2013 ELOQUENT EVENINGS SERIES

This is not a question directed to others it is a question directed to me, to you, to each of us. 'Where is your brother?' His blood cries out to me, says the Lord. God’s two questions echo even today, as forcefully as ever! How many of us, myself included, have lost our bearings we are no longer attentive to the world in which we live we don’t care we don’t protect what God created for everyone, and we end up unable even to care for one another! And when humanity as a whole loses its bearings, it results in tragedies like the one we have witnessed.

2013 ELOQUENT EVENINGS SERIES

God asks a second question: 'Cain, where is your brother?' The illusion of being powerful, of being as great as God, even of being God himself, leads to a whole series of errors, a chain of death, even to the spilling of a brother’s blood! 'The other' is no longer a brother or sister to be loved, but simply someone who disturbs my life and my comfort. Harmony was lost man erred and this error occurs over and over again also in relationships with others. 'Adam, where are you?' Adam lost his bearings, his place in creation, because he thought he could be powerful, able to control everything, to be God. 'Adam, where are you?' This is the first question which God asks man after his sin. This morning, in the light of God’s word which has just been proclaimed, I wish to offer some thoughts meant to challenge people’s consciences and lead them to reflection and a concrete change of heart. The Church is at your side as you seek a more dignified life for yourselves and your families. I also think with affection of those Muslim immigrants who this evening begin the fast of Ramadan, which I trust will bear abundant spiritual fruit. I offer a cordial greeting to Mayor Giusi Nicolini: thank you so much for what you have done and are doing.

You are so few, and yet you offer an example of solidarity! Thank you! I also thank Archbishop Francesco Montenegro for all his help, his efforts and his close pastoral care. Please, let it not be repeated! First, however, I want to say a word of heartfelt gratitude and encouragement to you, the people of Lampedusa and Linosa, and to the various associations, volunteers and security personnel who continue to attend to the needs of people journeying towards a better future. So I felt that I had to come here today, to pray and to offer a sign of my closeness, but also to challenge our consciences lest this tragedy be repeated. When I first heard of this tragedy a few weeks ago, and realized that it happens all too frequently, it has constantly come back to me like a painful thorn in my heart. Immigrants dying at sea, in boats which were vehicles of hope and became vehicles of death.

2013 eloquent evenings