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At the hospital
After 50 days of a hunger strike,
12 people with no official papers have obtained satisfaction.
The status of each one of them was regularized. Nobody was put
aside.
This did not happen without harm! After some time of hardships
and long combat, the time had come to share the delight of the
families and the militants of the association.
As for the hunger strikers, they were hospitalized in Garches
at a hospital in the Paris area.
I took the train to visit them. When I arrived at the station
in Garches, I did not have to wait for a bus. Someone was very
happy to drive me at my destination.
In this large hospital where I was going for the first time,
everyone knew where I could find those I came to visit. There
was no way to make a mistake.
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It was a hearty meeting. The strikers
marvelled at the way they had been well received at the hospital:
" Everybody was happy that we had been regularized. "
" They attended to our every need. "
" Usually people have a suspicious attitude towards us.
We feel respected here. "
" The doctor told me: you can leave whenever you want. Take
some time to rest yourself."
At the hospital, they lost the fear they had and accordingly,
they found brotherhood. |
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People coming from many
continents at the Pentecost
I went to Milan in Italy at the Saverians, a very lively
congregation of missionaries. The Saverians invited me to their
great Pentecost celebration gathering people from many continents.
The theme chosen for the feast was: " A thousand faces,
multiple cultures, only one humanity. For a culture gathering,
reciprocity and celebration. "
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I do not know what attracts so many young people to come to
their feast. Probably it is the Saturday night concert that is
a big hit. Young people love to gather around a table to talk,
eat grilled food and drink beer. |
There were also stands exhibiting the productions from
African and Latin American countries. But the peek of the festivities
was unquestionably the mass.
The Saverians insisted that I be there with mitre and crosier,
which rarely happens to me! The crowd with a thousand faces was
there on the lawn or in the shade of the trees, attentive and
conscious of its diversity. They knew that the language of the
Pentecost that everybody understands today is the language of
action: " I was a stranger and you have welcomed me. I was
sick and you came to visit me … "
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I was delighted to speak to this crowd attentive to the breath
of the Spirit. |
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In Graz
For the third time I came back to this city in Austria
to give a speech. The newly appointed bishop welcomed me at the
bishop's palace in a very brotherly way. He was delighted with
the election of the new pope and was preparing himself to go
to Rome for the enthronement mass..
His private secretary was present at my speech. I listened with
interest the questions from the audience. It is a way for me
to know the expectations of the people. That night, because it
was news, questions were raised about the new pope.
In the audience there was such a desire for openness, such hope
for change that disappointment was great. These Christians expressed
with subtlety their concern for the future.
I was thinking about the enthusiasm of their bishop going to
Rome. What a contrast between an official church and a simple
parish.
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The next morning at breakfast, the bishop declared himself
satisfied : " My secretary reported to me last night that
all went well ". |
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Welcome to France !
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This is the title of a book just published. Anne de Loisy,
a journalist, who I travelled with to Iraq two years ago, is
the author. |
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She is not afraid to take risks and go forward and to forge
ahead to go where women and men are in danger. This is how she
succeeded to introduce herself in this notorious waiting zone
of the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. To penetrate this
closed-in zone, only one way : to work there.
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During six months, Anne de Loisy worked for the Red Cross,
as an intermediary between the foreigners and the police, without
ever revealing her real occupation.
She has the great merit of letting the foreigners in irregular
situations speak. |
Anne has often felt anger, revolt and helplessness. She
just could not imagine what she saw and heard. And that goes
on at 30 Km from Paris! |
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