Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Rome (Agenzia Fides) - "Sisters and brothers, I am still sending you these thoughts from the hospital, where as you know I have been for several days, accompanied by doctors and healthcare professionals, whom I thank for the attention with which they are taking care of me. I feel in my heart the “blessing” that is hidden within frailty, because it is precisely in these moments that we learn even more to trust in the Lord; at the same time, I thank God for giving me the opportunity to share in body and spirit the condition of so many sick and suffering people".
This is the text message that Pope Francis sends from the Gemelli Hospital in Rome, written on the occasion of the Angelus, for the third consecutive time released without having been pronounced by the Pontiff, hospitalized since February 14 at the Roman hospital for bilateral pneumonia. Commenting on today's Gospel, where we read about the famous passage of the beam and the splinter in the eye (see Luke 6:39-45), the Pontiff points out that Jesus "asks us to train our eyes to observe the world well and to judge our neighbour with charity. Only with this gaze of care, not condemnation, can fraternal correction be a virtue. Because if it is not fraternal, it is not correction!".
The Bishop of Rome, who this morning - as reported by the director of the Vatican Press Office - received a visit from the Cardinal Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, and the Substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State of the Holy See, Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra, then thanks "the many faithful" who "from many parts of the world" are showing him affection: "I would like to thank you for the prayers, which rise up to the Lord from the heart: I feel all your affection and closeness and, at this particular time, I feel as if I am “carried” and supported by all God’s people. Thank you all!"
"I pray for you too. And I pray above all for peace. From here, war appears even more absurd. Let us pray for tormented Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Myanmar, Sudan and Kivu", concludes the Pope, relaunching the appeal for peace in the world. (F.B.) (Agenzia Fides, 2/3/2025)
