““The Way of the Cross in Africa””

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• The Way of the Cross is not solely The Way of the Cross is not solely the remembrance of the Passion the remembrance of the Passion of Christ. Each of his steps, of Christ. Each of his steps, gestures, tears, falls points to the gestures, tears, falls points to the passion of humanity, the passion passion of humanity, the passion of the poor:of the poor:

• ““We saw him as despicable and We saw him as despicable and the remains of men and yet, he the remains of men and yet, he was bearing our suffering and was bearing our suffering and enduring our pain!enduring our pain!””

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Jesus is condemned to deathJesus is condemned to deathI

Like Jesus, many men and women in the Third World are condemned to an early death: violence, famine, illnesses, and poverty often lead to death.

Jesus bears the crossJesus bears the crossII

Condemned to death. Each of them carries his/her cross and starts on a journey strewn with crosses: loneliness, dangers, falls, exploitation, death, rejection…

III Jesus’ first fall

First hurdle: the desert.

Sun, sand, lack of water and food… many fall, some meet a Cyrenean and are aided by their partners or the Tuareg; others, innumerable, are abandoned and their first fall will also be their last.

Jesus meets his MotherJesus meets his MotherIV

So many afflicted mothers dream with coming across their emigrant sons…

Such distress expecting a sign of life, a telephone call…

Such pain for their incapacity to meet their needs: a dignified life, in poverty, but in dignity…

Simon of Cyrene helps JesusSimon of Cyrene helps JesusV

An outstretched hand along the road, a lorry that will carry your belongings, a policeman who ‘turns a blind eye’ when he asks to see your papers, a small fishing boat that rescues shipwrecked people, an association that welcomes you, a welcoming church community …

Veronica wipes Jesus’ faceVeronica wipes Jesus’ faceVI

The wind in the desert soon erases the footprints of the ‘crucified’… the sea reflects, for a split second, the terrified expression of those who fall into its waters…

… but the human heart can perceive the beauty of the oppressed children of God and treasure their memory forever.

Jesus’ second fallJesus’ second fallVII

Second hurdle: the sea.

Those who overcome the first fall in the desert must cope with an unknown sea. Some fall once more … and for many of them, 20,000 according to statistics, this second fall will be their final one.

Jesus comforts the women Jesus comforts the women from Jerusalemfrom Jerusalem

VIII

If we are unable to welcome, with Jesus, the youngsters who come from other worlds, thus comforting their mothers… we had better burst into tears for ourselves and our children!

Jesus falls for the third timeIX

Desert, sea, fences, frontiers… Once again, people who fall along the road, they fall and will never rise again.

John, Helen’s husband -an African girl who arrived when pregnant and now lives among us with her daughter- fell from the heights of the fence at Melilla and was carried, hands tied, to the frontier between Morocco and Argelia. We have not heard from him ever since …

Jesus is stripped of his garmentsJesus is stripped of his garmentsX

Stripped a thousand times along the road. In each frontier, in every crossroads, they are robbed of their clothes and their belongings to be divided among the robbers. Little matter whether it is bandits, government agents, policemen or soldiers…

And women are also divested of their intimacy and their dignity… it is the price of Calvary leading to the Resurrection…

Jesus is nailed to the crossJesus is nailed to the crossXI

Many Africans live on the edge, they have no drinking water, cannot afford to buy medication, they are nailed to a cross, forever dying throughout their life…

even immigrants that have arrived in Europe are nailed on account of their lack of a job, a home and papers.

Jesus dies on the crossJesus dies on the crossXII

The death of Jesus is the death of the innocent. His crucified image spurs us to prevent the death of yet more innocent persons with impunity

Jesus is brought downJesus is brought downfrom the crossfrom the cross

XIII

Even the depths of the sea are revolted by so many deaths and regularly bring up the corpse of an emigrant…

Tourists, paramedics, police, we all keep quiet, hiding our shame and our indignation under a veil of silence…

XIV Jesus is buriedOpen boat 15-01-2003

Immigrant Nº 8

Unknown

• The Son’s Cross excludes no one, all the innocent are crucified with him, regardless of their beliefs or religion…

• The Spirit of God gives back their ‘image and likeness’ to the wrecked bodies…

• The Father’s bosom becomes an anonymous tomb where He welcomes his children, disinherited by the wealthy and the powerful…

Jesus rises from the deadJesus rises from the deadXV

The passion and death of Jesus were not destined to end in the tomb, but in the resurrection. Life overcomes death, love overcomes hatred.The resurrection of Christ is our resurrection. The only possible goal of the passion and death of so many immigrant men and women, a true way of the cross from an undignified to a more humane life, is to attain ‘likeness’ with the Creator.