The meeting with the detainees and prisoners in the jail of Castrovillari is the first gesture of Pope Francis in his pastoral visit to the Diocese of Cassano all'Jonio (Calabria). The Pope met with victims of mafia violence, in particular the family members of little Cocò, three years old, killed by mobsters last January. All the detainees were moved, and beseeched Francis' prayers for their children. The encounter with God who "always forgives, always accompanies, always understands", as a basis for social reintegration.

Castrovillari (AsiaNews) - "I, too, make mistakes and I need forgiveness": by identifying himself thus with the fate of the prisoners, Pope Francis began a visit to the Diocese of Cassano all'Jonio in Calabria, a region infamous for crime, the mafia and drug trafficking. Breaking away from the traditional protocol of visits, which provides that he first meet and talk with authorities, the Pontiff instead went first to the "Rosetta Sisca" prison and met with among 200 prisoners, both men and women, in addition to the prison guards and family members of mafia victims.

Among these were the grandmother and aunt of Cocò Campolongo, the three-year old boy killed along with his uncle, a protected witness, and the latter's partner on January 16. Francis had mentioned them in the Angelus of January 26.

The Pope wanted to hold the meeting with prisoners privately, without the presence of journalists and TV cameras. The Bishop of Cassano, Mons. Nunzio Galantino, upon exiting the prison, and speaking to journalists, said that meeting with members of Cocò's family was the most moving moment, where the Pontiff assured them of his prayers for them and for all victims of mafia violence. "It should never happen again," Francis said, "that a child be the victim of such violence." Mons. Galantino, Secretary General of the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI), said the Pope greeted the incarcerated women one by one: "They were all crying," he said, "and they recommended their children to his prayers".

The prison of Castrovillari also holds Nelus Dudu, a 27-year-old Romanian who on March 2 at Sibari killed Fr. Lazzaro Longobardi, who had welcomed, fed and clothed him.

In his speech, the Pontiff confessed that he had wanted to have this visit as a "first step" to "express the closeness of the Pope and the Church to every man and every woman who is in jail, in every part of the world. Jesus said: 'I was in prison and you visited me' (Mt 25:36)".

He also stressed that in prison life it is not enough to speak of "fundamental human rights", of "the conditions of serving one's sentence". It is also necessary to commit to "an effective reintegration into society". "When this aim is neglected," he continued, "the execution of the sentence is degraded into a mere punishment and social retaliation, which in turn is bad for the individual and for society".

The path cannot be  "only human"; it also requires "an encounter with God". And he invited all to let themselves be "looked upon by God who loves us, who is able to understand us and to forgive our mistakes. The Lord is a master of reintegration: he takes us by the hand and brings us back into the social community. The Lord always forgives, always accompanies, always understands; it is up us to let ourselves be understood, to let ourselves be forgiven, to let ourselves be accompanied."

In conclusion, the Pope implored the prisoners' prayers for his ministry: "I, too, make mistakes, I, too, need forgiveness and penance".

 

 

• vatican
• italy
• pope
• francis
• prisoners
• castrovillari