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Illustration: The Blue Cloak, The Topsy Turvy World
Artist: Pieter Brueghel the Elder (1628 – 1569)
Pope Francis’ address to the bishops and priests of the churches of Sicily
Clementine Hall Thursday, 9 June 2022
The Gospel of Christ asks for full, total & exclusive service from priests & bishops.
Dear Brothers, (after introductions, Pope Francis gave his address)
The change of epoch in which we find ourselves living requires courageous choices, even if considered and, above all, enlightened with the discernment of the Holy Spirit. This change is putting a strain on social and emotional ties, as the pandemic has even more clearly highlighted. The responsible attitude with which to live it, as in other historical phases, is to welcome it with awareness and with a “trusting taking charge of reality, anchored in the wise living and living Tradition of the Church, which can afford to put out into the deep without fear“ (Address to the Symposium “For a Fundamental Theology of the Priesthood”, 17 February 2022).
Sicily is not outside of this change; indeed, as happened in the past, it is located at the center of historical paths that the continental peoples draw. It has often welcomed the passages of these peoples, now rulers now migrants, and welcoming them has integrated them into its fabric, developing its own culture. I remember when, about 40 years ago, they showed me a film about Sicily: “Kaos”, it was called. They were four stories by Pirandello, the great Sicilian. I was amazed by that beauty, by that culture, by that “continental insularity”, so to speak… But this does not mean that it is a happy island, because the condition of insularity profoundly affects Sicilian society, ending up highlighting the contradictions that we carry within us. So we are witnessing in Sicily behaviors and gestures marked by great virtues as well as cruel brutality. As well, next to masterpieces of extraordinary artistic beauty you can see scenes of mortifying neglect. And likewise, in the face of men and women of great culture, many children and young people evade school while remaining cut off from a dignified human life. Sicilian everyday life takes on strong colors, such as the intense colors of the sky and flowers, the fields and the sea, which shine for the strength of solar brightness. It is no coincidence that so much blood was shed at the hands of the violent but also through the humble and heroic resistance of the saints and the just, servants of the Church and the State.
The current social situation of Sicily has been in sharp regression for years; a precise signal is the depopulation of the island, due both to the decline in births – this demographic winter that we are all experiencing – and to the massive emigration of young people. Distrust in institutions reaches high levels, and the dysfunction of services weighs down the performance of daily practices, despite the efforts of good and honest people, who would like to engage and change the system. It is necessary to understand how and in which direction Sicily is experiencing the change of epoch and what paths it could take, to proclaim, in the fractures and joints of this change, the Gospel of Christ.
This task, while entrusted to the entire People of God, asks of us priests and bishops full, total and exclusive service. In the face of this great challenge, the Church too is affected by the general situation with its burdens and twists and turns, recording a decline in vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life, but above all a growing detachment of young people. Young people are finding it hard to perceive in parishes and ecclesial movements a help in their search for the meaning of life; and they do not always discern that there the clear distancing from old, erroneous and even immoral ways of acting in order to take decisively the path of justice and honesty. I was saddened when I had to have in my hands some files that came to the Roman congregations for some judgment on priests and church people: how come, how come it came to this path of injustice and dishonesty?
However, in the past, and there is still no shortage of figures of priests and faithful who fully embrace the fate of the Sicilian people: how can we fail to remember blessed Don Pino Puglisi and Rosario Livatino, but also lesser-known people, women and men who have lived in every state of life faithfulness to Christ and to the people? How can we ignore the silent, tenacious and loving work of so many priests in the midst of disheartened or jobless people, in the midst of children or the elderly who are increasingly alone? And speaking of priests who are close to the elderly, I received a letter a short time ago from one of your priests, who told me how he had accompanied the old parish priest in the last times of his life, until the last moment. He came back very tired from work, but the first thing was to go to the “old man” and tell him things, make him happy; and then take him to bed, accompany him until he falls asleep… These are big, big gestures! And this greatness is also present among you, in your clergy. The priestly figure in the midst of the people, of good priests, is important because in Sicily, people still look to priests as spiritual and moral guides, people who can also help to improve the civil and social life of the Island, to support the family and to be a reference for growing young people. High and demanding is the expectation of the Sicilian people towards the priests. Please do not stay in the middle of the road!
Faced with the awareness of our weaknesses, we know that the will of Christ places us at the heart of this challenge. The key to it all is in his call, on which we lean to set sail and cast our nets again. We do not even know ourselves, but that Face who has met us and drawn us behind Himself, even united us to Himself, as our tradition teaches when it states that in the liturgy we even act “in persona Christi”. This full unity, this identification, we cannot limit to the celebration; rather, we must live it fully in every moment of lifes, mindful of the Apostle Paul’s words, “No longer do I live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal 2:20).
If then, in the sentiment of the people of Sicily, bitterness and disappointment prevail for the distance that separates it from the richest and most evolved areas of the country and Europe; if many, especially young people, aspire to go away to find richer and more comfortable living standards, while those who remain carry feelings of frustration; all the more so we pastors are called to fully embrace the life of this people. Let us not forget the prophets of Israel, who remained faithful to the people because of God’s faithfulness to the covenant and followed them into exile. As well as the wise men and pious people in the diaspora who supported the faithful people. To stand by, to be close, this is what we are called to live, for God’s fidelity; out of love for Him we stand by to the very end, to the extreme consequences, when the circumstances of justice, reconciliation, honesty and forgiveness lead to them. Closeness, compassion and tenderness: this is the style of God and it is also the style of the pastor. The Lord himself says to his people: “Tell me, what people have their gods so close as you have me?” Closeness, which is compassionate, forgives everything, is tender. It embraces, it caresses.
In the wearysomeness “today” of the People of God who are in Sicily, priests draw this form of life daily from the Eucharist. I said this speaking with you in Palermo four years ago: “The words of the Institution outline our priestly identity: they remind us that the priest is a man of the gift, of the gift of self, every day, without vatation and without pausing. Because ours, dear priests, is not a profession but a gift; not a profession, which can also serve to make a career, but a mission“ (Address to the clergy, religious and seminarians, Palermo, 15 September 2018). And please, beware of careerism: it is a wrong path that ultimately disappoints, ultimately disappoints. And it leaves you alone, lost.
And then you are animated by the great Marian devotion of Sicily, consecrated to Mary Immaculate, for which together, bishops and priests, you have taken the habit of celebrating a Marian Priestly Day: continue with this. The first value that is emphasized with this practice is that of unity, truly crucial in the face of individualism and fragmentation, if not the division that hangs over us all. Unity, the gift of Jesus’ paschal sacrifice, is strengthened by the method of synodality, which you too have adopted through the formation courses set out on the theme “With synodal step”. In the various initiatives for the regional formation of the clergy, your intention to carry out exercises of synodality by giving life to fraternity and priestly fatherhood, to “walk together” narrating mutually the human and spiritual experiences, the pastoral initiatives, with sincerity and naturalness, with gratitude and amazement for the steps taken with the help of the Spirit, is beautiful. A journey, certainly, that requires openness to God’s surprises in our lives and in the existential junctions of our communities, with the awareness that through listening, humble and sincere, we can live a discernment that reaches the heart and changes us interiorly.
The other value is that of entrustment to Mary, woman of tenderness and consolation, of patience and compassion. Between the priest and the heavenly Mother, a secret dialogue is intertwined day after day that comforts and soothes every wound, which above all alleviates in the ups and downs of everyday life to which he goes to meet. In this simple dialogue, made up of humble glances and words like those of the Rosary, the priest discovers how the pearl of Mary’s virginity, totally dedicated to God, makes her a tender mother to all. Thus he too, almost without his knowledge, sees the fruitfulness of a celibacy, sometimes tiring to carry on, but precious and rich in its transparency.
Popular Piety
I don’t want to end without talking about something that worries me, worries me quite a bit! I wonder: the reform that the Council initiated, how is it going, among you? Popular piety is a great wealth and we must preserve it, accompany it so that it is not lost. Also educate it. On this you read n. 48 of Evangelii nuntiandi (see footnote below) which has full relevance, what Saint Paul VI told us about popular piety: to free it from every superstitious gesture and take the substance that it has inside.
Preaching at the Eucharist
But how is the liturgy going? And there I do not know, because I do not go to Mass in Sicily and I do not know how sicilian priests preach, if they preach as was suggested in Evangelii Gaudium or if they preach in such a way that people go out to make a cigarette and then come back … Those sermons in which we talk about everything and nothing. Keep in mind that after eight minutes the attention drops, and people want substance. A thought, a feeling and an image, and that he carries it for the whole week. But how do they celebrate? I don’t go to Mass there, but I’ve seen photographs. I speak clearly. But dear ones, still the lace, the coins…, but where are we? Sixty years after the Council! A little updating also in liturgical art, in liturgical “fashion”! Yes, sometimes bringing some grandmother’s lace goes, but sometimes. It’s to pay homage to grandma, isn’t it? You have understood everything, haven’t you?, you’ve understood. It is nice to pay homage to the grandmother, but it is better to celebrate the mother, the holy mother Church, and how mother Church wants to be celebrated. And may insularity not prevent the true liturgical reform that the Council has brought forward. And do not remain quiet.
Gossip is a plague that destroys the Church
One more thing… I do not say this only for Sicily, this is universal: one of the things that most destroy ecclesial life, both the diocese and the parish, is the chatter, the chatter that goes along with ambition. They (i.e. pope francis’ assistants) will give you a ‘paper’ that an Apostolic Nuncio has made about gossip, he calls it “abused word” (see Footnote 2 below). We cannot send away the chatter: even after a meeting: Hello, we say goodbye, and begins: “You saw what that said, that other, that other …”. Gossip is a plague that destroys the Church, destroys communities, destroys belonging, destroys personality. And I really like the image he put on the cover – then you will see it because they will give you one for each one – there is the sign of the finger, which is the sign of identity, and one that parades it, because with gossip it takes away your identity, it takes away your belonging: this makes the chatter, with us. Excuse me for preaching these things that seem to be from First Communion, but they are essential things: do not forget them!
Dear brothers, I thank you so much for your visit. I bless you and I bless your communities, I bless their journey. I recommend: do not forget to pray for me, because I need it.
Now I will give you the blessing.
Footnote 1: Evangelii nuntiandi no. 48 on Popular Piety
48. Here we touch upon an aspect of evangelization which cannot leave us insensitive. We wish to speak about what today is often called popular religiosity.
One finds among the people particular expressions of the search for God and for faith, both in the regions where the Church has been established for centuries and where she is in the course of becoming established. These expressions were for a long time regarded as less pure and were sometimes despised, but today they are almost everywhere being rediscovered. During the last Synod the bishops studied their significance with remarkable pastoral realism and zeal.
Popular religiosity, of course, certainly has its limits. It is often subject to penetration by many distortions of religion and even superstitions. It frequently remains at the level of forms of worship not involving a true acceptance by faith. It can even lead to the creation of sects and endanger the true ecclesial community.
But if it is well oriented, above all by a pedagogy of evangelization, it is rich in values. It manifests a thirst for God which only the simple and poor can know. It makes people capable of generosity and sacrifice even to the point of heroism, when it is a question of manifesting belief. It involves an acute awareness of profound attributes of God: fatherhood, providence, loving and constant presence. It engenders interior attitudes rarely observed to the same degree elsewhere: patience, the sense of the cross in daily life, detachment, openness to others, devotion. By reason of these aspects, we readily call it “popular piety,” that is, religion of the people, rather than religiosity.
Pastoral charity must dictate to all those whom the Lord has placed as leaders of the ecclesial communities the proper attitude in regard to this reality, which is at the same time so rich and so vulnerable. Above all one must be sensitive to it, know how to perceive its interior dimensions and undeniable values, be ready to help it to overcome its risks of deviation. When it is well oriented, this popular religiosity call be more and more for multitudes of our people a true encounter with God in Jesus Christ.
Footnote 2 Gossip is a plague that destroys the Church
Pope Francis was referring to a publication by Mons. Fortunatus Nwachukwu which offers the starting point for a reflection on a mischief of faithful and pastors
An Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu, whom you know well, wrote a pamphlet on “ Abused Word. The chatter in the teaching of Pope Francis”. It is a booklet published by the Vatican Typography, and for the drafting of which he availed himself of the collaboration of the journalist Franco Deramo. “. It is difficult for us to get a copy of it but it contains the following phrases:
“When we see a mistake, a defect, a slip, in that brother or sister, usually the first thing we do is go and tell others, to chat.
And gossip closes the heart to the community, closes the unity of the Church.
The great talker is the devil, who always goes on saying the bad things of others, because he is the liar who tries to disunite the Church, to distance the brothers and sisters and not to make community.
Please, brothers and sisters, let us make an effort not to chat.
Gossip is a plague uglier than Covid!
Let’s make an effort: no gossip.
It is the love of Jesus, who welcomed tax collectors and pagans, scandalizing the right-thinking of the time.
It is therefore not a question of condemnation without appeal, but of the recognition that sometimes our human attempts can fail, and that only being before God can put the brother in front of his own conscience and responsibility for his acts.
If the thing does not go well, silence and prayer for the brother and sister who are wrong, but never the chatter”.
“When we see a mistake, a defect, a slip, in that brother or sister, usually the first thing we do is go and tell others, to chat.
And gossip closes the heart to the community, closes the unity of the Church.
The great talker is the devil, who always goes on saying the bad things of others, because he is the liar who tries to disunite the Church, to distance the brothers and sisters and not to make community.
Please, brothers and sisters, let us make an effort not to chat.
Gossip is a plague uglier than Covid!
Let’s make an effort: no gossip.
It is the love of Jesus, who welcomed tax collectors and pagans, scandalizing the right-thinking of the time.
It is therefore not a question of condemnation without appeal, but of the recognition that sometimes our human attempts can fail, and that only being before God can put the brother in front of his own conscience and responsibility for his acts.
If the thing does not go well, silence and prayer for the brother and sister who are wrong, but never the chatter”.
Then there is a “terrorism of gossip”, since gossip is also “wars”,
At the end of the text we have the following:
“His way of associating simple speaking ill with the act of terrorism, murder and war is surprising.” And then: “There can be no doubt that this pontiff recognizes that the Gospel often spreads with the blood of martyrs, not only of the victims of bloody martyrdom, but also of those of media martyrdom.
