Pope addresses Colombian prayer for National Reconciliation:
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| Pope Francis waves to Colombians from aboard his Popemobile.- AP |
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis participated in a prayer
for National Reconciliation in the Las Malocas Park in Villavicencio on Friday
during his Apostolic Visit to Colombia, expressing his desire to be with the
Colombian people who, he said, are carrying in their hearts and their flesh the
signs of tragic events they have faced.
Addressing the people gathered for the prayer event, Pope
Francis said he had been waiting for the moment from the time of his
arrival.
He said he wished to be close to the people and to see them
with his own eyes, in order to open his heart to their witness of life and
faith.
Making the suffering the people of Colombia have gone
through his own, the Holy Father said he wished to embrace them all and weep
with them, asking them to pray for one another and ask forgiveness together so
that together they could go forward in faith and hope.
The Pope was moved as he listened to the testimonies of four
people.
He said their stories were not just of suffering and
anguish, but also, and above all, that they were stories of love and
forgiveness which speak to us of life and hope; stories of not letting hatred,
vengeance or pain take control of our hearts.
Please find below the official English translation of
the Pope's prepared speech:
Villavicencio
Friday, 8 September 2017
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I
have been looking forward to this moment since my arrival in your
country. You carry in your hearts and your flesh the signs of the recent,
living memory of your people which is marked by tragic events, but also filled
with heroic acts, great humanity, and the noble spiritual values of faith and
hope. I come here with respect and with a clear awareness that, like
Moses, I am standing on sacred ground (cf. Ex 3:5).
A land watered by the blood of thousands of innocent victims and by the
heart-breaking sorrow of their families and friends. Wounds that are hard
to heal and that hurt us all, because every act of violence committed against a
human being is a wound in humanity’s flesh; every violent death diminishes us
as people.
I am
here not so much to speak, but to be close to you and to see you with my own
eyes, to listen to you and to open my heart to your witness of life and
faith. And if you will allow me, I wish also to embrace you and weep with
you. I would like us to pray together and to forgive one another – I also
need to ask forgiveness – so that, together, we can all look and walk forward
in faith and hope.
We
have gathered at the feet of the Crucifix of Bojayá, which witnessed and
endured the massacre of more than a hundred people, who had come to the Church
for refuge on 2 May 2002. This image has a powerful symbolic and
spiritual value. As we look at it, we remember not only what happened on
that day, but also the immense suffering, the many deaths and broken lives, and
all the blood spilt in Colombia these past decades. To see Christ this
way, mutilated and wounded, questions us. He no longer has arms, nor is
his body there, but his face remains, with which he looks upon us and loves us.
Christ broken and without limbs is for us “even more Christ”, because he
shows us once more that he came to suffer for his people
and with his people. He came to show us that hatred does not
have the last word, that love is stronger than death and violence. He
teaches us to transform pain into a source of life and resurrection, so that,
with him, we may learn the power of forgiveness, the grandeur of love.
I thank our brothers and sisters who have shared their testimonies
with us, on behalf of so many others. How good it is for us to hear their
stories! I am moved listening to them. They are stories of
suffering and anguish, but also, and above all, they are stories of love and
forgiveness that speak to us of life and hope; stories of not letting hatred,
vengeance or pain take control of our hearts.
The final prophecy of Psalm 85 – “Mercy and faithfulness
will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other” (v. 10) – follows the
working of grace and the petition to God: “Restore us!” Thank you, Lord,
for the witness of those who inflicted suffering and who ask for forgiveness;
for the witness of those who suffered unjustly and who forgive. This is
only possible with your help and presence… this is already a great sign of your
desire to restore peace and harmony in this land of Colombia.
Pastora Mira, you put it well: you want to place all your suffering, and that
of the thousands of victims, at the feet of Jesus Crucified, so that united to
his suffering, it may be transformed into blessing and forgiveness so
as to break the cycle of violence that has reigned over Colombia. You are
right: violence leads to more violence, hatred to more hatred, death to more
death. We must break this cycle which seems inescapable; this is only
possible through forgiveness and reconciliation. And you, dear Pastora,
and so many others like you, have shown us that this is possible. Yes,
with the help of Christ alive in the midst of the community, it is possible to
conquer hatred, it is possible to conquer death and it is possible to begin
again and usher in a new Colombia. Thank you, Pastora; you have helped us
greatly today by the witness of your life. It is the Crucified One of
Bojayá who has given you this strength to forgive and to love, to help you to
see in the shirt that your daughter Sandra Paola gave to your son Jorge Aníbal
not only a remembrance of their deaths, but the hope that peace will finally
triumph in Colombia.
We
are also moved by what Luz Dary said in her testimony: that the wounds of the
heart are deeper and more difficult to heal than those of the body. This
is true. Even more important, you realized that it is not possible to
live with resentment, but only with a love that liberates and builds.
And so you also began to heal the wounds of other victims, to rebuild their
dignity. This going out of yourself has enriched you, has helped you look
ahead, find peace and serenity and a reason to keep moving forward. I
thank you for the crutch you have given me. Although you still have
physical side-effects from your injuries, your spiritual gait is fast and
steady, because you think of others and want to help them. Your crutch is
a symbol of the more important crutch we all need, which is love and
forgiveness. By your love and forgiveness you are helping so many people
to walk in life. Thank you.
I
wish to acknowledge also the powerful testimony of Deisy and Juan Carlos.
You have helped us to understand that, in the end, in one way or another, we
too are victims, innocent or guilty, but all victims. We are all
united in this loss of humanity that means violence and death. Deisy has
said it clearly: you realized that you yourself were a victim and you needed to
be given a chance. So you started to study, and now you work to help
victims and prevent young people from falling into the snares of violence and
drugs. There is also hope for those who did wrong; all is not lost.
Of course justice requires that perpetrators of wrongdoing undergo moral and
spiritual renewal. As Deisy said, we must make a positive contribution to
healing our society that has been wounded by violence.
It
can be difficult to believe that change is possible for those who appealed to a
ruthless violence in order to promote their own agenda, protect their illegal
affairs so they could gain wealth, or claim – dishonestly – that they were
defending the lives of their brothers and sisters. Undoubtedly, it is a
challenge for each of us to trust that those who inflicted suffering on
communities and on a whole country can take a step forward.
It is true that in this enormous field of Colombia there is nevertheless room
for weeds… You must be attentive to the fruit… care for the wheat and do
not lose peace because of the weeds. When the sower finds weeds mingled
with the wheat, he or she is not alarmed. Search for the way in which the
Word becomes incarnate in concrete situations and produces the fruit of new
life, even if it appears to be imperfect or incomplete (cf. Evangelii
Gaudium, 24). Even when conflicts, violence and feelings of vengeance
remain, may we not prevent justice and mercy from embracing Colombia’s painful
history. Let us heal that pain and welcome every person who has committed
offences, who admits their failures, is repentant and truly wants to make
reparation, thus contributing to the building of a new order where justice and
peace shine forth.
As Juan Carlos has let us glimpse in his testimony,
throughout this long, difficult, but hopeful process of reconciliation, it is
also indispensable to come to terms with the truth. It
is a great challenge, but a necessary one. Truth is an inseparable
companion of justice and mercy. Together they are essential to building
peace; each, moreover, prevents the other from being altered and transformed
into instruments of revenge against the weakest. Indeed, truth should not
lead to revenge, but rather to reconciliation and forgiveness. Truth
means telling families torn apart by pain what happened to their missing
relatives. Truth means confessing what happened to minors recruited by
violent people. Truth means recognizing the pain of women who are victims
of violence and abuse.
I
wish finally, as a brother and a father, to say this: Colombia, open your heart
as the People of God and be reconciled. Fear neither the truth nor
justice. Dear people of Colombia: do not be afraid of asking for
forgiveness and offering it. Do not resist that reconciliation which
allows you to draw near and encounter one another as brothers and sisters, and
surmount enmity. Now is the time to heal wounds, to build bridges, to
overcome differences. It is time to defuse hatred, to renounce vengeance,
and to open yourselves to a coexistence founded on justice, truth, and the
creation of a genuine culture of fraternal encounter. May we live in
harmony and solidarity, as the Lord desires. Let us pray to be builders
of peace, so that where there is hatred and resentment, we may bring love and
mercy (cf. Prayer attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi).
I wish to place all of these intentions before the image of
the Crucified One, the black Christ of Bojayá:
* * *
O black Christ of Bojayá,
who remind us of your passion and death;
together with your arms and feet
they have torn away your children
who sought refuge in you.
O black Christ of Bojayá,
who look tenderly upon us
and in whose face is serenity;
your heart beats
so that we may be received in your love.
O black Christ of Bojayá,
Grant us to commit ourselves to restoring your body.
May we be your feet that go forth to encounter
our brothers and sisters in need;
your arms to embrace
those who have lost their dignity;
your hands to bless and console
those who weep alone.
Make us witnesses
to your love and infinite mercy.
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