Pope washes feet of Filipino, 11 other inmates, calls for death penalty abolition
ROME (Reuters/AP) – Pope Francis washed and kissed the feet of 12 prison inmates, including one from the Philippines, two Muslims, and a Buddhist, in a Holy Thursday ritual and said the death penalty should be abolished because it is neither Christian nor humane.
The Pope also urged inmates at a Rome prison to never let their hopes be clouded like cataracts cloud the eyes – and revealed that he
suffers from the condition and has to have surgery for it next year.
Francis, 81, disclosed the news as he bade farewell to inmates and staff at the Regina Coeli prison, where he washed the feet of 12 prisoners in a Holy Thursday ritual.
Francis frequently uses his visits to prisons to encourage inmates not to lose hope, and he repeated that Thursday by telling the prisoners that they must clear their eyes every day so they can see and spread hope.
“At my age, for example, cataracts come and you don’t see reality well. Next year I have to have an operation,’’ he said.
He said the same thing happens with life, when disillusionment, errors and fatigue cloud the soul. Francis urged the inmates to do a daily cleansing of their view on life – a “cataract surgery for the soul” – so they can keep hope alive.
For the sixth year running, the Pope held the ritual in an institution rather than in the splendors of the Vatican or a Rome basilica, as his predecessors did. Conservatives have criticized him for including women and non-Christians in the rite in the past.
He visited Rome’s Regina Coeli (Queen of Heaven) jail in the center of the city, to perform the rite recalling Jesus’ gesture of humility toward his 12 apostles on the night before he was crucified.
The 12 male inmates were from Italy, the Philippines, Morocco, Moldavia, Colombia and Sierra Leone. Eight were Catholic, two were Muslim, one was an Orthodox Christian and one a Buddhist.
Francis wove the sermon of a Mass around the theme of service, saying many wars could have been avoided in history if more leaders had considered themselves servants of the people rather than commanders.
He spoke of the death penalty just before leaving the prison, a former 17th century Catholic convent that was transformed into a jail 1881.
“A punishment that is not open to hope is not Christian and not humane,” he said in response to closing comments by the prison director, a woman.
“Each punishment has to be open to the horizon of hope and so the death penalty is neither Christian nor humane,” he said.
Since his election in 2013, Francis has several times called for an worldwide ban on capital punishment, prompting criticism from Church conservatives, particularly in the United States.
The 1.2-billion member Catholic Church allowed the death penalty in extreme cases for centuries, but the position began to change under the late Pope John Paul, who died in 2005.
Francis has asked that the Church’s new position on the death penalty be better reflected in its universal catechism.
On Good Friday, Francis was due to lead a Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) procession at Rome’s Colosseum. On Saturday night he leads an Easter vigil service and on Easter Sunday he delivers his twice-yearly “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) message.
The Lord’s Passion In the Philippines, solemn and well preserved traditions and rites in commemoration of the Lord’s Passion traditionally mark the faithful’s observance of Good Friday which is also a day of fasting, abstinence, penance, prayer, and alms giving.
Grand processions of religious images that depict the passion of Christ, His crucifixion, death, and burial, will be held in key cities and provinces across the country. Observed as one of the highlights of the ‘Semana Santa’ (Holy Week), life-size images and key religious figures will be lined up according to the sequence of events in the life and death of Jesus and will be paraded solemnly throughout the streets a few hours after 3 o’clock in the afternoon, the time Jesus was believed to have died on the cross. The carriages will be followed by parish church officials, representatives of religious groups, and devotees holding candles, singing hymns, and praying the holy rosary.
The set of religious images is similar to that of the Holy Wednesday procession although Good Friday processions are longer with the addition of the Pieta, Christ being brought down from the cross, and the Santo Sepulcro (Interred Christ). The last image in the procession is traditionally reserved for the Mater Dolorosa (Sorrowful Mother), the grieving Blessed Mother garbed in black, a black veil covering her face, as a sign of mourning for the death of her Son.
In San Mateo, Rizal and in Meycauayan, Bulacan, around 62 life-size images usually comprise the Good Friday procession. In Baliuag, Bulacan, hundreds of religious images will be paraded throughout the streets, while in Sorsogon City, barefoot devotees will join the two-hour procession throughout the city streets in a display of piety and reverence. Solemn processions will also be held in Pakil, Majayjay, and Paete, Laguna; and in San Pablo and Molo, Iloilo.
Other traditional Good Friday religious observances include praying the Acts of Reparation, the Veneration of the Cross, meditation on the Seven Last Words, the praying of the Way of the Cross, and the presentation of the “senakulo” or passion play.
In some localities such as in Cutud, San Fernando, Pampanga, it has become a tradition for a number of devotees, including women, to have themselves nailed to the cross, a practice that attracts curious tourists and spectators but has long been discouraged by the Catholic Church.
No bells will ring in churches today, while the holy water fountains will be emptied in preparation for the blessing of the water during the Easter Vigil on the night of Black Saturday. After three o’clock in the afternoon, the faithful are encouraged to keep a solemn and prayerful disposition and to refrain from excessive merrymaking.
On Ash Wednesday and on Good Friday, Catholics between the ages of 18 and 59, except those who are ill, are permitted to consume only one full meal, which may be supplemented by two smaller meals, which when put together, should not exceed the full meal. Those who are 14-years-old and above are also required to abstain from meat and on all Fridays for the duration of the Lenten Season.
Good Friday observances In Rome, Italy, the celebration of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday is traditionally held at 5 p.m. According to the Vatican, the service that is held at the St. Peter’s Basilica is not a complete mass, as a sign of mourning over Christ’s death.
“The service on Good Friday is called the Mass of the Presanctified because Communion that is given to the people, had already been consecrated on Holy Thursday. Traditionally, the organ is silent from Holy Thursday until the Alleluia at the Easter Vigil, as are all bells or other instruments, the only music during this period being unaccompanied chant,” the Vatican said.
In the evening, Pope Francis will lead the praying of the Stations of the Cross or Via Crucis, a procession that commemorates the 14 stages of Christ’s passion at the Colosseum at about 9:15 p.m.
The Stations of the Via Crucis were placed at the Colosseum in 1744 by Pope Benedict XIV, in honor of the martyrs who were killed at the site in ancient times. A huge cross with burning torches lights the sky as the Stations of the Cross are described in several languages. The pope ends the Stations of the Cross by blessing all the pilgrims who participated.
In several churches across the country, the Liturgy of the Hour and the Way of the Cross will be observed. At the Quiapo Church, the “Siete Palabras” will be held at noon, the Veneration of the Cross at 3 p.m., and the procession of the Santo Entierro (Sacred Interred Christ) with the Mother Dolorosa followed by the “Pahalik sa Krus” will be held at 5 p.m.
At the Manila Cathedral in Intramuros, Manila, the Stations of the Cross will be held at 8:30 a.m. The Veneration of the Cross and reflections on the Seven Last Words will be held from 12 noon to 3 p.m., to be followed by the Commemoration of the Lord’s Passion.