from Brussels
The Pontiff speaks of “feminine sanctity”. And it strongly condemns those who cover up abuse, demanding that abusers be brought to justice.
After the students of Louvain-la-Neuve they accused him of not having mentioned, in the Praised yesnot even a female theologian and after the university’s harsh statement which “deplores its conservative positions on the role of women in society” Francis tries to mend the rift with a homily in which he recalls that it was Anna of Jesus, born Anna de Lobera y Torres, a Carmelite who was beatified today, among the “protagonists, in the Church of her time, of a great reform movement”. In a period, even then, of great scandals “within and outside the Christian community”, with his “simple and poor life, made of prayer, work and charity” he was able to “bring many people back to the faith”. A sort of “spiritual magnet” for Brussels, a “delicate and strong” model, made of “openness, communion and testimony”. And he adds, off the cuff, a harsh condemnation for the abusers and for those who covered for them, asking, amidst applause, that clarity be clarified and that those who sexually abused the children entrusted to them be judged.
The Brussels stadium, as well as the approximately 5,000 young people who dedicated the Hope festival musical event to him, greet him with joy. The stands are full, despite the fear of a semi-flop on the eve of the match due to the coldness with which the city welcomed the visit.
No posters, no flags, very few onlookers along the routes. The protest from part of civil society over the honors that had been prepared for the Pope led the King and Queen of the Belgians to remove any object from the city that referred to the trip. Yet here the faithful arrived en masse, over 35 thousand in the stadium named after King Baudouin. The old Heysel which for the Italians is above all the stadium where 39 fans who arrived in 1985 to watch the Juventus – Liverpool match found their death (in the photo the plaque commemorating it), for the Belgians it is only the setting for partying to the Pontiff.
Even the older stewards can barely point out where the plaque in memory of the fallen is located, while everyone turns their gaze and chants to the Popemobile that goes around the track.
The mass concludes a very tiring journey for Francis. After the frank words of King Philippe and the Prime Minister who asked him for clarity on the abuses and to follow the words of condemnation with concrete facts to try “to repair the irreparable», after the issues that the two universities of Leuven, the Flemish and the French-speaking one, posed to him on the female priesthood and homosexuality, after the embarrassment that transpires from the royal family over the words pronounced in front of Baldwin’s tomb condemning the law on abortion while in Belgium there is an ongoing battle to increase the number of weeks of gestation within which pregnancy termination is possible, Francesco finally receives warm support.
They are all attentive while the Pontiff explains the Gospel of the day which seems tailor-made for this country: «Whoever scandalizes even one of these little ones who believe in me, it is much better for him if a millstone is put around his neck and he is thrown in the sea”, we read in Mark’s text. «With these words, addressed to the disciples, Jesus warns against danger of scandalising, that is, of obstructing the path of the “little ones”. It is a strong, severe warning on which we must stop and reflect”, explains Francis.
And, to do this, use three keywords: opening, communion and testimony.
Openness, first and foremost. «The first Reading and the Gospel tell us about it, showing us the free action of the Holy Spirit who, in the story of the exodus, fills with his gift of prophecy not only the elders who went with Moses to the tent of meeting, but also two men who they remained in the camp. This makes us think, because, if at first their absence from the group of elect was scandalous, after the gift of the Spirit it is scandalous to prohibit them from carrying out the mission which, despite this, they have received. Moses, a humble and wise man, understands this well, and with an open mind and heart he says: “If only they were all prophets among the Lord’s people and if only the Lord would place his spirit on them!”. Words that prelude to «what Jesus states in the Gospel. Here the scene takes place in Capernaum, and the disciples in turn would like to prevent a man from driving out demons in the name of the Master, because – they say – “he did not follow us””. And, therefore, the disciples think, “he is not ‘one of us’, he cannot perform miracles, he has no right to do so”. But Jesus surprises them – as always – and reprimands them, inviting them to go beyond their patterns, not to be “shocked” by God’s freedom. He says to them: “Do not prevent him (…) whoever is not against us is for us”.
Observing the two scenes, that of Moses and that of Jesus, we realize that «they also concern us and our Christian life. In fact, with Baptism, we have all received a mission in the Church. But it is a gift, not a title of pride. The Community of believers is not a circle of privileged people, it is a family of the saved, and we are not sent to bring the Gospel to the world for our merits, but for grace of God, for his mercy and for the trust that, beyond all our limitations and sinsHe continues to place in us with the love of a Father, seeing in us what we ourselves cannot see. This is why he calls us, sends us and patiently accompanies us day by day. And so, if we want to cooperate, with open and caring love, in the free action of the Spirit without being a scandal, an obstacle to anyone with our presumption and our rigiditywe need to carry out our mission with humility, gratitude and joy. We must not resent, but rather rejoice in the fact that others can also do what we do, so that the Kingdom of God grows and so that we all find ourselves united, one day, in the arms of the Father.”
Openness also leads us to communion: «The path of selfishness only generates closures, walls and obstacles – “scandals”, precisely – chaining us to things and distancing us from God and our brothers. Selfishness, like everything that prevents charity, is “scandalous” because it crushes the little ones, humiliating people’s dignity and suffocating the cry of the poor. And this was as true in the time of Saint Paul as it is for us today. Let’s think, for example, of what happens when the lives of individuals and communities are based solely on the principles of interest and the logic of the market. A world is created in which there is no longer room for those in difficulty, nor is there mercy for those who make mistakes, nor compassion for those who suffer and cannot cope. Let’s think about what happens when children are abused by those who should take care of them, let’s think about the wounds of the victims, their families and communities. With my mind and heart I return to the stories of some of these little ones I met the day before yesterday. I heard their experiences of being abused. I repeat, in the Church there is room for everyone, for everyone, for everyone, but there is no room for abuse, there is no room for the cover-up of abuse. I ask everyone not to cover up abuse, I ask the bishops, not to cover up abuse, condemn abusers and help them heal from this disease of abuse. Evil cannot be hidden, evil must be brought out into the open. Let it be known, with courage, let the abuser be known and brought to justice. Let the abuser be judged, be he a layman, priest or bishop, let him be judged».
The Word of God is clear: it says that the “protests of the reapers” and the “cry of the poor” cannot be ignored, cannot be erased, as if they were the discordant note in the perfect concert of the world of well-being, nor can they be mitigated with some form of superficial welfare.
On the contrary, they are a living voice of the Spirit, they remind us of who we are – we are all poor sinners – and they call us to convert. Abused people are the lament that rises to God, let’s not hinder their prophetic voice, hinder it with our indifference. Francis explains that we must follow what Jesus says in the Gospel: «Far from us theeye scandalous, who sees the poor man and turns away! Far from us there hand scandalous, who makes a fist to hide her treasures and greedily withdraws into her pockets! Far from us the foot scandalous, who runs fast not to get close to those who suffer, but to “get past” and stay at a distance! Away with all this: away from us! Nothing good and solid is built like this! If we want to sow for the future, also on a social and economic level, it will do us good to return to placing the Gospel of mercy at the basis of our choices. Otherwise, no matter how apparently imposing, the monuments of our opulence will always be giants with feet of clay.”. It talks about what happens without love and how, without it we become «prisoners of an elusive, empty and meaningless life, of an inconsistent world which, beyond the facades, has lost all credibility, because scandalized the little ones”.
Finally, testimony, as did Anna of Jesus, recently beatified and from whom we must draw inspiration because, “with her way of life she contributed to reviving the Church in a moment of great difficulty”.
