(20 May 10 – RV) Pope Benedict XVI has called on prisoners to remember the ‘inner
freedom’ that comes from ‘rejoicing in the Lord’. His words of advise and comfort
are contained in a message that he wrote to prisoners in Malta during his April visit
to the Mediterranean island, that was published Thursday.
In fact, the
last of Pope Benedict XVI’s public event’s in Malta was a meeting with young people.
A group of young offenders were invited to participate, and indeed, contribute to
the questions that were posed to the Holy Father. The first speaker, representing
those young people who feel in some way marginalised by the Church, spoke of “those
young people who, like me, do not fit comfortably into stereo-typed roles”.
This
he said “is due to various factors among them: either because we have experienced
substance abuse; or because we are experiencing the misfortune of broken or dysfunctional
families; or because we are of a different sexual orientation; among us are also our
immigrant brothers and sisters, all of us in some way or another have encountered
experiences that have estranged us from the Church”.
In his message to the
men and women serving terms for offences in prison Pope Benedict responds with the
words of St Paul, who first brought the faith to Malta:
“Dear Friends,
I
have received the message that you sent me and would like to convey to you my deep
appreciation for the sentiments that you expressed and for the support of your prayers. During
this visit to the Maltese islands, I come as a Pastor to greet all the people in the
name of the Lord. Be assured that I shall be especially mindful of those who suffer
in any way – the sick, the elderly, the housebound, and those like yourselves who
are in prison. I pray that you will draw comfort from the knowledge that you share
in the condition of Saint Paul himself, who, although a prisoner, had the inner freedom
to “rejoice in the Lord” (Phil 4:10), knowing that “neither death, nor life, nor
angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor
height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us
from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 8: 38-39). With these sentiments,
I assure you of my spiritual closeness. Invoking upon you and your loved ones the
intercession of Saint Paul, Apostle of Malta, I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing
as a pledge of strength and peace in the Lord”.