AMERICA/NICARAGUA - Cardinal Brenes: "The Church is a teacher of dialogue, reconciliation and forgiveness, because that is what Jesus taught us"

Tuesday, 24 May 2022 politics social situation bishops

NICARAGUA

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Managua (Agenzia Fides) - "Let us give God the opportunity to reach our hearts, let us give God the opportunity to be the center of our lives, in a special way to our Mother", urged Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes, Archbishop of Managua, in his homily for the Mass celebrated in the cathedral on Sunday, May 22, the sixth Sunday of Easter. He then invited the faithful to "make a chain of prayer, especially in this month of May". Let us pray the Holy Rosary every day, let us prepare an image of the Blessed Virgin and before Her, let us pray the Holy Rosary, because as Pope Saint Pius X, who founded our Archdiocese, told us, an army that prays the Rosary is able to change the hardest battles that can exist, the hardest wars that can exist, the hardest evil that can exist, by praying the Holy Rosary. I therefore invite you to make an army that prays the Holy Rosary", encouraged the Cardinal. "The Church is a teacher of dialogue, a teacher of reconciliation, a teacher of forgiveness, because that is what Jesus taught us: he taught us to listen, he taught us to love in a special way", said Cardinal Brenes in his homily released by the Episcopal Conference. Referring to the readings proclaimed shortly before, the Archbishop of Managua recalled the tensions that were created in the first Christian communities, and explained that "the beautiful thing of the Church is dialogue, problems are solved by talking, speaking and leaving aside our positions, listening to the other". Then, looking at the World Meeting of Families, he underlined the importance of the family as a "school of dialogue", and once again dialogue, listening to the other, is the main theme of the synodal journey that we follow in the different communities. Cardinal Brenes then read the statement of the Bishops' Conference of Nicaragua, in which the Bishops, aware of having been called by the risen Lord to animate "that part of the people of God who live in Nicaragua", invite "to live together in prayer, full of faith, hope and charity, being builders of peace". "We live in difficult times as a nation - continues the text read by the Cardinal - and our duty as Church is to proclaim the truth of the Gospel; in communion with the Successor of Saint Peter and with each Bishop of our ecclesiastical province of Nicaragua, with each presbyter and with all the people of God. We accompany with our prayers each brother associated with the sufferings of Christ, and we invoke the Holy Spirit to be the one who enlightens minds and hearts of all Nicaraguans". The statement expresses special solidarity and closeness with Bishop Rolando Álvarez (see Fides, 23/5/2022) and reaffirms: "As a Church faithful to our Christian mission, we will always be ready to contribute to the common good, to reconciliation and to the fraternity of Nicaraguans". (SL) (Agenzia Fides, 24/5/2022)