During a televised interview with Diario Libre, Nicolas de Jesus Cardinal Lopez Rodriguez expressed his conviction that the commemoration of Holy Week should be about family unity. He added that family unity also extends to people who do not practice a faith, as the holidays include all Dominicans. The Metropolitan Archbishop of Santo Domingo made his reflections during the Dialogo Libre, sponsored by Diario Libre newspaper. He said that “on days like these in Holy Week, the family is called upon to come together. To reconvene. Many people take long trips in order to be with their families.” And he stressed: “I am a country person from the Cibao, we Cibaenos with a religious base and also the non-practitioners, place a lot of value on the family unit, and at this time it is important for us to come together as a family. For me the family is the center of everything. From my own personal experience, I have the example of my parents who gave us a sense of unity. For me there is nothing to be compared with the family, and this is why I am a fervent protector of the family.”
He mentioned Catholic movements such as “I am staying here” (Yo me quedo) that support the idea that the Holy Week should not be a time for excess. “Yo me quedo (“I am staying here”) which is just that, I am not going to the beach, I am staying here. This movement has come from groups of couples that began with the priest Monsignor Masalles, and now has grown to include thousands of people,” he said. He said that excesses during these festivities are tied to the absence of awareness. “The lack of restraint is not because of religious faith, it is for personal reasons, a lack of belief and a lack of knowledge and awareness.” He recognized, nonetheless, that people put their own imprint on the way they commemorate Holy Week, and they make their cultural contributions. “In the past, on Good Friday, you could practically not speak. It was a tradition. Holy Week recalls the Passion and Death of Jesus. The Passion is related to the arrest of Jesus, who is crucified on Friday, Saturday is spent in his tomb, and He resuscitates on Sunday. It is a fundamental element of faith for a Christian,” he continued, “the important thing is to be clear that this is the most important historical event for humanity.
http://www.diariolibre.com/destacada/2015/03/30/i1076971_semana-santa-debe-servir-para-reunir-familia-pasarlo-con-seriedad-austeridad.html