Card Bo marks Jubilee of Priests calling all to show mercy ‎

As part of the celebrations for the Jubilee of Mercy, Card Charles Bo of Myanmar led a special service on Wednesday in his cathedral of Yangon, for priests from various dioceses of the country,  urging them to start the “revolution of mercy" brought by Christ.  "Become the bread of mercy, broken and shared among all our brothers,” he told the priests during a Mass in St Mary's Cathedral.  What the world needs today is a moral revolution, the country’s first cardinal said in his homily.  “Yes, “he said, “the year of Mercy is a year of moral revolution and the leader of this revolution is Jesus Christ."  

The Archbishop of Yangon noted that the story of mankind is largely marked by blood and violence.  Already in the first 5 pages of the Bible we find the trace of blood in the story of Cain and Able, and “out of 5,000 years of recorded human history, we have had only 120 without war,”  he said.  Against this background of heinous crimes, Card. Bo said, Christ’s message rings clear – “Be merciful as your heavenly Father is merciful to you. Pray for those you hate you and pray for those who persecute you. Forgive seventy times seven.”

Pointing to Pope Francis as a model, Cardinal Bo said, “His identification with the poor, disfigured people, his visit to prisons, his welcoming refugees, his fellowship with sinners and those are at the margin: he is really the prophet of mercy and the world has been attracted once again to the message of mercy.”  “As priests we are called upon to forgive,” the cardinal said. “In this season, we need to use the confessional as the field hospital as the pope says, of people wounded by sin.”

Cardinal Bo expressed particular esteem for the religious who are engaged with the poor, the sick, HIV victims and the rural and urban poor.  “You have seen poverty spread faster in democracy. You have seen our youth being trafficked. You have seen thousands of our children subjected to inhuman child labour,” the prelate said, urging them to present among them.

Cardinal Bo also called upon families to be the epicentre of mercy.  “To have a family at this time is a great challenge. But families need mercy more than ever.”   He urged husbands to be merciful to their wives, appreciating their hard work and not magnifying their minor mistakes.   The cardinal particularly urged mercy for the poor, the slum dwellers, the sick the homeless, the trafficked and young people.  (Source: AsiaNews)