Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

As a pilgrim of peace and unity, it is a joy for me to visit your region and, above all, to share in your journey, your struggles and your hopes.

The festive celebrations that accompany your liturgies and the joy that flows from the prayers you raise are signs of your trusting surrender to God, of your unshakeable hope and of your clinging, with all your strength, to the love of the Father who draws near and looks with compassion upon the sufferings of his children.  In the Psalm, we sung together of our trust in the Lord, which we are called to renew today: “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit” (Ps 34:18).

Brothers and sisters, there are many situations in life that break our hearts and plunge us into sorrow.  Our hope for a future of peace and reconciliation, in which the dignity of every human person is respected and their fundamental rights guaranteed, is continually disappointed by the many problems afflicting this beautiful land.  These include the numerous forms of poverty, which even recently have affected so many people amidst an ongoing food crisis. There is moral, social and political corruption, seen above all in the management of wealth, which hinders the development of institutions and infrastructure. We see also the serious problems affecting the education and healthcare systems, as well as large-scale migration to foreign countries, particularly of young people.  Added to these internal problems, which are often fueled by hatred and violence, is the damage caused from outside, by those who, in the name of profit, continue to lay their hands on the African continent to exploit and plunder it.

All of this can make us feel powerless and diminish our confidence.  Yet this is the moment to change, to transform the story of this country.  The time has come, today and not tomorrow, now and not in the future, to restore the mosaic of unity by bringing together the diversity and riches of the country and the continent.  In this way, it will be possible to create a society in which peace and reconciliation reign.

It is true that when a situation remains the same for some time, there is a risk of giving in to resignation and helplessness, because we expect nothing new.  Yet the word of the Lord opens up new possibilities and brings about transformation and healing.  It is capable of stirring our hearts, of challenging the normal course of events to which we so easily risk becoming accustomed, and of making us active agents of change.  Let us remember this: God is newness, God creates new things, God makes us courageous people who, by confronting evil, build up the good.

We see this in the witness of the Apostles, as we heard in the first reading. While the authorities of the Sanhedrin interrogate the Apostles, rebuking and threatening them because they are publicly proclaiming Christ, they reply: “We must obey God rather than any human authority.  The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree” (Acts 5:29–30).

The courage of the Apostles becomes a voice of conscience, a prophecy, a denunciation of evil, and this is the first step toward changing things.  In fact, obeying God is not an act of submission that oppresses us or nullifies our freedom; on the contrary, obedience to God sets us free, because it means entrusting our lives to him and allowing his word to inspire our way of thinking and acting.  Thus, as we heard in the Gospel, which recounts the final part of the dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus, “the one who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things.  The one who comes from heaven is above all” (Jn 3:31).  Those who obey God rather than human beings and earthly ways of thinking rediscover their inner freedom, succeed in discovering the value of goodness and do not resign themselves to evil. They find anew their way in life and become builders of peace and fraternity.

Brothers and sisters, consolation for broken hearts and hope for change in society are possible if we entrust ourselves to God and God’s word.  We must, however, always keep the Apostle Peter’s exhortation in our hearts and bring it to mind: obey God, not human beings.  To obey him, because he alone is God.  This calls us to foster inculturation of the Gospel.  It also calls us to be vigilant, even regarding our own religious practices, so as not to fall into the trap of mixing the Catholic faith with other beliefs and traditions of an esoteric or Gnostic nature, which in reality often serve political and economic ends.  Only God sets us free; only his word opens paths to freedom; only his Spirit makes us new people capable of changing this country.

I accompany you with my constant prayer and I bless in particular the Church gathered here: the many priests, missionaries, religious and lay people who all work to be a source of consolation and hope.  I encourage you to continue along this path and I entrust you to the intercession of Mary Most Holy, Queen of the Apostles and Mother of the Church.