March 28, 2012.
(Romereports.com)(-ONLY VIDEO-) Thousands
of Cubans welcomed the Pope as he celebrated Mass in Havana's
Revolution Plaza. Cuban president, Raul Castro attended the Mass, where
Benedict XVI urged leaders of the communist government to grant
religious freedoms to the Church and its followers.
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Dear Brothers and Sisters,
“Blessed
are you, Lord God…, and blessed is your holy and glorious name" (Dan
3:52). This hymn of blessing from the Book of Daniel resounds today in
our liturgy, inviting us repeatedly to bless and thank God. We are a
part of that great chorus which praises the Lord without ceasing. We
join in this concert of thanksgiving, and we offer our joyful and
confident voice, which seeks to consolidate the journey of faith in love
and truth.
"Blessed
be God" who gathers us in this historic square so that we may more
profoundly enter into his life. I feel great joy in being here with you
today to celebrate Holy Mass during this Jubilee Year devoted to Our
Lady of Charity of El Cobre.
I greet with cordial affection
Cardinal Jaime Ortega y Alamino, Archbishop of Havana, and I thank him
for the kind words which he has addressed to me on your behalf. I extend
warm greetings to the Cardinals and to my brother Bishops of Cuba and
other countries who wished to take part in this solemn celebration. I
also greet the priests, seminarians, men and women religious, and all
the lay faithful gathered here, as well as the civil authorities who
join us.
In
today’s first reading, the three young men persecuted by the Babylonian
king preferred to face death by fire rather than betray their
conscience and their faith. They experienced the strength to "give
thanks, glorify and praise God" in the conviction that the Lord of the
universe and of history would not abandon them to death and
annihilation. Truly, God never abandons his children, he never forgets
them. He is above us and is able to save us by his power. At the same
time, he is near to his people, and through his Son Jesus Christ he has
wished to make his dwelling place among us in.
"If
you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know
the truth, and the truth will make you free" (Jn 8:31). In this text
from today’s Gospel, Jesus reveals himself as the Son of God the Father,
the Saviour, the one who alone can show us the truth and give genuine
freedom. His teaching provokes resistance and disquiet among his
hearers, and he accuses them of seeking to kill him, alluding to the
supreme sacrifice of the Cross, already imminent. Even so, he exhorts
them to believe, to keep his word, so as to know the truth which redeems
and dignifies.
The
truth is a desire of the human person, the search for which always
supposes the exercise of authentic freedom. Many, however, prefer
shortcuts, trying to avoid this task. Some, like Pontius Pilate,
ironically question the possibility of even knowing what truth is (cf.
Jn 18:38), proclaiming that man is incapable of knowing it or denying
that there exists a truth valid for all. This attitude, as in the case
of scepticism and relativism, changes hearts, making them cold,
wavering, distant from others and closed. They, like the Roman governor,
wash their hands and let the water of history drain away without taking
a stand.
On
the other hand, there are those who wrongly interpret this search for
the truth, leading them to irrationality and fanaticism; they close
themselves up in "their truth", and try to impose it on others. These
are like the blind scribes who, upon seeing Jesus beaten and bloody, cry
out furiously, "Crucify him!" (cf. Jn 19:6). Anyone who acts
irrationally cannot become a disciple of Jesus. Faith and reason are
necessary and complementary in the pursuit of truth. God created man
with an innate vocation to the truth and he gave him reason for this
purpose. Certainly, it is not irrationality but rather the yearning for
truth which the Christian faith promotes. Each human being has to seek
the truth and to choose it when he or she finds it, even at the risk of
embracing sacrifices.
Furthermore,
the truth which stands above humanity is an unavoidable condition for
attaining freedom, since in it we discover the foundation of an ethics
on which all can converge and which contains clear and precise
indications concerning life and death, duties and rights, marriage,
family and society, in short, regarding the inviolable dignity of the
human person. This ethical patrimony can bring together different
cultures, peoples and religions, authorities and citizens, citizens
among themselves, and believers in Christ and non-believers.
Christianity,
in highlighting those values which sustain ethics, does not impose, but
rather proposes Christ’s invitation to know the truth which sets us
free. The believer is called to offer that truth to his contemporaries,
as did the Lord, even before the dark omen of rejection and the Cross.
The personal encounter with the one who is Truth in person compels us to
share this treasure with others, especially by our witness.
Dear
friends, do not hesitate to follow Jesus Christ. In him we find the
truth about God and about mankind. He helps us to overcome our
selfishness, to rise above our ambitions and to conquer all that
oppresses us. The one who does evil, who sins, becomes a slave of sin
and will never attain freedom (cf. Jn 8:34). Only by renouncing hatred
and our hard and blind hearts will we be free and a new life will well
up in us.
Convinced
that it is Christ who is the true measure of man, and knowing that in
him we find the strength needed to face every trial, I wish to proclaim
openly Jesus Christ as the way, the truth and the life. In him everyone
will find complete freedom, the light to understand reality more deeply
and to transform it by the renewing power of love.
The
Church lives to make others sharers in the one thing she possesses,
which is none other than Christ, our hope of glory (cf. Col 1:27). To
carry out this duty, she must count on basic religious freedom, which
consists in her being able to proclaim and to celebrate her faith also
in public, bringing to others the message of love, reconciliation and
peace which Jesus brought to the world. It must be said with joy that in
Cuba steps have been taken to enable the Church to carry out her
essential mission of expressing her faith openly and publicly.
Nonetheless, this must continue forwards, and I wish to encourage the
country’s Government authorities to strengthen what has already been
achieved and advance along this path of genuine service to the true good
of Cuban society as a whole.
The
right to freedom of religion, both in its private and in its public
dimension, manifests the unity of the human person, who is at once a
citizen and a believer. It also legitimizes the fact that believers have
a contribution to make to the building up of society. Strengthening
religious freedom consolidates social bonds, nourishes the hope of a
better world, creates favorable conditions for peace and harmonious
development, while at the same time establishing solid foundations for
securing the rights of future generations.
When
the Church upholds this human right, she is not claiming any special
privileges for herself. She wishes only to be faithful to the command of
her divine founder, conscious that, where Christ is present, mankind
becomes more human and founds its consistency. This is why the Church
seeks to give witness by her preaching and teaching, both in catechesis
and in schools and universities. It is greatly to be hoped that the
moment will soon arrive when, here too, the Church can bring to the
arenas of knowledge the benefits of the mission which the Lord entrusted
to her and which she can never neglect.
A
shining example of this commitment was the outstanding priest Félix
Varela, educator and teacher, an illustrious son of this city of Havana,
who has taken his place in Cuban history as the first one who taught
his people how to think. Father Varela offers us a path to a true social
transformation: to form virtuous men and women in order to forge a
worthy and free nation, for this transformation depends on man’s
spiritual life, in as much as "there is no authentic fatherland without
virtue" (Letters to Elpidio, Letter 6, Madrid 1836, 220). Cuba and the
world need change, but this will occur only if each one is in a position
to seek the truth and chooses the way of love, sowing reconciliation
and fraternity.
Invoking
the maternal protection of Mary Most Holy, let us ask that each time we
participate in the Eucharist we will also become witnesses to that
charity which responds to evil with good (cf. Rom 12:51), offering
ourselves as a living sacrifice to the one who lovingly gave himself up
for our sake. Let us walk in the light of Christ who alone can destroy
the darkness of error. And let us beg him that, with the courage and
strength of the saints, we may be able, without fear or rancor but
freely, generously and consistently, to respond to God."
Amen.
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