RADAR • POPE FRANCIS IN VERONA

“A GRAVE SIN IS NOT TO PROTECT PEACE”

BY FILIPPO PASSANTINO | SIR NEWS AGENCY, VERONA

THE PONTIFF’S visit to the city of Verona on 18 May 2024 was a ‘hymn of peace’, with particular attention to all current wars. The day also included a meeting with priests and consecrated persons of the Diocese, a visit to the Montorio prison, participation in the Arena of Peace, listening to various testimonies, as well as the mass at the Bentegodi stadium, celebrated with 32,000 attendees.

Flags of peace marked the arena of Verona, in remembrance of Bishop Tonino Bello who, in 1989, inspired the crowds who packed the arena, by urging them: “Stand up, builders of peace.” At the end of Pope Francis’ meeting, he pronounced the same words in the same place, in this new edition of the ‘Arena of Peace’. 35 years ago, the pacifist movements of civil society and the Church reached a determined commitment to peace at the dawn of the Gulf War. Today, the conflict is in the Middle East.

The image that will remain in the collective memory on this occasion is that of the Pope’s embrace of Maoz Inon—an Israelite, whose parents were killed by Hamas on 7 October 2023—and Aziz Sarah, whose brother was torn away by the war: two representatives of the economic and labor society belonging to two peoples now at war with each other, but who despite this fact nevertheless wanted to share their common desire for peace. 12,500 people who attended the meeting ‘Justice and Peace will kiss’, listened to their testimony, the culmination of the Pope’s visit to the arena of Verona.

An Arena of Peace

Democracy and rights, migration, environment, disarmament, work, and economy: these are some of the ‘tables’ of the Arena of Peace. Their representatives submitted their reflections and questions to the Pope, who enriched them with his interventions. These included the words of Maoz and Aziz: “We are entrepreneurs. There can be no peace without an economy of peace; an economy that does not kill.” Pope Francis answered: “In front of the suffering of these brothers, which is the suffering of two peoples, nothing can be said. They had the courage to embrace each other, which is not only a testimony but also a project for the future. Both have lost family members. The family is broken because of this war. What good is in war? We make a space of silence because one cannot talk too much. We need to hear.” Then, applause from the packed Arena.

The speeches were also interspersed with the testimonies of some Palestinian Israeli women. Mothers, wives, young and old, ‘courageous bridge-builders’, who presented the Pope with their pain for ‘the tragedies’ experienced during the months of war and also their work, through movements and organizations they themselves founded, ‘to put an end to this conflict’. “The world needs to look at women to find peace,” Pope Francis said. Speaking off-hand, shortly before, he had added: “Peace cannot be invented from one day to the next, it must be nurtured. In the world of today there is this grave sin: not protecting peace”.

The encouragement to forgiveness

The first appointment in the morning, however, was the meeting with priests and consecrated men in the basilica of San Zeno. To those who administer the sacrament of penance, the Pope recommended: “Forgive everything. When people come to confession, please do not torture the penitents. Forgive without making them suffer. The Church needs forgiveness and you are the forgiving instrument. To all we must bring the caress of God’s mercy. Especially to those on the margins”. At the end, outside the basilica, meeting with children and young people, the Pope urged: “We must be a sign of peace.”

Hope against suicides in prison

Before the concluding Eucharistic celebration, the Pope visited the Verona prison of Montorio, where he enjoyed lunch. Following the chronicles of the institution, Pope Francis reported that he had “learned with sorrow that unfortunately here, recently, some people, in an extreme gesture, have given up living”. “This is a sad act,” he said, “to which only unbearable despair and pain can lead. Therefore, as I join the families and all of you in prayer, I want to urge you not to give in to despair. Life is always worth living, and there is always hope for the future, even when everything seems to fade away”. Then, Pope Francis recalled how “our existence, that of each one of us, is important; it is a unique gift for us and for others, for everyone, and above all for God, who never abandons us, and who indeed knows how to listen, rejoice and weep with us. With Him at our side, we can overcome despair, and live each moment as the opportune time to begin again.”

“Peace cannot be invented from one day to the next, it must be nurtured. In the world of today there is this grave sin: not protecting peace”.

People thirst for peace

In the closing Eucharist, on the eve of Pentecost, at the Bentegodi stadium, Pope Francis dedicated his homily to the Holy Spirit. “Today if I ask many Christian communities what the Holy Spirit is, they will not know what to answer. The Holy Spirit is the protagonist of our life. He brings us forward; he makes us develop the Christian life: he is within us. We received it with baptism and with confirmation even more so,” he added.

After asking those present to repeat together ‘the Spirit changes our lives’, the Pope reiterated that “it gives us courage to live the Christian life. There are Christians who are lukewarm. Let us pray to the Spirit to help us move forward. The Spirit builds the Church. He does not make us all the same, but all with one heart. The Spirit brings everyone together. There is a word that explains this well: the Spirit makes harmony in the Church. The opposite of harmony is war.”