Italy: 200,000 with the PopeTwo hundred thousand faithful from all over Italy thronged St. Peter’s Square and its adjacent streets on Sunday 16 May for the Regina Cæli with Benedict XVI, in response to the invitation of the CNAL (National Conference of Lay Groups), to express support and affection for the Pope. Banners, baseball caps, flags and balloons of the various associations, groups and movements that supported the initiative added a colourful note to the piazza and its approaches. While awaiting the Regina Cæli with the Pope, Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, President of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, led prayers in St. Peter’s Square. “Mercy, pardon for sinners, purification and strength for the whole Church”, Cardinal Bagnasco implored of the Lord. “Omnipotent and eternal God, listen to the cry of those who grieve, so that they may find justice and comfort”. “Thank you – said Benedict XVI, repeatedly interrupted by the applause of the crowd – I thank you with all my heart for your warm and numerous presence! Dear friends, today you express the great affection and the deep solidarity of the Italian Church and people for the Pope and for your priests, who daily take care of you, so that, in dedication to spiritual and moral renewal we can ever better serve the Church, the People of God and all those who turn to us with trust”. “The real enemy to be feared and combated – warned the Pope – is sin, the spiritual evil that sometimes, unfortunately, spreads its contagion also to members of the Church”. So the Holy Father urged Catholics to “beware” of the seductions of the world. “We must fear sin – maintained the Pope – and for that reason we must be strongly rooted in God, and united in good, in love and in service. That is what the Church, and her ministers, together with the faithful, have done and continue to do with fervent commitment for the spiritual and material well-being of people all over the world. That’s what you in particular try on a daily basis to do in your parishes, associations and movements: to serve God and man in the name of Christ. Let us continue this journey together with trust, and may the challenges that the Lord vouchsafes, impel us to greater faith and coherence”. England: Friday of prayer for the Church The four Fridays in May 2010 are special days of prayer of Adoration for Catholics of England and Wales in parishes to pray for God’s forgiveness for the failings of the Church and to render thanks for her graces. The bishops launched the idea at the end of April. In the communiqué, centred on the abuse scandal, the bishops asked the Catholics to come before the Blessed Sacrament, “to pray for all who have suffered abuse; for those who mishandled these matters and added to the suffering of those affected. From this prayer we do not exclude those who have committed these sins of abuse. They have a journey of repentance and atonement to make.” The liturgy section (liturgyoffice.org.uk) of the Catholic Church of England and Wales (www.catholic-ew.org.uk) presents the format of the prayers of the four Fridays, which includes a song, the reading of the Gospel, a psalm and the prayers of atonement. This week’s resource states: “Almighty and merciful God, you have brought us together in the name of your Son to receive your mercy and grace in our time of need. Open our eyes to see the evil we have done. Touch our hearts and convert us to yourself. Where sin has divided and scattered, may your love make one again. Where sin has brought weakness, may your power heal and strengthen”. Ireland: a project for “Irish travellers”A few days ago the new project to raise awareness on the so-called “Irish travellers”, in the prisons of England and Wales was presented in London. The meeting took place in the premises of the “Irish Chaplaincy” in Great Britain, a charity founded by Irish bishops at the end of the 1950s to support Irish immigrants in difficulty in the United Kingdom. The meeting was attended by officers of the Irish Embassy to Great Britain, representatives of the “Travellers” community, prison chaplains, scholars and experts involved in the project aimed at improving the conditions of “Irish Travellers” in prison and that of their families. There is no precise data on Irish travellers in prison although the British government acknowledges their status of ethnic group and admits they face additional challenges to those facing the rest of the prison population. For don Joe Browne, prison chaplain and one of the project designers, “Travellers” are amongst the most socially excluded of groups in the UK.
