Covid-19 knows no borders,
but neither do faith, hope, and love
 |
| Holy Week 2018 : Cardinal Tagle washes the feet of migrants and refugees |
The Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of
Peoples and President of Caritas Internationalis, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle,
urges the faithful to beat the coronavirus with a faith that has no borders.
By Francesca Merlo
In an Easter message, published on the Caritas
Internationalis website, Cardinal Tagle invites the faithful to take
this time to “reflect deeply on what ‘Body of Christ’ means for each of
us. Due to the lockdown measures put in place to prevent the spread of
Covid-19, people around the world are facing Easter “without the possibility of
celebrating the Eucharist physically together”, he writes.
Faced with these difficult times, Cardinal Tagle encourages
everyone to pray “for the serenity” to accept what we cannot change, “the
courage” to change what we can, and “the wisdom” to know the difference. “Let
us pray to find the deeper meaning of this challenge…which is calling us to
faith and to resurrection”, adds Cardinal Tagle.
Turning his thoughts to the most vulnerable, Cardinal Tagle
notes that the pandemic is making their suffering “even deeper”. For this, he
says, we urge our governments to ensure access to healthcare and social
protection for everyone and “pray that our leaders rise to the challenge of
promoting unity and a shared responsibility”. “Can our governments admit that
many of them got it wrong when they didn’t allow everyone to belong to the
human family in a dignified way?”, he asks.
The bonds that create this human family are coming to light
now more than ever, writes Cardinal Tagle. “The global suffering we are seeing
has made it startlingly apparent to us that we need other people and other
people need us too”, he adds.
At the same time, changes that would have been unthinkable
three months ago are actually happening. “Air quality has improved” and in some
countries “warring parties have called ceasefires”, writes the Cardinal .
Though these may be temporary, “they remind us that seemingly irresolvable
human problems aren’t eternal”, he adds.
“We are reminded that Jesus stayed in the tomb for a
brief time before rising to eternal life. Death does not have the final say
when you make space for hope”.
Cardinal Tagle concludes his Easter message by thanking
Caritas workers and volunteers and all those helping the sick and the
vulnerable. “Caritas christi urget nos” – the love of Christ
urges us on (2 Corinthians 5:14), says the Cardinal. “This love, seen in small
and large gestures of hope and solidarity, is calling us to a new future and a
new way of living. Covid-19 knows no borders, but neither do faith, hope and
love”.
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