Pope's Sunday 'Angelus' of June 20

(June 21, 2010) Pope Benedict XVI said on Sunday that the Cross is the crown of our hope and our highest good. He made the comment to a large crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square to recite the weekly ‘Angelus’ prayer with him at midday. Reflecting on Sunday’s Gospel the Pope spoke about Jesus’ invitation to Peter and the other disciples to follow him on the demanding road of love to the cross. He said the invitation is also made to us, saying Jesus "reminds us that to be his disciples it is necessary to appropriate the power of the cross, our highest good and the crown of our hope." "Even today," Pope Benedict noted, "there are many Christians in the world who, animated by God, assume the cross every day, whether it be daily trials or whether it be caused by human barbarity, which sometimes requires the courage of the supreme sacrifice." He hoped that the Lord would "grant everyone of us always to place our firm hope in him, certain that, following him carrying our cross, we will reach the light of the Resurrection with him."
After reciting the "Angelus" prayer with those gathered in St. Peter's Square, Pope Benedict XVI urged communities in Kyrgyzstan to renounce violence and resist all provocation so that peace and security can be quickly restored in the south of that country. The Holy Father also appealed to the international community to ensure that humanitarian aid quickly reaches those suffering in the former Soviet republic. Thousands of ethnic Uzbeks have massed on the border of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan saying they fear being killed if they return to their homes. The refugees accuse Kyrgyz troops of abetting ethnic cleansing that have left hundreds of Uzbeks dead. Violence began on June 11 when ethnic Kyrgyz burned down Uzbek neighbourhoods. Some 2,000 people are feared killed and 400,000 uprooted, who are crammed into squalid camps on Kyrgyzstan's sun-parched border with Uzbekistan with little access to clean water or food. The pope expressed sorrow and offered prayers for the victims.
Pope Benedict XVI also recalled World Refugee Day, marked on Sunday, June 20. "Today the United Nations celebrates World Refugee Day," he said, "to recall attention to the problems of those who have been forced out of their own land and familiar customs, travelling to environments that, often, are profoundly different." "Refugees desire to find welcome and to be recognized in their dignity and their fundamental rights," the Holy Father affirmed. "At the same time," he continued, "they intend to offer their contribution to the society that welcomes them." Benedict XVI concluded: "Let us pray that, in a just reciprocity, there be a response adequate to such expectations and they show the respect that they have for the identity of the community that receives them."