Pope expresses concern and sorrow for situation in Nicaragua

Francis at the Angelus: May we find new foundations for respectful and peaceful coexistence. "With the image of the narrow door Jesus tells us that in order to enter salvation, one must pass through Him, accept Him and His Word."

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - "I am following closely, with concern and pain, the situation created in Nicaragua involving people and institutions," said Pope Francis at the end of the midday Angelus today. As usual the Pope recited the prayer looking out the window of his study in the Vatican Apostolic Palace together with the faithful and pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square.

Speaking to them he said, "I would like to express my conviction and my hope that through open and sincere dialogue we can still find the basis for a respectful and peaceful coexistence. Let us ask the Lord through the intercession of the Most Pure One to inspire from the hearts of all such a concrete will."

The pontiff referred to the increasingly harsh repression against the Catholic Church in Nicaragua, which resulted in last Friday's overnight raid when Nicaraguan police raided the bishopric of Matagalpa, forcibly taking nine people, including Bishop Rolando Álvarez. The bishop is now under house arrest at his residence in the Nicaraguan capital, while the other eight still remain detained in barracks. "We persevere and in closeness with the dear Ukrainian people who are experiencing immense cruelty," Pope Francis added, recalling once again the war in Ukraine.

Before the Angelus, the pontiff commented on the Gospel passage from Luke in this Sunday's liturgy, in which the Lord exhorts people to "enter through the narrow gate." "The narrow door is an image that could frighten us, as if salvation were destined only for a chosen few or the perfect," Francis said. "But this contradicts what Jesus taught on many occasions. Indeed, "the door is narrow, but it is open to all!" the pope continued. To better understand the image of the narrow gate, Francis explained that in Jesus' time, in the evening, the gates of the city were closed and only one, smaller and narrower, remained open, through which one could pass to return home. When Jesus says, "I am the door: if anyone enters through me, he will be saved," "he means that to enter into God's life, into salvation, one must pass through Him, receive Him and His Word," the holy father said.

Just as to enter the city one had to "measure oneself" against the only narrow door that remained open, so that of the Christian is a life "in the measure of Christ," founded and modeled on Him, on the Gospel. It is, therefore, a narrow door not because it is meant for the few, but because "to be Jesus' means to follow Him, to commit one's life to love, service and self-giving as He did, who passed through the narrow door of the cross." The key then is to enter into God's plan, overcoming presumption, pride, laziness to go through the risk of love, even when it involves the cross.

The Holy Father then invited us to think about those daily gestures of love that we carry out with difficulty: "To the parents who devote themselves to their children by making sacrifices and giving up time for themselves; to those who care for others and not only for their own interests; to those who spend themselves in the service of the elderly, the poorest and the most fragile; to those who go forward to work with commitment, enduring hardships and perhaps misunderstandings; to those who suffer because of their faith, but continue to pray and love; to those who, instead of following their instincts, respond to evil with good, find the strength to forgive and the courage to begin again." All those who will have spent their lives in love, in fact, "will be recognized by the Father much more than those who believe themselves already saved and, in reality, in life are 'doers of unrighteousness' (Lk. 13:27)."

The Pope concluded with a question : "Which side do we want to be on? Do we prefer the easy road of thinking only of ourselves or the narrow door of the Gospel, which challenges our selfishness but makes us able to welcome the true life that comes from God? May Our Lady, who followed Jesus all the way to the cross, help us to measure our lives against Him, in order to enter full and eternal life."

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