The urgency of finding peace in a world torn apart by multiple conflicts resonated Monday evening in the Basilica of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem in Rome. The vigil, chaired by Cardinal Vicar Baldo Reina, counted on the presence of the Archbishop of the Iranian capital, Cardinal Dominique Mathieu. “War,” he declared, “is an adventure without return” and “a spiral of mourning and violence,” while “new solutions” and “spaces for dialogue” are needed.
Valerio Palombaro – Vatican City
«Never again war, adventure of no return; never again war, spiral of mourning and violence»: this is the cry launched by Cardinal Dominique Joseph Mathieu, Archbishop of Tehran-Isfahan of the Latins, during the prayer vigil for peace presided over Monday evening March 30 by the cardinal vicar of the diocese of Rome, Baldassarre Reina, in the basilica Holy Cross of Jerusalem. The Archbishop of Tehran, repeating certain passages from a prayer pronounced by Saint John Paul II on February 2, 1991, invoked the grace of God for an end to the war in the Gulf, which forced him to leave the Iranian capital on March 8: “Stop the logic of retaliation and revenge, suggest through your Spirit new solutions, generous and honorable gestures, spaces for dialogue and patient waiting more fruitful than the hasty deadlines of war».
Forgotten conflicts and the bruised Holy Land
The prayer of this Monday evening – which is part of the monthly journey entitled “Peace Mission – Journey into the Spirit–, promoted by the Diocesan Missionary Center (CMD) and by the Office for Social and Labor Pastoral of the Diocese of Rome, in collaboration with the Pax Christi Peace Movement, Italia Solidale-Mondo Solidale, Catholic Action and the Community of Sant’Egidio – did not ignore the numerous conflicts –forgotten» which are tearing the world apart, like those in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan. However, the vigil took place under the sign of the events tormenting the Middle East and the Holy Land. The celebrants expressed some relief at the decision of the Israeli authorities to authorize, although with security restrictions imposed due to the war, the holding of Holy Week ceremonies, after access to the Holy Sepulcher was refused the previous day to the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and to the Custos of the Holy Land, Father Francesco Ielpo.
Tant d’innocents crucifiés
«We are close to the Iranian people and all those who are suffering at this time», said Cardinal Reina, addressing journalists on the sidelines of the vigil. TO”This church, he said, preserves one of the most important relics of the cross of Christ. History repeats itself and there are so many innocent people crucified. The Pope invites all Christians to pray for peace. This is a dramatic moment for all humanity“, argued the Pope’s vicar for the diocese of Rome.
Abandoning violence: the lesson of history
«Violence only produces more violenceHAS”. Also, “how could man have failed to learn this fundamental lesson from history?»: this is the question that the cardinal vicar then asked, during his meditation in the basilica. HAS”The world has lost peace“, observed the cardinal, and society sinks “towards the absurd», «towards a rearmament that tastes like deathHAS”. Cardinal Reina welcomed the presence of the Cardinal of Tehran, who joined in this prayer as well as “to that of his people and of all peoples marked by war». «Jesus is in the midst of those who suffer“, he declared. Jesus was crucified between two bandits: “The one who came to bring peace is in the middle, as if to tell the story of a God who interferes in our history, in our suffering». «Help us find peace“, insisted Cardinal Reina, emphasizing that in the end, this is not the fruit “of a diplomatic choice or a strategy, but Christ himself».
