Future if Jesus is the referee

In a country where the Catholic Church is losing believers and having told his Mozambican clergy that more than converting people to Catholicism, “the vocation of the Church is to evangelize,” Pope Francis prophesied during his homily at the Zimpeto National Stadium that “Mozambique has guaranteed a future of hope” but only “if Jesus is the referee”.

On the last day of his Apostolic Visit to Mozambique, the head of the Catholic Church was blessed with rain that did not prevent some 60,000 believers from all over the country and some neighboring countries from filling up the Zimpeto National Stadium last Friday. Friday (06).

Many songs and dances kept the believers warm until the apotheotic arrival of Pope Francis who, after a tour of the stadium in the mobile Pope, began Holy Mass.

Archbishop Francisco Chimoio, Archbishop of Maputo, on behalf of the Mozambican people, thanked the Apostolic Journey: “For 31 years the successor of Peter had not walked our roads, and even though by communion with the Most Holy we felt close, he now wanted to visit us. friends we had not met for a long time (...) Thank you, khanimambo holiness, always count on our prayer ”.

In his homily in Portuguese, the Argentine Pontiff began by sharing the suffering of the Mozambicans: “Many of you can still tell in the first person stories of violence, hatred and discord; some in their own flesh; others from someone known who is no longer here; and still others for fear that past wounds will recur and try to erase the path of peace already traveled, as in Cabo Delgado. ”

“It is difficult to speak of reconciliation when the wounds caused by so many years of contention are still alive, or to invite a step of forgiveness that does not mean ignoring suffering or asking to cancel one's memory or ideals. Even so, Jesus invites us to love and to do good. And this is much more than ignoring the person who has harmed us or striving not to cross our lives: it is a mandate that seeks active, disinterested and extraordinary benevolence towards those who hurt us, ”said the second Chief. from the Catholic Church that visited Mozambique.

The Holy Father pointed out that: “Mozambique has a territory full of natural and cultural riches, but paradoxically with a huge amount of its population below the poverty level. And sometimes it seems that those who approach with the supposed desire to help have other interests. And it is sad when this happens among brothers of the same land, who let themselves be corrupted; It is very dangerous to accept that corruption is the price we have to pay for foreign aid. ”

"Let us play the game of Christ," appealed the Supreme Pontiff, who prophesied, "If Jesus is the arbiter between the conflicting emotions of our hearts, the complex decisions of our country, then Mozambique has guaranteed a future of hope."