Relationships and coronavirus

Antonio Spadaro SJ, director of La Civiltà Cattolica, said: “Relationships become a theme for reflection; also because you have to fight instinct. If you love and you want to protect, you must not be close, but far away.

“We have to rebuild how we treat our space and other people in terms of proximity in this current situation.

“We don’t know where the virus is, we don’t even know if someone has it in their body. ...But, given that we don’t know where the virus is, we must reinvent for ourselves the meaning of distance and proximity.”    

Pope on vanity

In his homily at Sancta Martha on March 10, Pope Francis said:

“Vanity never heals. Rather it is poison, bringing disease to the heart, that hardness of heart that tells you: ‘No, don’t turn to the Lord, don’t go. Stay, believing oneself as self-sufficient.

“Speak with the Lord. He knows, he knows who we are. We know too, but vanity always calls us to cover ourselves and hide.”

Bishops slam government’s silence

Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Abuja, Nigeria, said:

“We are protesting against the brutal killing of innocent Nigerians by Boko Haram, and terrorist herdsmen… We are gathered to mourn the women, children, babies and men who have been killed by the terrorists.

“We are gathered to let the federal government of Nigeria know that we are tired of hearing from them that Boko Haram has been ‘technically defeated’ even when they still attack with impunity… The failure to protect innocent people from attacks is evil. The lack of prosecution of terrorists is evil.

“Your silence is breeding and sowing seeds of mistrust, and the longer it stays this way, the more you lose those who could have given you the benefit of doubt.” 

(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)