Pope Francis: Nuns killed in Yemen are modern-day martyrs

The four Missionary of Charity sisters killed together with 12 staff at a care home in Yemen on Friday are modern-day martyrs, Pope Francis said at the end of the Angelus with pilgrims in St Peter's Square on Sunday. The Holy Father said the nuns "gave their blood for the Church"' and that they were not only victims of the attackers but also of "this indifference of globalization."

Pope Francis also praised an ecumenical project to fly refugees to Europe as "a concrete sign of commitment for peace and life." He described the pilot project as a reality that unites solidarity with security allowing the safe transfer of people who are fleeing war and violence, such as the "one hundred refugees who have already arrived in Italy and amongst whom there are minors, sick people, disabled people, war widows with children and elderly people."

The group that arrived in Rome last month are part of the first wave of the planned transfer of 1,000 particularly vulnerable refugees from camps in Lebanon, Morocco and Ethiopia. Pope Francis said he is particularly happy the initiative is an ecumenical one that sees the support of the Community of Saint Egidio, the Federation of Italian Evangelical Churches, the Waldensian and the Methodist Churches.

Earlier, during his catechesis, Pope Francis reflected on the parable of the prodigal son saying that God gives us the freedom to make mistakes, but he always welcomes us back to the fold with open arms.

"The story makes us understand some features of this father as a man always ready to forgive and to hope against hope. It affects primarily his tolerance before the younger son's decision to leave home: he could resist, knowing that he is still immature, a young boy, or seek some lawyer to not give him his inheritance, still being alive. Instead, he allows him to leave, having predicted some possible risks. God works with us like this: He lets us be free, even to make mistakes, because in creating us, He has given us the great gift of freedom. It is for us to put it to good use. This gift of freedom that God gives us always amazes me!"

Jesus, he said, teaches us to be merciful just as the Father is, and he warned against pride and arrogance that can derive from feelings of righteousness. That kind of attitude, he said, is evil. The Lord welcomes those who recognize their sinfulness.

"In this parable, you can also get a glimpse at a third child. A third child? ..Where? He's hidden! And it is, 'Who, though he was in the form of God,did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave ... (Phil 2: 6-7).' This Son-Servant is Jesus!
He is 'the extension of the arms and heart of the Father: He welcomed the prodigal Son and washed his dirty feet; He has prepared the feast for the feast of forgiveness. He, Jesus, teaches us to be "merciful as the Father."

The Pope concluded his catechesis saying that God loves us immeasurably and comes towards us with tenderness when we approach Him after having wandered. "He welcomes us, Pope Francis concluded, and restores our dignity as God's children."

He concluded: "In this stretch of Lent that still separates us from Easter, we are called to intensify the inner journey of conversion. Let us reach by loving gaze of our Father and return to Him with all your heart, rejecting any compromise with sin. May the Virgin Mary accompany us until the regenerating embrace with Divine Mercy."

Source: Vatican Radio

See earlier reports:

ICN 5 March 2016 Yemen: 16 killed in attack on care home run by Mother Teresa sisters www.indcatholicnews.com/news.php?viewStory=29567

and ICN 5 March 2016 Pope condemns "diabolic" attack on Missionaries of Charity in Yemen www.indcatholicnews.com/news.php?viewStory=29569