In an apparent attempt to defuse objections, when it came time for the two women, who work together in a hospital in Rome, to walk with the cross, the participants of the ceremony were invited to stop in “prayerful silence” and pray in their heart. for world peace. The original script, written with the contribution of women, spoke of prospects for “reconciliation”. This statement had provoked protests from both the Ukrainian ambassador to the Holy See and an archbishop of Kiev. They opposed the projection of what they saw as the idea of reconciliation, while Ukraine is being destroyed by the war being unleashed by Russia. For the first time since the pandemic, the festive torchlight procession returned to the ancient arena of Rome on Friday night. Thousands of pilgrims and tourists held small, lighted candles as Pope Francis, looking pensive and wearing a white coat in the damp night air, sat under a canopy placed at an elevated point of view. At each Station of the Cross, reflecting details of the suffering and death of Jesus from the crucifixion, a different family walked on the cross and the meditations written by them were read aloud. The women were identified only by their first names in interviews with Italian state television Rai: Irina, a Ukrainian nurse, and Albina, a Russian nursing student. Before the procession, Albina told Rai that it was important to “pray for the children who no longer exist, for the soldiers who lost their lives and cannot even be buried.” Irina described sharing the cross-carrying as a “big responsibility”. The Vatican has not responded to the protests. But apparently in response to the flap, the original meditation to be read as they shared while carrying the cross was significantly shortened for the procession. Meditation said that “in the face of death, silence is the most eloquent word.” Participants were then asked to stop and “pray for world peace.” The two women looked each other in the eye with sadness for a long time as they carried the cross. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said the text was shortened to allow people to remain “silent and in prayer”. Francis made no mention of the fin. Instead, at the end of the procession, he prayed to God “to bring the opponents to shake hands so that they may taste mutual forgiveness.” He also prayed that God “disarm the hand that the brother raised against the brother, so that where there is hatred, harmony may flourish.” While Francis has denounced the February 24 invasion and attacks on Ukraine as “sacrilege”, he has refrained from naming Russia as an attacker, although his references to Russian President Vladimir Putin have been clear. The SIR, the news agency of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, reported that many Ukrainian religious media outlets refused to broadcast or report on the Colosseum procession this year in protest. But other believers in the world applauded the decision to mate the two women. In Paris, hundreds of Catholics gathered for Good Friday prayer in the courtyard of Notre Dame Cathedral. Jennifer Kilgore-Caradec, who is from the United States, told the AP in Notre Dame that holding the two women together with the cross was a “very moving and important symbol”. He added: “I think real people in the real world are interested in peace. “We want peace, we do not want war.” Believers were not allowed to enter the cathedral of Paris, as it is still under reconstruction after a 2019 fire collapsed its bell tower and destroyed its roof. In St. Peter’s Basilica, hours before the event of the Colosseum, Francis, wearing red robes symbolizing the blood of Jesus, climbed up the main corridor for a prayer service early in the evening. Francis, 85, had a problem with his knee ligaments. Usually during the service of Good Friday Basilica in the Vatican, the pope prayed. But this time Francis, suffering from pain for weeks, did not. Francis sent his official almsgiver, Polish Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, to Kyiv to lead a Good Friday procession to the war-torn capital of Ukraine. Italian state television Rai showed the cardinal visiting Borodyanka, where he prayed over some of the bodies and bent down to touch a partially covered body. Good Friday is one of the main days for Christians during Holy Week, which culminates in Easter, Sunday. In Jerusalem, where tens of thousands of worshipers traditionally gather in the Old City to visit holy sites during Holy Week, Palestinians and Israeli police clashed on Friday at the Al-Aqsa mosque. The place is sacred to Jews and Muslims. This year, Ramadan coincides with Easter as well as Holy Week. Doctors in Jerusalem say more than 150 Palestinians have been injured in the worst violence in the area in nearly a year.
John Leicester and Oleg Cetinic contributed from Paris.
