On the afternoon of September 12, Pope Francis opened the curtain of a pastoral visit to the country at the meeting of the Grand Duke at the Holy See’s Embassy in Slovakia. The Pope arrived in the capital Bratislava at about 3 o’clock in the afternoon. After a short rest, he immediately embarked on an intensive apostolic journey. In his speech, the Pope urged Christians to free themselves from “inner confinement”, overcome prejudice and misunderstanding, and move towards unity and communion in Christ.
(Vatican News Network)Pope Francis’ meeting with representatives of the Slovak Christian Association on the afternoon of September 12 opened the curtain for a pastoral visit to the country. The meeting place was the Holy See’s Embassy in Slovakia. The people who met with the Pope were representatives of the 11 member churches of the Christian Association, and the Slovak Catholic Bishops’ Conference was an observer of the Association.
The Pope first expressed his gratification at having the opportunity to become a “pilgrim to Slovakia” and expressed his pleasure that the first event in this EU member state was a meeting with the ecumenical community. Therefore, the pope said: “This is a sign of Christian faith, which aspires to be the seed of unity in this country and the yeast of brotherhood.”
Then, the pope recalled the religious persecution during the Soviet rule, when “religious freedom was stifled or severely suppressed”. The Pope said that after the fall of the Iron Curtain, people regained their freedom. “Now, you are sharing a similar growth experience in which you discover how beautiful this freedom is, but at the same time, you also discover how difficult it is to practice your beliefs in freedom.”
Subsequently, the pope reminded the Slovak people not to return to a worse bondage, namely: “a kind of inner confinement.” The pope quoted the “Legend of the Chief Justice of the Inquisition” in the novel “The Brothers Karamazov” by the Russian writer Dostoyevsky. In the description of the novel, Jesus returned to the world and was imprisoned again. The judge who interrogated Jesus accused Jesus of overestimating human freedom, saying that people were more willing to trade freedom for “a more comfortable slave life.” The Pope urges Christians not to fall into the same trap and exchange freedom for “bread and other small things”, which means possession of “status and privileges.”
“Here, from the center of Europe, we can ask ourselves: Are we Christians losing some enthusiasm for evangelism and prophetic testimony? Does the truth of the gospel set us free?” The Pope mentioned “Slavs” The enthusiasm for evangelization of St. Cyril and St. Meteo the Apostle, they can help Christians in Slovakia to rediscover brotherly communion in the name of Jesus, and put piety and inner freedom at the core of the relationship between different Christian communities .
Therefore, the Pope made two suggestions to help renew the freedom and faith of Slovak Christians: contemplation and action. The Pope said that contemplation is “a distinctive feature of the Slavs”. It can help the Slavs rediscover the “beauty of worshiping God” and overcome the narrow focus of “organizational efficiency”. Action complements contemplation and guides Christians to unite in the common cause of helping the poor and marginalized groups. The Pope said: “Sharing the work of charity can open up a broader perspective and help us make greater progress in overcoming prejudices and misunderstandings.”
At the end of his speech, the pope expressed his wish that all Christians would one day be reunited at the Lord’s Eucharist table. Finally, the Pope prayed: “May God’s gift be on everyone’s table. Even if we still cannot share the same Eucharist feast, we can serve Him among the poor and greet Jesus together.”
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