VATICAN CITY, JUN 5, 2005 (VIS) - In remarks made during the noon Angelus prayer today, Pope Benedict spoke of the recent feasts of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, highlighted the difficult moments being lived in Bolivia where the Church is trying to help resolve a situation of unrest and protests, and asked for the liberation in Afghanistan of the Italian hostage Clementina Cantoni.
The Pope noted that the June 3 feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was also "the world day for the sanctification of priests, a propitious occasion to pray that priests place nothing above love of Christ. One person deeply devoted to the Heart of Christ was Blessed Bishop Giovanni Battista Scalabrini, patron of migrants," who "founded the missionaries of St. Charles Borromeo, also known as the Scalabrinians, to proclaim the Gospel among Italian emigrants."
He went on to say that "the heart that most resembled Christ's was without doubt the heart of Mary, his Immaculate Mother. ... We entrust to her Immaculate Heart, whose feast was yesterday, the entire world so that it might feel God's merciful love and know true peace."
After reciting the Angelus with the tens of thousands of pilgrims in St. Peter's Square, Benedict XVI noted that "various regions of the world are, at this moment, experiencing social and political tensions that risk breaking out into serious conflicts. At this moment my thoughts go especially to Bolivia and to the worrisome situation it is living through. While I invite everyone to pray for that dear population, I entrust to Our Lady my hope and my appeal that in all cases the common good, a sense of responsibility and availability to open and loyal dialogue will prevail."
Turning his attention to another tension-filled area of the world, the Holy Father said he joined his voice to that of Italian President Ciampi "and the president of Afghanistan and the Italian and Afghan peoples in asking for the liberation of Italian volunteer, Clementina Cantoni. May the sad experience our sister is undergoing be a stimulus to seek with all means possible peaceful and fraternal understanding among individuals and nations."
ANG/BOLIVIA:ITALIAN HOSTAGE/... VIS 20050606 (370)
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