiftmasks and move about as necessary. This is alsohappening by virtue of the recognized importanceof the local Catholic Church. It is enough tothink of the fundamental work of mediation car-ried out in 2019 to resolve the political crisis dur-ing the last national election. “An important rolethat an unseen hand seeks to discredit increas-ingly more, drowning her gestures, says the Cam-illian father. Thus the Episcopal Conference ofBenin — which celebrated its 30-year history in2020 — adopted cutting-edge measures to combatthe virus, measures which have been taken up bythe state. As in many parts of the world, here tooMass has not been celebrated for some time, norare other public religious activities being held,even if many parishes have been doing so bystreaming on YouTube or Facebook. Meanwhile,on the Immaculée Conception radio station, thelocal Church has programmed Eucharistic celeb-rations in the various languages spoken in thecountry. “We are also hearing that regular reli-gious functions may also begin again soon”, FrGervais confided.

According to the Africa Centre for StrategicStudies’ Mapping Risk Factors for the Spread ofCovid-19 in Africa, Benin is currently the fifthsafest state on the continent. However, accordingto the United Nations, the coming months willbe decisive for the continent, which should bereaching its peak of Covid-19 infections. “The in-creasing number of infections can probably notbe avoided” — concludes the missionary — “butmy hope is that the level of immunity will in-crease in the population, which would thus beprotected from the raging virus. In a socio-eco-nomic context such as ours, I think it seems theonly sure thing that endures in time”.

shortages, while 32% of children under the age offive are malnourished. Another problem is thelow literacy rate that rests at around 40%. “M o rethan 70% of young graduates have no jobs andeven eating one meal a day is difficult”, the mis-sionary adds, “and after all, even those who workearn merely a pittance, but there is nothing bet-ter”.

Fr Guy-Gervais lives in Cotonou, an economiccentre of over 700,000 inhabitants which bordersthe Atlantic, and where, he says, “the situation inthe city’s hospitals is under control”. Despite tak-ing the minimum measures of prevention againstthe virus they are living almost in normalcy.

page 12 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO Friday, 26 June 2020, number 26

ANGELUS

“Fear is one of the most terrible enemies of our Christian life”,Pope Francis said at the Angelus on Sunday morning, 21June. Thus, he said, Jesus encouraged the disciples “to haveno fear, to be strong and confident in the face of life’schallenges”, because “the only fear that a disciple should haveis that of losing this divine gift” of communion, which is“closeness, friendship with God”. The following is a translationof the Pope’s reflection, which he shared in Italian, from theLibrary of the Apostolic Palace.

Dignity and safety for refugeesAfter the Marian prayer the Holy Father’s appeal for World Refugee Day

Dear Brothers and Sisters,Good morning!In this Sunday’s Gospel (cf. Mt10:26-33) the invitation that Jesusaddresses to his disciples reso-nates: to have no fear, to bestrong and confident in the faceof life’s challenges, as he fore-warns them of the adversities thatawait them. Today’s passage ispart of the missionary discourse,with which the Teacher preparesthe Apostles for their first experi-ence of proclaiming the Kingdomof God. Jesus persistently exhortsthem to “have no fear”. Fear isone of the most terrible enemiesof our Christian life. Jesus ex-horts: “have no fear”, “fear not”.And Jesus describes three tan-gible situations that they will findthemselves facing.

First and foremost the hostilityof those who would like to stiflethe Word of God, by sugar-coat-ing it, watering it down, or by si-lencing those who proclaim it. Inthis case, Jesus encourages theApostles to spread the message ofsalvation that he has entrusted tothem. For the moment, he hastransmitted it cautiously, some-what covertly, among the smallgroup of disciples. But they willutter his Gospel “in the light”,that is, openly; and will proclaimit “upon the housetops” — asJesus says — that is, publicly.

The second difficulty thatChrist’s missionaries will en-counter is the physical threatagainst them, that is, direct perse-cution of them personally, to thepoint of being killed. This proph-esy by Jesus is realized in everyage: it is a painful reality, but itattests to the faithfulness of wit-nesses. How many Christians arepersecuted even today throughoutthe world! They suffer for theGospel with love, they are mar-tyrs of our days. And we can saywith confidence that they aremore numerous than those of the

earliest times: so many martyrs,just for the fact of being Christi-ans. Jesus advises these disciplesof yesterday and today who sufferpersecution: “do not fear thosewho kill the body but cannot killthe soul” (v. 28). We should notallow ourselves to be frightenedby those who seek to extinguishevangelizing power with arrog-ance and violence. Indeed, theycan do nothing against the soul,that is, against communion withGod: no one can take this awayfrom disciples, because it is a giftfrom God. The only fear that adisciple should have is that oflosing this divine gift, closeness,friendship with God, giving upliving according to the Gospel,thereby acquiring moral death,which is the effect of sin.

Jesus indicates as the third typeof test that the Apostles will haveto face, the sensation, which somemay feel, that God himself hasabandoned them, remaining dis-tant and silent. Here too, Jesusexhorts them not to fear, becauseeven while experiencing these andother pitfalls, the life of discipleslies firmly in the hands of God

of our witness, our witness offaith: “recognizing Jesus beforemen” and going forth doinggo o d.

May Mary Most Holy, modelof trust and abandonment in Godin the hour of adversity anddanger, help us never to sur-render to despair, but rather al-ways to entrust ourselves to himand to his grace, because God’sgrace is ever more powerful thanevil.

After the Angelus, the Holy Fathercontinued:

Dear brothers and sisters, yes-terday the United Nations cele-brated World Refugee Day. Thecrisis caused by the coronavirushas shed light on the need to en-sure necessary protection torefugees too, in order to guaran-tee their dignity and safety. I in-vite you to join in my prayer fora renewed and active commitmentby all in favour of the effectiveprotection of every human being,in particular of those who areforced to flee due to situations ofgrave danger to them or to theirfamilies.

Another aspect on which thepandemic has led us to reflect isthe relationship between mankindand the environment. The lock-down reduced pollution and en-abled us to rediscover the beautyof so many places free of trafficand noise. Now, with the resump-tion of activities, we all must bemore responsible for the care ofour common home. I appreciatethe many initiatives that, in everypart of the world, are growing“from the bottom-up” and aremoving in this sense. For ex-ample, in Rome today there isone dedicated to the Tiber River.But there are so many of them inother places! May they promote acitizenry that is ever more awareof this essential common good.

Today in my homeland and inother places they are celebratingthe day dedicated to fathers, todads. I assure all fathers of mycloseness and prayers. We allknow that being a dad is not aneasy job! That is why we pray forthem. I also recall in a specialway our fathers who continue toprotect us from Heaven.

And I greet all of you, dearfaithful people of Rome and pil-grims from various parts of Italy— now we are starting to seethem, the pilgrims — and, increas-ingly, from other countries too.Someone ... I see the flags. Igreet you young people in partic-ular: Today we recall SaintAloysius Gonzaga, a young manfull of love for God and neigh-bour; he died very young, here inRome, because he took care ofvictims of the plague. I entrustthe young people of the entireworld to his intercession.

I wish everyone a happySunday. Please, do not forget topray for me. Enjoy your lunch.Ar r i v e d e rc i !

who loves us andlooks after us. Theyare like three tempta-tions: to sugar-coatthe Gospel, to water itdown; second: perse-cution; and third: thefeeling that God hasleft us alone. Even Je-sus suffered this trialin the Garden ofOlives and on theCross: “Father, whyhave you f o rs a k e nme?”, Jesus asks. Attimes one feels thisspiritual barrenness;we must not fear it.The Father takes careof us, because ourvalue is great in hiseyes. What matters isfrankness, the courage