Holy Week: Easter “is a cry of hope” in the face of “injustice, war, violence and death”, says the bishop of Viseu

«As Christians we cannot remain indifferent to so many innocent deaths, to the testimony of so many martyrs» – D. António Luciano

Viseu, 25 March 2024 (Ecclesia) – The bishop of Viseu said that Christians cannot “remain indifferent” to innocent deaths, to the testimony of the martyrs, “who continue to give their lives for Christ” and wished that the Gospel of the Passion be “blessing and medicine” for wounds and evil.

“The death of Christ brought us salvation and medicine for all humanity. The Lord’s Easter is a cry of hope in the face of so many injustices, scenes of war, violence and death in places like Ukraine, Russia, Israel, Palestine, the Gaza Strip, where every day so many brothers lose their lives, others are fatally injured and many have to abandon their families and their homes as displaced people and war refugees”, said D. António Luciano, this Sunday, March 24, at the Cathedral of Viseu.

In the homily at the Mass of the Palms, sent this Monday to the ECCLESIA Agency by the diocesan Information Office, the bishop of Viseu pointed out that in many nations around the world there is “hatred, violence, destruction and death of innocent and vulnerable brothers”, warning that all these wars cause “misery, poverty, hunger and disease in so many people and peoples, who yearn for liberation and peace”.

“The recent attack in Russia, which caused so many deaths among civilians and caused so many injuries, causing the destruction of property and families, are attacks against the dignity and respect of the human person and against humanity”, he added, regarding Friday’s attack. on March 22, to a concert hall on the outskirts of Moscow, which was claimed by the Islamic State (IS), and Pope Francis also condemned.

D. António Luciano stated that as Christians we cannot remain “indifferent to so many innocent deaths, to the testimony of so many martyrs”, who today continue to give their lives for Christ, indicating that the “gift of God’s forgiveness and mercy” are the great medicine to heal the wounds of humanity “destroyed by violence, war, misery, hunger and sin”.

“The reading of the Gospel of the Passion of Jesus, which we all heard with faith, may be a blessing and an effective medicine to heal the wounds of humanity and the evils of men. Jesus died on the Cross to reunite the children of God, who were scattered and indifferent”, he added in the Cathedral.

With Palm Sunday, the Catholic Church began Holy Week, a central moment of the liturgical year, which remembers the days of Jesus’ arrest, trial and execution, culminating with Easter, the celebration of Christ’s resurrection.

The Bishop of Viseu also recalled that the Lenten renunciation, which the faithful share on Palm Sunday, is intended to help the Mozambican Parish of Íle, in Gurué, to build a church; the construction of a school in São Tomé and Príncipe, entrusted to the Hospitaller Sisters; to rebuild the hostel of the convent of the Trappist Sisters of Palaçadolo, in the Diocese of Bragança-Miranda, and to the Diocesan Emergency Fund.

The Palm Sunday Mass began with his blessing outside the Cathedral, where D. António Luciano highlighted that Jesus also went to meet everyone, as when he entered the city of Jerusalem “riding on a donkey to meet his people, who welcomed him with festive gestures and palm and olive branches.”

CB/PR