(Adnkronos) – Vatican City, May 9 (Adnkronos) – The Pope asks the governments of the world to take initiatives aimed at restoring hope to prisoners: “In the Jubilee Year we will be called to be tangible signs of hope for many brothers and sisters who live in uncomfortable conditions. I think of the prisoners who, deprived of freedom, experience every day, in addition to the harshness of imprisonment, the emotional void, the restrictions imposed and, in many cases, the lack of respect In the Jubilee Year, initiatives should be taken that restore hope; forms of amnesty or remission of sentences aimed at helping people regain confidence in themselves and in society; paths of reintegration into the community which correspond to a concrete commitment to complying with the laws “. “It is an ancient call – observes the Pope – which comes from the Word of God and remains with all its wisdom value in invoking acts of clemency and liberation that allow us to start again”. Hence the warning: “In every corner of the earth, believers, especially Pastors, should become interpreters of these requests, forming a single voice that courageously asks for dignified conditions for those imprisoned, respect for human rights and, above all, ‘abolition of the death penalty, a provision contrary to the Christian faith and which destroys any hope of forgiveness and renewal”. Then the announcement of what the Pope himself will do: “To offer prisoners a concrete sign of closeness, I myself wish to open a Holy Door in a prison, so that it may be a symbol for them that invites them to look to the future with hope and with a renewed commitment to life”. The Pope has launched the program for the Jubilee 2025. From the amnesty for prisoners to the heartfelt appeal for the abolishment of the death penalty, from debt forgiveness for the poorest countries, to the proposal of creation of a global Fund with the money used in weapons to fight hunger, Bergoglio, in the Bull delivered today ‘Spes non confundit’, has put in black and white the actions to be undertaken for the Holy Year ‘May the Jubilee be an opportunity for everyone revive hope’, the hope. The Papal Bull opens in the light of Saint Paul’s expression “Hope that does not disappoint” because it offers the certainty of God’s love. On the theme of indulgence, which is the first content of the Jubilee, ‘Spes non confundit’, as noted by the dicastery for the new evangelization, offers an interesting interpretation: “Forgiving does not change the past, it cannot modify what has already happened; and, however, forgiveness can allow us to change the future and live differently, without resentment, hatred and revenge. The future illuminated by forgiveness allows us to read the past with different, more serene eyes, even if still marked by tears”. Bergoglio, in the program, does not stop at the announcement of hope, going into the concrete: from the appeal for peace (“Let the weapons be silent”), to the importance of the transmission of life in an era of “empty cradles”. In the Pope’s heart there are the prisoners for whom the Pope intends to open a “Holy Door” inside a prison “so that it may be for them a symbol that invites them to look to the future with hope and with a renewed commitment to life”. In the Bull there is also a call to all bishops to act as spokespersons against the death penalty. ‘Spes non confundit’ calls for hope for the young and the elderly; for the sick, refugees, migrants and refugees. “Let their expectations – writes Francis – not be thwarted by prejudices and closures; the welcome, which opens its arms wide to everyone according to their dignity, is accompanied by responsibility, so that no one is denied the right to build a better future”. The “appeals” that the Pope addresses in Spes non confundi – as noted by the dicastery for the new evangelization – can be interpreted “as further signs of hope that require everyone’s commitment so that creation is respected and preserved in its entirety”; in the same way the call to ‘forgive the debts of countries that could never repay them’: “before being a question of magnanimity, it is a question of justice”. The Bull then contains the appeal for Christian unity on the 1700th anniversary of the first council in Nicaea. Hope is the great forgotten one. “By virtue of the hope in which we have been saved, looking at the passing of time – writes the Pontiff in the Bull – we have the certainty that the history of humanity and that of each of us is not running towards a blind spot or a dark abyss, but they are oriented towards the encounter with the Lord of glory. Let us therefore live in expectation of his return and in the hope of living forever in Him.” The Bull focuses at length on this theme, presenting the big questions that often arise from the depths of the heart and do not always find the right answer. It is like this when faced with the death of people who love each other when the question arises of where they can be and in what place; whether there really is life after death and what it may be like; on God’s judgment for each of us, remembering that it is always carried out in the light of mercy. The Pope’s response: “So what will become of us after death? With Jesus beyond this threshold there is eternal life, which consists in full communion with God, in the contemplation and participation of his infinite love for him. How much we live in hope now, we will then see in reality.” —[email protected] (Web Info)
