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Nuncio in Zimbabwe on Pope Francis’ Main Engagements amid COVID-19 Pandemic

Archbishop Paolo Rudelli with Pope Francis in Rome.

The representative of the Holy Father in Zimbabwe has highlighted prayer, charity, and call for a just world order as the three main engagements “at the center of Pope Francis’ heart” during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In an interview published Tuesday, September 1, the Apostolic Nuncio in the Southern African nation, Archbishop Paolo Rudelli observes, “In this time of trial and suffering, the Pope has been leading the world in prayer.”

“We all remember Pope Francis standing alone in St. Peter’s Square on the evening of March 27. The Pope was alone, but the entire world was there,” Archbishop Rudelli says and adds in reference to the Holy Father, “He echoed the cry of the Apostles in the boat: “Lord we are perishing”.”

The Apostolic Nuncio further recalls, “We can also remember the Pope celebrating the Eastern liturgies in an almost empty St. Peter’s Basilica.”

The Harare-based diplomat also recalls the Holy Father turning to prayer during the interreligious Day of Prayer for Humanity, marked May 14, when he “invited people of all creeds to have a day of prayer, fasting and works of charity, to beseech God the Almighty to safeguard the entire world and to help us to foster human fraternity.”

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“Together with prayer, there is the “quiet service” as the Holy Father called it, the necessity to strengthen solidarity,” Archbishop Rudelli says in the interview published September 1 and adds, “We have to recognize that this time of suffering has also been, all over the world, a time of incredible acts of generosity and self-denial.”

Acts of generosity and self-denial, the Italian-born diplomat says, are evident in the works of frontline healthcare workers such as doctors and nurses, as well as “the people that allowed our societies to continue to work in this extremely dire situation: shops, the transport system and social services.”

Another engagement at the heart of the Holy Father amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the 50-year-old Prelate says, is charity, an area, he says, Pope Francis “leads by example.”

“He promoted an extraordinary effort in order to give to all Churches, particularly in poorer countries, a sign of his presence and charity,” he says and adds, “These contributions, although modest compared to the necessities of the different countries, represent a huge sum if we put them together.”

The Papal Representative goes on to highlight the Holy Father’s various donations to the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference (ZCBC) including the April donation of medical essentials for mission hospitals in the country courtesy of the Vatican emergency COVID-19 fund.

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During the interview, the Apostolic Nuncio who has served in his current position since January 25, disclosed, “The Papal Foundation in Rome, funded by Catholics in the United States, is considering a couple of COVID-19 related projects for our country (Zimbabwe).” 

Referencing the charitable acts of the Holy Father, he said, “More than its economic value, it is important to underline that all this is a living sign of the universality of the Catholic Church. This donation has been, in fact, possible, because many Catholics in the world supported the Pope’s charity.”

“It is worth noting that people that have been severely affected by the pandemic, like in the case of European countries, have been so generous in supporting the needs of brothers and sisters in other nations,” the representative of the Holy Father in Zimbabwe added.

Along with prayer and charity, a third element that has marked the activities of Pope Francis in this time of pandemic, according to Archbishop Rudelli, is “his call to action for building a more just world.”

“The pandemic, said Pope Francis, has revealed that our world is sick because of another virus that is the virus of selfishness,” the Archbishop notes and explains, “The present economic system continues to increase inequalities at world level, raise poverty and destroy our common home, the earth.”

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According to the Prelate, “If we really want to overcome the Covid-19 pandemic, we also have to reflect on which kind of economic order we want to build."

Towards this end, Archbishop Rudelli noted, the Holy Father created a Vatican commission in order to reflect and give concrete inputs on these topics, besides asking Vatican diplomats “to advocate, in the international community and at the UN level, for a number of concrete goals, in order to alleviate the consequences of the pandemic.” 

The concrete goals being advocated for, according to the Apostolic Nuncio, include full accessibility of vaccines; restructuring, or even forgiveness of debt for poor countries; access to humanitarian and health assistance for those most in need including migrants and the opportunity to reconsider economic and trade block or sanctions. 

“Pope Francis has also endorsed the UN Secretary General’s call for a world ceasefire during this difficult period,” Archbishop Rudelli recalls.