Pope Francis decries religious persecution
One of the prayers during the procession called for the “fundamental right of religious freedom” to spread throughout the world.
“Lord Jesus, inwardly support the persecuted. May the fundamental right to religious freedom spread far and wide,” believers heard in a “meditation” written by Italian Bishop Renato Corti.
“Men and women are imprisoned and even killed solely because they are believers or committed to justice and peace. They are not ashamed of the cross. They are outstanding examples to everyone,” Corti’s meditation continued.
Corti’s meditation also contained a passage expressing hope for an end to the death penalty, a long-held position of the Church, and went on to describe pedophilia as “barbaric.”
“You have given us immense dignity, you beckon us toward freedom. Free us from all forms of slavery,” the meditation said, in prayer for child soldiers and victims of human trafficking.
In another reflection, a lector also referred to the death penalty, saying: “Our conscience is troubled. We anxiously ask: When will the death penalty, still practiced in many states, be abolished?”
There was also an appeal for the end of all torture.
International indifference
At another Good Friday service earlier in St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Francis heard the Vatican’s official preacher accuse the international community of indifference to the persecution of Christians on Sunday.
Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, whose title is “Preacher of the Pontifical Household,” mentioned the Kenya attack at a long “Passion of the Lord” service, during which the Pope prayed prostrate on the marble floor of St. Peter’s Basilica.
The service is one of the few times the Pope listens while someone else preaches.
“Christians are, of course, not the only victims of homicidal violence in the world, but we cannot ignore that in many countries they are the most frequently targeted victims,” Cantalamessa said.
Cantalamessa denounced “the disturbing indifference of world institutions and public opinion in the face of all this killing of Christians.”
Francis has expressed alarm over the plight of Christians targeted for their faith and has said the international community would be justified in using military force as a last resort to stop “unjust aggression” by the Islamic State jihadist group in Syria and Iraq.
The Pope will celebrate Mass in St. Peter’s Square on Easter Sunday morning. Reports from AP, AFP
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