During the celebrations of the Holy Friday services throughout the network of Catholic churches in the Dominican Republic, special attention is always given to the famous “Seven Words”, an allusion to the words spoken by Jesus Christ on the cross. Traditionally, the messages are focused on the spiritual needs of the community, however, this year the priests used the presence of the coronavirus pandemic to stress just how “precarious” life is for many of the people living here.
Vicar Abraham Apolinario established the tenor of the homily: the pandemic of the coronavirus has “taken the sheet off the sick.” he said, in reference to the obviously deficient public health system in the Dominican Republic. He went on to talk about the lack of primary care. He said this in reference to the third of the seven words spoken by Christ: “Mother, there is your son; son, there is your mother.”
The Vicar of the Archdiocese of Santo Domingo called for priority for the weak and poor. But he did not stop there. In the sermon, he called attention to the politicians who exhibit an inordinate amount of recently acquired wealth. He noted any improper accumulation of wealth is immoral since it is an open contradiction of the Lord’s use of worldly goods. Fray José Hernando told the television and virtual audience that “we are living like true pagans.” And he went on to declare that corruption and political patronage are part of an old tradition, a chronic malady (….) a disease that renews itself every day and especially at moments of national emergencies.”
Read more in Spanish:
Diario Libre
Diario Libre
13 April 2020