Enthusiastic Participation by Cairo Sudanese Refugees
VATICAN CITY, FEB 25 (ZENIT).- Today has been the great day of the Catholic Church in Egypt. Bishops, priests, members of communities of the 7 rites that make up this Church, came from all corners of the country to attend a Mass celebrated by John Paul II on his second day in Egypt. Among the participants were Sudanese Christians, who sang their typical songs; they have taken refuge in Egypt because of the Islamization policy of the Khartoum regime.
For the first time in the land of the Pharaohs, a large-scale Mass was celebrated outside a church in a public place. The huge Sports Palace was made available, free of charge, by the Egyptian government; 20,000 faithful attended the Eucharistic celebration. The enthusiasm when the Pope arrived was nothing short of amazing. The liturgy was that of the Holy Family. The meeting was a journey to rediscover the road taken by the people of Israel from slavery to freedom, analogous to Jesus' journey to Jerusalem to fulfill the Passover of the New Covenant. Finally, the pilgrim Pope addressed the journey God wishes man to make, by showing him the meaning and value of his Covenant.
The Covenant "How beautiful is this Covenant!" the Holy Father exclaimed. "It shows that God does not stop speaking to man in order to give him life in abundance. It places us in the presence of God and is the expression of his profound love for his people. It invites man to turn to God, to allow himself to be touched by God's love and to fulfill the desire for happiness that he bears within himself. If we accept wholeheartedly the tables of the Ten Commandments, we will live fully by the law that God has placed in our hearts and we will have a share in the salvation, which the Covenant made on Mount Sinai between God and his people revealed, and which the Son of God through his work of redemption offers to us."
Another topic the Pope mentioned to Egyptian Catholics was the unity of Christians. With conviction he said that dialogue and closeness would contribute to find solutions to the problems that today continue to place obstacles to full communion.
Dialogue with Islam In a country where 94% of the population is Muslim and in which some areas or sectors of social life Christians feel the weight of marginalization, the Pope insisted on the need to promote friendly relations with Muslims, and invited all to collaborate in the construction and development of the country. This presupposes the acknowledgment of everyone's rights, including minority communities. "In order to do this common work, which should bring together all the members of the same nation, it is right that everyone, Christians and Muslims, while respecting different religious views, should place their skills at the service of the nation, at every level of society," the Holy Father emphasized.
The Living Faith The liturgy was extremely varied and festive, including typical songs of the various rites: Coptic, Greek, Maronite, Melchite, Syrian, Armenian, and Latin. The gifts were especially significant: Egyptians offered dates, cotton, sugar cane, and doves as a sign of peace; the Sudanese refugees offered a cup, in sign of communion, and an ostrich egg, symbol of fertility. The community of Sudanese refugees is constantly growing in Cairo. Many remembered the stopover that John Paul II made a few years ago; they have always regarded him as a "friend" who has given voice to their sufferings and enslavements.
Indeed, at the end of the Mass, the Holy Father gave them a special greeting. But his thought traveled to other African countries, which are experiencing dramatic situations, such as Mozambique, devastated by floods, for which he appealed for solidarity from the international community. Or Nigeria, bloodied by conflicts between Christians and Muslims in Kaduna. "I have heard with sorrow that in Nigeria a grave focus of tension has caused many dead. I deplore all kinds of violence and I pray so that all the inhabitants of this country will live in fraternity, based on respect for the person and his religious liberty. These values are the only ones that can open a future to the Nigerian nation."
But today Cairo was festive. Truly a celebration for the Catholic Church in Egypt and for all the country's inhabitants. Tomorrow the Pope will go to Mount Sinai, the mountain of meeting and of the pact with God, with one's brothers, and with the whole of humanity. The Pontiff ended his homily with these words: " May everyone hear the call of the God of the Covenant and discover the joy of being his sons and daughters!"
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