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"Hear the prayers of your servant and of Israel your people
as they pray in this place.
From heaven where your dwelling is, hear;
and, as you hear, forgive"
(2Cron 6,21)
Solomon's prayer is a proclamation of trust in God and a warning of the moral obligations which bound the king and the people because of the Covenant. The prayer, made to consecrate the new structure of the temple, hints at two tasks: one of announcing mercy and two of denouncing sin. On 19 April 2005 another proclamation filled with joy the expectant crowd of the faithful in St.Peter's Square and through the media all the rest of the world: "Habemus Papam!". We have a new Pope, in the person of Benedict XVI. He will be offering prayers from the same centralised vision that has Christ as its core. He will be calling on the Lord's name and lifting up the cup of salvation (psalm 15) in the proclamation that 'Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again... to judge the living and the dead.' The Pope will be announcing what the Church cherishes of its own, a global vision of humanity, aiming at the formation of the mind. He will be denouncing the presence of sin, injustice, violence, defence of rights violated, especially those of the poor, the little ones and the weak.
In May I went to Ellwangen, where I attended the annual meeting of the coordinators for JPIC. Arriving in Germany, I met with the representatives of four other provinces of Europe: Br. Neto from Portugal, Fr. Palagi from Italy, Br. Jose' Manuel from Spain and Fr. Silvester from Germany. The provincial of Germany, Fr. Schneider was also present. Fr. Nando Zolli in his introductory talk made a strong reference to the latest event, of the death of Fr. Anton Mayer. Those who visited the Father on his deathbed were deeply touched. Fr. Mayer recognized all of them and joining in prayer calmly gave his blessing. The father died the next day on 1 May. As a forerunner in the Institute for Justice and Peace he always insisted on the importance of networking and lobbying as a new way of doing mission work in this globalised world. At his funeral we represented the European Provinces.
We spent the next day hearing the reports of the work of JPIC in the provinces. In Lisbon we accomplished the task asked by the Chapter to offer a continental plan of JPIC. It comprised: the quest for a spirituality and mystics imbuing our charisma; to welcome the poor and identify the situation of poverty where we live; to adopt a sober lifestyle; to have a community of insertion; and to specialize people in JPIC. Now, these aspects have to be included in the Six Year plan of our provinces. Further contributions came from: Fr. Bossi on the community of the Postulancy in Italy and the animation of the youth; and Br. Edward on Africa House in Graz opened to assist immigrants.
I encourage you to take part in the events being organized for the Refugee Week, 20-26 June, across the country. The theme for Refugee week this year is 'Persecution', as part of the current three-year theme of the global causes of forced migration and displacement.