Vatican City, 28 September 2015 (VIS) –
After addressing the visiting bishops, the Pope transferred by
helicopter to the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility,
Philadelphia's largest male prison, which holds 2,800 inmates.
Francis met with one hundred of them, along with the directors of the
Centre, who awaited him in the gymnasium.
After hearing greetings from some of
the detainees and receiving a gift that they had made for him, a
chair, Francis thanked those present for welcoming him and giving him
the opportunity to share this moment in their lives. “It is a
difficult time, one full of struggles. I know it is a painful time
not only for you, but also for your families and for all of society.
Any society, any family, which cannot share or take seriously the
pain of its children, and views that pain as something normal or to
be expected, is a society 'condemned' to remain a hostage to itself,
prey to the very things which cause that pain. I am here as a pastor,
but above all as a brother, to share your situation and to make it my
own. I have come so that we can pray together and offer our God
everything that causes us pain, but also everything that gives us
hope, so that we can receive from him the power of the resurrection”.
The Pope spoke about the Gospel scene
where Jesus washes the feet of His disciples at the Last Supper.
“This was something his disciples found hard to accept. Even Peter
refused, and told him: 'You will never wash my feet'. In those days,
it was the custom to wash someone’s feet when they came to your
home. That was how they welcomed people. The roads were not paved,
they were covered with dust, and little stones would get stuck in
your sandals. Everyone walked those roads, which left their feet
dusty, bruised or cut from those stones. That is why we see Jesus
washing feet, our feet, the feet of His disciples, then and now”.
“We all know that life is a journey,
along different roads, different paths, which leave their mark on
us”, said the Pope. “We also know in faith that Jesus seeks us
out. He wants to heal our wounds, to soothe our feet which hurt from
travelling alone, to wash each of us clean of the dust from our
journey. He doesn’t ask us where we have been, He doesn’t
question us what about we have done. Rather, He tells us: 'Unless I
wash your feet, you have no share with me'. Unless I wash your feet,
I will not be able to give you the life which the Father always
dreamed of, the life for which he created you. Jesus comes to meet
us, so that He can restore our dignity as children of God. He wants
to help us to set out again, to resume our journey, to recover our
hope, to restore our faith and trust. He wants us to keep walking
along the paths of life, to realise that we have a mission, and that
confinement is never the same thing as exclusion”.
“Life means 'getting our feet dirty'
from the dust-filled roads of life and history”, he continued. “All
of us need to be cleansed, to be washed. All of us. Myself, first and
foremost. All of us are being sought out by the Teacher, Who wants to
help us resume our journey. The Lord goes in search of us; to all of
us He stretches out a helping hand. It is painful when we see prison
systems which are not concerned to care for wounds, to soothe pain,
to offer new possibilities. It is painful when we see people who
think that only others need to be cleansed, purified, and do not
recognise that their weariness, pain and wounds are also the
weariness, pain and wounds of society. The Lord tells us this clearly
with a sign: He washes our feet so we can come back to the table. The
table from which He wishes no one to be excluded. The table which is
spread for all and to which all of us are invited”.
“This time in your life can only have
one purpose: to give you a hand in getting back on the right road, to
give you a hand to help you rejoin society. All of us are part of
that effort, all of us are invited to encourage, help and enable your
rehabilitation. A rehabilitation which everyone seeks and desires:
inmates and their families, correctional authorities, social and
educational programs. A rehabilitation which benefits and elevates
the morale of the entire community and society. I encourage you to
have this attitude with one another and with all those who in any way
are part of this institution. May you make possible new
opportunities; may you blaze new trails, new paths. All of us have
something we need to be cleansed of, or purified from. All of us. May
the knowledge of this fact inspire us all to live in solidarity, to
support one another and seek the best for others”.
“Let us look to Jesus, Who washes our
feet”, concluded Francis “He is 'the way, and the truth, and the
life'. He comes to save us from the lie that says no one can change,
the lie of thinking that no one can change. Jesus helps us to journey
along the paths of life and fulfilment. May the power of His love and
His resurrection always be a path leading you to new life”.
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