Attractive and cozy

adminonDecember 27, 2021January 27, 2022Leave a Comment

"Exile of Avignon," as church historians call those 70 years or so during which the popes resided not in Rome but in the Rhone town in southeastern France. The arrival of Clement V. 700 years ago, on 9. March 1309, is a reason here to celebrate a bit – even if not too big.

When you ask the Provencal people about the "exile" or the "Babylonian captivity" of the popes, the answer is always the same: "Exile – what do you mean??", they say then, reflexively and disparagingly. After all, people literally live here like God in France. In the 90.000-inhabitant town of Avignon is enough for itself. A glass of pastis, a good meal – what to get upset about? After all, even the Vatican made an appearance on the weekend. Benedict XVI. sends its French Curia Cardinal Paul Poupard. The former president of the Pontifical Council for Culture can experience a colorful program on the forecourt of the Papal Palace. Huge, that is the impression of the visitor when he stands in front of the stone mountains. "Huge" should also be the medieval stew, which the organizers announce for Saturday at noon. Free stew and free entrance to the palace with its slender 15.000 square meters of usable space; in addition, medieval spectacles for all. Then, on Sunday morning, a festive service in the cathedral where Popes John XXII. and Benedict XII. are buried. In the afternoon, a temporary post office is set up in the palace, which ies a special stamp. All in all, a rather modest appearance, considering how radically the arrival of the Curia since 1309 has changed the destiny and the character of the city. About 90.000 people live today around the famous Rhone Bridge in Avignon. Just 6.000 were there when Clement V. 1309 brought the papacy to France. An ideal location for a secure residence: owned by the Counts of Provence, who were vassals of the Roman Church. In the kingdom of Arelat and thus on imperial territory, but on the border river to France, the Rhone. Surrounded, finally, by the county of Venaissin, already under papal rule since1229/1274. Clemens V. makes his first stop in 1309 at the Dominican monastery in Avignon – but in view of his failing health, the hot, overcrowded town does not seem to him to be the right place for a permanent stay. At first he stayed mainly in nearby Carpentras, later in a small palace at the foot of Mont Ventoux. First John XXII., Bishop of Avignon just a few years earlier, he took up residence as pope (1316-1334) in his old bishop’s house. From then on, the city is the permanent residence of the popes until 1367 and again briefly as of 1370. This is accompanied by a massive expansion of the administration. 600 curials and about 1.000 more people of the court had to be accommodated. Houses are rented, many also confiscated. Emergency shelters are replaced by ever more splendid new buildings. Buildings with magnificent oak ceilings, which today house the city’s public library, for example. Courtiers, merchants and banks, art and culture follow the power: Avignon takes a meteoric rise. All the deeper the fall: after the return of the popes to Rome the small town sinks back to the province. For more than three and a half centuries, from1433 until the French Revolution, papal legates resided in the decaying palace. A prison since the Revolution and an army barracks until 1906, the stone colos suffered countless alterations and damages that were not repaired until the 20th century. Century to be gradually eliminated.. With around 650.000 admissions annually, the palace is now one of the top ten most visited tourist attractions in France. In addition there will be about 570.000 visitors to the international theater festival, which has been held in the courtyard since 1947. Stars like Jeanne Moreau and Philippe Noiret started their careers here. Attractive, cozy, a bit sleepy, that’s how Avignon presents itself this spring 2009. The European Capital of Culture 2000, the city of theater, is once again Pope – a little bit at least.

On 19. In September of this year, the earth in Mexico shook more strongly than it had in a long time. Three months later, the people are still suffering from the consequences and the church has also been badly hit.

Red barrier tapes with the inscription "Peligro" – "Danger" are stretched across the chancel. In its center, the pews are provisionally stacked on top of each other and covered with a dusty plastic tarp. Time and again, parts of the interior facade fall to the ground with a crash. Father Gonzalo Iturarte leads a tour of the cathedral in San Cristobal de las Casas, a city in southern Mexico. He points upwards to where the organ loft used to be: "There was an old wooden organ there. It may have been out of use, but it was out of the 16. Century." The historic instrument was completely buried under the rubble. Above, in the roof truss, a meter-sized hole gapes, wooden beams protrude like broken matches.

The massive building from the colonial era was severely damaged by the earthquake three months ago. Numerous columns and round arches now have to be shored up because they are in danger of collapsing. The bell tower and the archive with numerous historical documents also had to be closed off. It was a drama for the diocese, the padre said, "but thank God that not so many people died in the earthquake. In other states, it was much worse."

Donations are not forthcoming

But for churches, it’s a problem that so many buildings now remain closed: Services have to be held outdoors or have been moved to other churches, chapels and community spaces. "Here the church services are always full, we have to organize that differently now," says Iturarte. This also applies to many educational or social projects, for which there is now a lack of space. "And, of course, our income is decreasing dramatically, because now the collection stops and we don’t get any more money, for example, for baptisms or weddings." Unlike in Germany, there is no church tax in Mexico. The church lives on donations alone, and those have already dropped by 40 percent since the quake, the padre says.

Like the congregation in San Cristobal de las Casas, this is the situation for many in the country. The earth shook several times in Mexico this fall, with the most devastating consequences coming from the quake on the 19th. September 2017 near the capital. More than 360 people lost their lives, numerous buildings collapsed or were severely damaged. Among them also over 1.600 cathedrals, monasteries, chapels, seminaries, parish halls and educational institutions – this is what recent surveys by the Mexican Episcopal Conference (CEM) have shown.

World cultural heritage destroyed

The damage is incalculable, according to the Secretary General of the Mexican Bishops’ Conference, Monsignor Alfonso Miranda Guardiola: In Mexico City and in Puebla, several monasteries and temples were destroyed that are on the Unesco World Heritage List. Historic monasteries from the 16th century. Century for example and centuries old archives. "It’s really a big blow to us," he says "and we’re going to be busy rebuilding for a long time to come."

The National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) is responsible for this, because church buildings in Mexico are state property. But hardly anyone expects that to happen quickly at the moment. Initial criticism that aid for earthquake victims is too cumbersome and inefficient. The southern states in particular are in danger of being forgotten, says Padre Rogelio Narvaez MartInez, head of Social Pastoral – Caritas in Mexico: "People in the states of Oaxaca and Chiapas have lost their livelihoods: mills have been destroyed, fishing boats, stoves, water reservoirs, everything people need for daily life." Oaxaca and Chiapas are among Mexico’s poorest states, which is why the quake’s impact there was so great. "We as Caritas now want to put these people back to work," he promises.

Great solidarity

After the quake, international support was strong: the Mexican church received help, for example, from the Spanish and Polish bishops’ conferences, but also from U.S. dioceses, the pope and the German Latin American relief organization Adveniat, which provided 20.000 euros in emergency aid.

In Mexico, too, solidarity was great: Tens of thousands of people helped in the days and weeks after the quake, clearing away rubble, offering their homes as emergency shelters, and organizing uncomplicated and rapid help via social networks wherever it was needed. That also makes Monsignor Alfonso Miranda of the bishops’ conference proud: "The cohesion in the face of this tragedy was really impressive," he says, adding, "But we Mexicans must continue to stick together and make an effort. Still a long time."

The pope officially opened the "Amoris laetitia Family Year" on Friday. With a video message, Francis highlighted the importance of his letter on marriage and family published five years ago.

He invited all believers to read the document again and reflect on it.

Compassion needed

"Amoris laetitia" conveys that in view of profound changes "a new look" of the Catholic Church on the family is necessary. It is not enough to reaffirm the importance of the traditional doctrine. At the same time, compassion is needed to care for fragility and wounds.

The "dictatorship of feelings, the glorification of the provisional" makes family ties unstable nowadays, Pope says. The task of the Church is to free human relationships from the "slavery" that often distorts them.

"Immerse yourself in real life"

To do this, one must "immerse oneself in real life" in order to understand the hardships of husbands and parents, the 84-year-old stressed. "We are called to accompany the journey of families, to listen, to bless."A doctrine from above without the "flesh" of everyday life, on the other hand, runs the risk of remaining a beautiful theory.

The "Amoris laetitia year" is being organized under the leadership of the Vatican’s family dicastery. A whole series of events and projects is planned. They should give new impetus to the implementation of the Apostolic Exhortation. The campaign will end at the World Meeting of Families with the Pope in Rome in June 2022.

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