Pope Francis on Saturday denounced what he called the modern-day sin of indifference to hunger, exploitation and other suffering, while commending the example of Mother Teresa on the eve of a sainthood ceremony for the nun who cared for India’s destitute.
“Tomorrow, we’ll have the joy of seeing Mother Teresa proclaimed a saint,” the Pope told thousands of lay volunteers in St. Peter’s Square at a special gathering to stress the need for more mercy and caring in the world. “She deserves it!”
Thousands expected Pope Francis will lead a Sunday morning canonisation ceremony in the square which is expected to draw huge crowds of faithful and other admirers of Mother Teresa, who founded an order of nuns devoted like her to giving tenderness and assistance to the poor who were sick and dying in the streets of Kolkata.
Cheering the pontiff in Saturday’s crowd were many nuns from her Missionaries of Charity order, each wearing the characteristic white sari trimmed in blue that makes them easily identifiable worldwide where they care for the needy.
The Pope greeted a group of these nuns as he was driven through the square in his popemobile, and one of the nuns put a blue-and-white garland around his neck.
In his speech to the volunteers, including some who helped rescue survivors of the Aug. 24 earthquake in central Italy, the Pope decried those who “turn the other way not to see the many forms of poverty that begs out for mercy.”
‘Artisans of mercy’
Choosing “to not see hunger, disease, exploited persons, this is a grave sin. It’s also a modern sin, a sin of today,” he said.
The pontiff hailed volunteers as “artisans of mercy,” whose hands, voices, closeness and caresses help people who suffer feel loved. While in the square, he petted Leo, the Labrador which pinpointed a four-year-old child who had survived in a pile of quake rubble. The dog raised a paw, which the Pope grasped.
Sunday’s ceremony will be attended by a 12-member central delegation from India, led by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and two State government-level delegations from Delhi and West Bengal. Missionaries of Charity Superior General Sister Mary Prema and a group of nuns from different parts of India, Archbishop of Kolkata Thomas D’Souza and about 45 bishops from India are now in the Vatican.
(With inputs from PTI)
Published - September 04, 2016 02:41 am IST
