Social prayers at Pope Francis ceremony for Good Friday

Pope Francis attends an emotional night of prayers for hot-button social issues including domestic abuse, prison overcrowding and unemployment to mark the Good Friday before Easter. Duration: 01:14

Published

10 months ago

Categories

Arts & Society

Topics

Religion & Spirituality

People

Jesus Christ

Places

Argentina, Rome, Buenos Aires

Transcript

SHOTLIST: ROME, APRIL 18, 2014, SOURCE: AFPTV - VAR of Pope Francis arriving for the Way of the Cross - VAR of Pope Francis walking and blessing the crowd - MS of Pope Francis praying - VAR of worshipers - VAR night shots of the Coliseum - VAR of the Way of the Cross - VAR Pope Francis blessing leaving the ceremony SOUNDBITE 1 Pope Francis (man, Italian, 9 sec): "Evil will not have the final word, love and mercy will." SOUNDBITE 2 Pope Francis (man, Italian, , 19 sec) : "Let us all remember the sick, the abandoned, those who were left behind under the weight of the cross so they can find strength and hope." /// ------------------------------- AFP TEXT STORY Vatican-religion-pope-Easter Social prayers at Pope Francis ceremony for Good Friday =(PICTURE+VIDEO)= ROME, April 18, 2014 (AFP) - Pope Francis attended an emotional night of prayers for hot-button social issues including domestic abuse, prison overcrowding and unemployment to mark the Good Friday before Easter. The candle-lit Way of the Cross procession ceremony was held outside the Colosseum in Rome in memory of the Christians killed for their faith. The prayers read out at each of the 14 stops along the way were written by Italian bishop Giancarlo Bregantini, known for his outspoken condemnation of the mafia. One of the most solemn ceremonies in Christianity, Good Friday commemorates the death of Jesus Christ before his supposed resurrection on Easter Sunday. A particularly potent prayer recited on Friday was about the economic crisis -- an issue close to Francis from his time as archbishop of Buenos Aires at the height of the economic collapse in Argentina. "This is the cross which weighs upon the world of labour, the injustice shouldered by workers," the prayer said. Others condemned "inhumane" prisons, asked for help for those "who fall into the abyss of drugs or alcohol" and urged people to "embrace the vulnerability of immigrants". Good Friday is the second of four intensive days in the Christian calendar culminating in Easter Sunday. On Thursday, Francis washed the feet of a group of disabled people in a ceremony intended to imitate a gesture of humility attributed to Jesus. On Saturday, he will take part in an Easter vigil in St Peter's Basilica and on Sunday he will celebrate Easter mass in St Peter's Square followed by the traditional "Urbi et Orbi" blessing to Rome and to the world. dt/hmn