The violence of South America’s guerrilla fighters and the drug trade plaguing Central America are at the center of two of Pope Francis’s 14 Good Friday meditations on the Stations of the Cross, celebrated this evening at the Colosseum in Rome without presence of the Pope.
Francisco, who will follow the rite from his residence in the Vatican to recover from his recent bronchitis, wants the fourteen stations of the rite this year to describe what he calls “World War III in pieces”, with an overview of the dramas. of the world.
The full prayer will be heard this Friday at 9 p.m. at the Colosseum in Rome.
Victims of some tragedies such as forced migration in Africa, the war in Ukraine and religious conflicts in the Middle East will intercede at every station of the tour.
On behalf of Latin America, a young man from Central America speaks at the third station and a mother from South America, who takes over at the fourth station.
“We young people want peace. But often we fall, (…) Laziness, fear, discouragement and also the empty promises of an easy but dirty life, made of greed and corruption, throw us to the ground”, he begins the young man.
His meditation asks, “This is what keeps the spirals of drug trafficking, violence, dependence and exploitation of people growing, as many families continue to mourn the loss of their children, and the impunity of those who swindle, kidnap and kill has no end. How do you get peace?”
And finally, in Spanish, he mentions the word “commitment”, necessary to take the reins of life in search of peace and say “no” to other false commitments that kill it.
Then a mother from South America talks about the drama of life under the action of the guerrilla fighters.
“In 2012, the explosion of a bomb placed by the guerrillas destroyed my leg,” the woman recalls.
“What frightened me the most was seeing my seven-month-old daughter, covered in blood, with many pieces of glass embedded in her face. What it must have been like for Mary to see the disfigured and bloodied face of Jesus!”, continues.
Still, the mother asks not to get carried away with “anger and resentment”, as she found that “spreading hate causes more violence”.
“I understood that many victims had to discover (…) that you can’t live on a grudge. This is how I started helping them: I studied to learn how to avoid accidents caused by the millions of scattered mines”, he completes his reflection.
The war in Ukraine will also be present this year: Last year, a Ukrainian and Russian woman carried the cross together at one of the stations, prompting complaints from the Ukrainian embassy to the Vatican.
On this occasion, the Tenth Station Meditation was co-written by a young Ukrainian and a Russian.
The Ukrainian remembers that he and his family fled from Mariupol to Italy, where his grandmother lived, but they decided to return soon after, as his father had been recruited by the army.
“Here the situation remains difficult, there is war on all sides, the city has been destroyed. But in my heart remained that certainty that my grandmother told me when she cried: ‘You will see, everything will pass. And with God’s help, peace He’s coming back,” he pleads.
For his part, the Russian admits that he speaks “with a sense of guilt” and recalls a letter informing his family of his brother’s death: “Everyone told us to be proud, but there was so much at home sorrow and sorrow.”
Source: El heraldo
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
