17 April 2017 10:13 am
REUTERS, 16th APRIL, 2017 - Pope Francis, leading the world’s Roman Catholics into Easter, urged them on Saturday not to ignore the plight of immigrants, the poor and other vulnerable people.
In his homily at an Easter Vigil Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, Francis recounted the Biblical account of Jesus Christ’s mother Mary and Mary Magdalene, filled with grief, as they went to visit his tomb following the crucifixion.
Their grief, he said during the solemn ceremony, could be seen in the faces of many women today.
“In their faces we can see reflected all those who, walking the streets of our cities, feel the pain of dire poverty, the sorrow born of exploitation and human trafficking,” he said.
“We can also see the faces of those who are greeted with contempt because they are immigrants, deprived of country, house and family. We see faces whose eyes bespeak loneliness and abandonment, because their hands are creased with wrinkles.”