Walking, biking pilgrimage to Our Lady of Guadalupe draws 60,000

July 25, 2018 CNA Daily News News Briefs 0 Print

Mexico City, Mexico, Jul 25, 2018 / 04:20 pm (ACI Prensa).- By foot and by bicycle, some 60,000 people arrived at the Guadalupe Basilica in Mexico City on July 22, for a pilgrimage that covered more than 185 miles from Querétaro state.

The pilgrims came in three groups, arriving at the basilica after 17 days of travel. The first to arrive, at around 6:00 a.m. on Sunday, were 300 cyclists, followed by 23,000 women at noon, and then 34,600 men, known as “soldiers of Our Lady of Guadalupe.”

Bishop Faustino Armendáriz Jiménez of Querétaro accompanied the faithful for more than 185 miles of the pilgrimage.

In the first of three Masses he celebrated with the pilgrims, Bishop Armendáriz Jiménez encouraged them to not be afraid “to give our time to Christ.”

“Let's not be afraid to spend our free time with Jesus and to have a time shared with him! Yes, let us open up our time to Christ so he can illuminate and direct it,” he said.

At the Mass he celebrated for the women who made the pilgrimage, the bishop stressed that only by resting with Jesus “can you find true and complete peace, the fruit of reconciliation within yourself, in all your relationships: with God, with others and with the world.”

To the men's pilgrimage that arrived shortly afterwards, the bishop lamented that “many of our adolescents and young adults go about like sheep without a shepherd.” However, he cautioned that “if we don't have our hearts renewed in Christ and on fire with the Spirit, it will be impossible to feel compassion for them and sadly we will thus be unable to do anything.”

“Let's not say that it's harder today; it's different. But let's learn from the saints who have preceded us and faced their own difficulties in their times,” he encouraged.

In a video posted on the Facebook page of the Diocese of Querétaro after the pilgrimage was over, Bishop Armendáriz Jiménez highlighted that it was “an extraordinary experience of faith, that certainly strengthens us.” 

He said that accompanying people on the pilgrimage allowed him to “interact and especially to get to know [them] better and more personally.”

“Knowing our people makes us love them more,” he emphasized.

Bishop Armendáriz Jiménez congratulated the Diocese of Querétaro “for this treasure that we have,” and assured that God will continue blessing this community “with many spiritual fruits.”
 

 

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‘Stop the repression,’ Venezuelan bishops plead

January 28, 2019 CNA Daily News 2

Caracas, Venezuela, Jan 29, 2019 / 12:43 am (ACI Prensa).- The Justice and Peace Commission of the Venezuelan Bishops’ Conference is calling for an end to violence surrounding protests after Nicolas Maduro claimed to have won a second presidential term in a contested election.

A communique from the commission draws from words spoken by St. Oscar Romero in its title: “In the name of God and in the name of this suffering people, whose lamentations reach up to heaven…stop the repression.”

“Since January 22 the repression and violence have been escalated by State security forces and armed bands against people civically protesting,” the document says. “We deeply deplore so much death, pain and suffering of our people. The toll of injured, dead, arbitrarily detained, tortured and persecuted throughout the land violates the dignity and human rights of the citizens. It is a clamor that cries out: Stop the repression.”

At least 26 people have died in the massive protests taking place around the country in the last week, the Venezuelan Observatory on Conflict reported, based on information gathered from morgues, hospitals and courts.

Since Maduro succeeded Hugo Chávez as president of Venezuela in 2013, the country has been marred by violence and social upheaval. Under the socialist government, the country has seen severe shortages of basic goods, with inflation reaching an estimated 1.3 million percent last year, according to the National Assembly. Some 3 million people have emigrated since 2014.

Maduro’s swearing in for a second term as president earlier this month has prompted a recent wave of protests around the country. Maduro won a May 2018 presidential election which was boycotted by the opposition and has been rejected by much of the international community.

The bishops of Venezuela, who say Maduro’s second president term is illegitimate, have voiced support for peaceful opposition demonstrations, calling them a “sign of hope” for necessary democratic change. Some bishops have taken part in the marches. The bishops’ Justice and Peace Commission has also urged prayer “that the constitutional order is restored and we achieve a spiritually and materially prosperous nation.”

At one of the opposition protests on Jan. 23, Juan Guaidó, president of the National Assembly, proclaimed himself “interim president of Venezuela.” He pledged a transitional government and free elections.

Soon afterwards, U.S. president Donald Trump said he recognized Guaidó as president, saying the National Assembly is the sole “legitimate branch of government” in Venezuela and that Maduro’s presidency is “illegitimate.” Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, and Costa Rica are among the other nations that have recognized Guaidó.

In response, Maduro announced that he was breaking diplomatic relations with the United States and closing the Venezuelan embassy and all its consulates in the U.S.

In the Jan. 25 communiqué, members of bishops’ conference Justice and Peace Commission called on the government to respect “the lives and safety of all Venezuelans including those civically protesting” and demanded “the cessation of the violation of human rights and the guarantee of all the rights of citizens.”

They also implored security forces to remember that they are not obligated to follow orders to “violate human rights and commit crimes against humanity.”

“We appeal to all Venezuelans to not respond with violence to the various provocations to which you are subjected,” they asked, calling on Mary, Mother of the Church and Queen of Peace to pray for Venezuela.

 

This article was originally published by our sister agency, ACI Prensa. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

 

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