BBC News, 18
April 2014
 |
| Pope Francis had led the Way of the Cross procession and urged the crowd to "remember all the abandoned people |
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Francis
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Pope
Francis has led Easter's Way of the Cross procession in Rome, with prayers for
the poor and the abandoned.
The solemn
ceremony marks Christians' commemoration of Christ's crucifixion on Good
Friday. Tens of thousands of people lined the route near the 2,000-year-old
Colosseum.
The Pope
heard the Vatican's official preacher deliver a sermon denouncing greed and the
love of money.
The
procession is part of the Church's Easter triduum festival.
Pope
Francis urged the crowd to "remember all the abandoned people" and
spoke of the "monstrosity of man" when he lets evil guide him.
"Evil
won't have the last word, but love, mercy and pardon will" he added at the
end of the Way of the Cross.
The sermon,
by Father Raniero Cantalamessa, spoke of the injustice of human trafficking and
suffering caused by environmental damage.
"Money
is behind every evil in our society" the preacher declared.
Meditations
The
procession route included 14 stages, known as Stations of the Cross, at which
specially written meditations were recited.
One
meditation touched on the plight of child soldiers, while another recalled the
deaths of migrants trying to reach more prosperous countries.
 |
| The Way of the Cross procession took place in front of the Colosseum in Rome |
 |
| Part of the ceremony involved the Pope praying on the floor in St Peter's Basilica |
 |
| Thousands of people lined the route in central Rome holding candles |
Other
meditations criticised overcrowding in prisons and the treatment of the
elderly.
Immigrants,
prisoners, former drug addicts and elderly people were among those who helped
carry a large cross between the different stations.
Pope
Francis has made caring for the poor a central theme of his pontificate so far,
says the BBC's David Willey in Rome.
Break with
tradition
On Saturday
night, Pope Francis will celebrate an Easter vigil Mass in St Peter's Basilica.
Easter
services will then conclude on Sunday with a Mass celebrating Jesus's
resurrection.
The Pope
will deliver his twice-yearly "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the
world) message.
On
Thursday, the Pope washed the feet of 12 disabled people in Rome as part of the
Maundy Thursday service commemorating Christ's Last Supper.
He broke
with tradition by washing the feet of several women and a Muslim man in a
ceremony traditionally restricted to men only.
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