“I ask God to grant eternal rest to those who have died and to console the grieving hearts of those close to them, who very often have not even been able to say goodbye to them.” In a video message, Thursday April 15, on the occasion of the Spring Plenary Assembly of Brazilian Bishops, Pope Francis made a point of addressing “To all Brazilians, at a time in which this beloved country is facing one of the most difficult trials in its history”.
A pandemic out of control
Indeed, Brazil is the second country, after the United States, the hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic which has killed more than 360,000 people. And the epidemic still seems out of control with several thousand deaths per day and a multiplication of variants.
→ REPORT. Covid-19: “Stop whining”, launches Jair Bolsonaro to Brazilians
In this context, the Pope expresses his “Proximity to the hundreds of thousands of families who mourn the loss of a loved one”. Speaking directly to the Brazilian bishops, he calls on them to “Cry with those who cry” and to “Not to be afraid to strip off”. While the Brazilian episcopate sometimes displays its divisions, Francis also exhorts them to unity to overcome the social consequences of the pandemic.
In a country very divided, particularly around the figure of President Jair Bolsonaro, the Pope defends the idea that “The Church must be an instrument of reconciliation”. For this she must set aside “Divisions, divergences” and get back to the essentials, “With Christ, through Christ and in Christ”.
Also fight against the indifference virus
“Only in this way will you, as pastors of the People of God, be able to incite not only the Catholic faithful, but also other Christians and other men and women of good will, at all levels of society. , including at the institutional and governmental level, to work together to defeat not only the coronavirus, but also another virus that has long infected humanity: the virus of indifference, which arises from selfishness and generates injustice social “, strongly pleads the Argentine Pope. He recognizes, however, that “The challenge is great”.
→ READ. Coronavirus, Brazilian bishops raise their voices against President Bolsonaro
Despite the health context, Francis invites us not to give in to the temptation of despair, recalling that at Easter, Christians celebrated « the proclamation of the victory of the Lord Jesus over death and over sin ” : « He who triumphed is with us. Christ has conquered! He conquered death! Let us renew the hope that life will triumph! “.
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