In Naples, Pope denounces corruption, calls criminals to conversion
March 23, 2015
Pope Francis began a one-day pastoral visit to Naples on March 21 by praying at the Shrine of the Virgin of the Rosary of Pompei.
He then traveled to Scampia, a suburb of Naples, where he listened to comments from an immigrant, an unemployed worker, and a prosecutor. In response, he spoke of the importance of welcoming immigrants, lamented widespread youth unemployment, and decried the “stink” of corruption.
Later, in an open-air Mass in Naples’s main square, Pope Francis emphasized the Lordship of Christ and called criminals to conversion.
“To criminals and all their accomplices, today as a brother, I repeat: convert to love and justice!” he said. “Allow yourselves to find the mercy of God! Know that Jesus is looking for you to embrace you, to love you more. With the grace of God, who forgives all, it is possible to return to an honest life. Even the tears of the mothers of Naples, mixed with those of Mary, the heavenly Mother invoked in Piedigrotta and in many churches of Naples, ask this of you.”
Following the Mass, the Pope held four separate meetings with prisoners, clergy and religious, the sick, and youth and families. After emphasizing the importance of adoration, love for the Church, and missionary zeal in his remarks to clergy and religious, the Pontiff venerated the famed reliquary of the blood of St. Januarius, which “half-liquified” in his presence, according to the city’s cardinal archbishop.
The blood of St. Januarius, the patron of Naples, turns to liquid frequently, in a phenomenon that local Catholics regard as a miracle. The blood, held in a vial, liquefies regularly on the saint’s feast day, and if it does not, local residents fear it is a sign of impending tragedy. During the visit of Pope Francis, Cardinal Crescenzo Sepe told the congregation in the cathedral that the blood had partially liquefied, in what he said was “a sign that St. Januaries loves the Pope.” The Pontiff himself joked: “It appears the saint only loves us halfway. We must convert ourselves more, so he loves us more.”
“You are the crucified Christ among us,” Pope Francis told the sick. “It is one thing to look at a crucifix, it is another to look at a sick man, woman or child who are crucified within their disease: you are Christ’s living flesh.”
As he addressed three questions during his concluding meeting with youth and families, the Pope spoke of the silence of God, stating that some questions can be answered only by looking at a crucifix.
Decrying euthanasia and the lack of visits by adult children to their elderly parents, the Pope asked those in attendance to examine themselves on how they obey the Fourth Commandment.
In the area of family life, the Pope also lamented the loss of the sense of sacredness of engagement and decried “ideological colonization” and the “theory of gender, which creates much confusion.”
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Further information:
- Pastoral Visit to Pompeii and Naples (21 March 2015) (Holy See)
- Pope Francis visits shrine in Pompeii before heading to Naples (Vatican Radio)
- Pope Francis in Scampia: Good politics against the stink of corruption (Vatican Radio)
- Pope Francis calls Naples to 'redemption' (Vatican Radio)
- Pope condemns lack of welcome in society for former inmates (Vatican Radio)
- Pope Francis in Naples: Meeting with clergy and religious (Vatican Radio)
- Neapolitan bishop claims 'half miracle' while pope is in town (Reuters)
- Pope Francis to the sick: "you are the Crucified Christ amongst us" (Vatican Radio)
- Pope Francis in Naples: Meeting with youth (Vatican Radio)
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