Pope John Paul II collapses after being shot on May 13, 1981, in St. Peter’s Square. / Audycje Radiowe/YouTube.
CNA Staff, May 13, 2021 / 03:05 am (CNA).
A cardinal has recalled the moment that St. John Paul II was shot in St. Peter’s Square 40 years on from the attempted assassination.
The Polish pope collapsed into the arms of the then Msgr. Stanisław Dziwisz when he was struck by four bullets on May 13, 1981.
“Holding the slumping and heavily bleeding Holy Father, I was in shock; but I knew we had to act to save his life,” recalled Cardinal Dziwisz on the 40th anniversary of the incident.
“St. John Paul II, despite the pain, remained calm, entrusted himself to God and Mary, and already on the way to the hospital, losing consciousness, said to me that he forgives the assassin.”
The pope was standing in a Jeep greeting a crowd of around 10,000 people when would-be assassin Mehmet Ali Ağca shot him at close range using a 9mm Browning Hi-Power semi-automatic pistol.
Bleeding profusely, John Paul II was rushed to hospital with two bullets lodged in his lower intestine. The other two bullets struck his left index finger and right arm.
Dziwisz, the pope’s longtime personal secretary, said he believed that John Paul II was targeted because of his outspoken defense of human rights.
“The assassination attempt against John Paul II was the consequence of his steadfast demand for the respect of human rights, especially in the context of enslavement by totalitarianism,” he said.
“At that time, such a pope was inconvenient for many.”
Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz, pictured in Kraków, Poland, March 4, 2016. / Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk.
John Paul II, born Karol Wojtyła, survived the Nazi occupation of Poland and helped to lead the Church’s resistance to the oppressive communist regime that followed.
“He himself came from Poland, a country that experienced the atrocities of Nazism and communism in the 20th century. He understood perfectly well the harm caused by the totalitarian violence used by authorities against individual citizens and whole societies,” the 82-year-old cardinal said.
“This is why he was steadfast in demanding that the rights and dignity of every human being be respected. He paid a high price for it, but the assassination attempt did not interrupt his mission.”
The assassination attempt took place on May 13, the feast day of Our Lady of Fatima and the anniversary of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s first appearance to the three shepherd children at Cova da Iria in Portugal in 1917.
A plaque marks the spot in St. Peter’s Square where St. John Paul II was shot on May 13, 1981. / Daniel Ibáñez/CNA.
John Paul II credited Our Lady of Fatima with saving his life, saying that “one hand pulled the trigger, another guided the bullet.”
On the first anniversary of the assassination attempt, John Paul II made a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima to thank Mary for saving his life.
The day before, May 12, 1982, Spanish priest Juan María Fernández y Krohn stabbed John Paul II with a bayonet at Fatima before being detained by security.
Dziwisz noted that after John Paul II recovered from the 1981 attempt on his life, he continued to pursue his mission with courage, traveling all over the world and meeting countless people.
The pope publicly forgave Ağca days after the shooting. In 1983, he visited the Turkish gunman at Rome’s Rebibbia Prison.
“He repeatedly said that his life was saved thanks to Mary. He visited the assassin in prison and spoke with him for a while,” Dziwisz reflected.
“The pope’s enemies did not succeed in stopping him with violence; he had a mission entrusted by God, which he continued to the end.”
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CNA Staff, Feb 13, 2021 / 08:00 am (CNA).- If you’ve experienced ups and downs during the pandemic, you are not alone. So has Archbishop John Wilson, leader of the sprawling English archdiocese of Southwark.
A view of the separation wall between Israel and the Palestinian Territories from behind a window in the Comboni Sisters’ house in East Jerusalem. / Credit: Marinella Bandini
Jerusalem, Feb 17, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).
The Comboni Sisters have been living on the border of East Jerusalem since 1967. Running along the border of their property is a wall, constructed by the Israelis in 2009, dividing the village of Bethany/al-Eizariya — renowned as the site of the resurrection of Lazarus. The sisters’ residence remains on the Israeli side, while the church and the tomb of Lazarus are on the Palestinian side, on the other side of the wall.
“For us, the passage from Scripture that says ‘in Christ the wall of separation between peoples has been broken down’ is very powerful [Eph 2:14], especially when there is a physical wall in front of us that clearly indicates this separation,” Sister Anna Maria Sgaramella, provincial councilor and coordinator of the Middle East Zone for the Comboni Sisters, told CNA.
Sister Anna Maria Sgaramella, provincial council and coordinator of the Middle East Zone for the Comboni Sisters. Credit: Marinella Bandini
Sgaramella arrived in Jerusalem for the first time on Sept. 26, 2000. The very next day, the second intifada — a major uprising by Palestinians against Israeli occupation — erupted. She witnessed the siege of the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem, where she taught theology.
Later, she was transferred to Egypt, where in 2011, she witnessed the uprising known as the “Arab Spring.”
Since 2013, Sgaramella has permanently returned to Jerusalem and now faces another long and bloody conflict. “I have always been struck by the deep sense of hope and determination to move forward among the Palestinian people. With this war, I see it weaker; people are more exhausted,” she said.
A view of the separation wall between Israel and the Palestinian Territories from the terrace of the Comboni Sisters’ house in East Jerusalem. The wall, constructed by the Israelis in 2009, runs along the border of their property, dividing the village of Bethany/al-Eizariya in two, believed to be the site of the miracle of the raising of Lazarus. The sisters’ residence remains on the Israeli side, while the church and the tomb of Lazarus are on the other side of the wall. Credit: Marinella Bandini
There are currently six Comboni Sisters in Jerusalem and each is involved in a specific ministry. They usually come together for morning Mass and evening vespers as well as for meetings and reflection. Their community house is open to religious individuals seeking periods of study or discernment and serves as a center of spirituality for both the congregation and the local Church. The sisters host educational workshops and spiritual exercises as well as welcome pilgrims.
The Comboni Sisters in Jerusalem in a recent photo at the Jordan River. The Comboni Sisters’ community in Jerusalem currently consists of six sisters and each is involved in a specific ministry. Credit: Photo courtesy of Sister Anna Maria Sgaramella
Sgaramella shared with CNA what it’s like to live on the border.
“With the construction of the wall, we found ourselves in the middle, between Palestinians and Israelis,” she explained. “The Palestinians attempt to bypass the wall — especially to pray at the Dome of the Rock — while the Israelis try to repel them in an endless game.”
“Being in the middle is a physical position that has also become a spiritual one,” Sgaramella continued. “We had to reflect and decided to ‘stay in the middle,’ between these two peoples, to serve as a bridge between them. By placing ourselves in the middle, we listen to the injustice faced by the Palestinians and also to the fears of Israeli families.”
For this reason, the religious community has chosen to maintain a small presence in the Palestinian area. Two sisters reside in an apartment beyond the wall, about 100 feet from the Comboni Sisters’ residence.
The exterior of the Comboni Sisters’ house in East Jerusalem where the Comboni Sisters have been living since 1967. Credit: Marinella Bandini
“We desired to stay and share the lives of those people and accompany the small remaining Christian community there. Every time they need to reach the community, they have to travel 18 kilometers [about 11 miles] passing through the Israeli checkpoint,” Sgaramella explained.
The sisters do not do this simply in the spirit of altruism, explained Sgaramella, who is also involved in ecumenical and interreligious dialogue. “We understood from the beginning that being in the middle comes at a cost. It often means getting hit from both sides. On one hand, there are stones and Molotov cocktails from the Palestinians that land on our property; on the other hand, we are under the smoke of tear gas launched in response by the Israelis,” she said.
One incident happened the night of Oct. 6, just hours before the Hamas attack on Israel. Some Molotov cocktails landed on the synthetic grass in the part of the property that houses the kindergarten, causing a fire — the signs of which are still visible today. The fire destroyed the grass, playground equipment, and blackened the recently painted wall.
The exterior of the kindergarten, housed on the Comboni Sisters’ property. In the background is the separation wall that was erected on the edge of the Comboni Sisters’ property in 2009.
The kindergarten is a work that the Comboni Sisters have been carrying out since their arrival and today it serves as an important point of connection with the surrounding community. This significance has grown, especially after the construction of the wall.
“The presence of the kindergarten has never been questioned, neither with the wall nor with the war,” said Sgaramella, who is the director. The kindergarten is attended by approximately 40 children, all of whom are Muslims, divided into two classes. Formally, it is under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Ministry of Education. “It is a project that meets the needs of the people; furthermore, episodes of violence never occur during the day when the children are present,” she added.
Sister Anna Maria Sgaramella of the Comboni Sisters talks with the children in one of the kindergarten classes hosted at their home in East Jerusalem. The presence of the kindergarten has never been questioned, said Sgaramella, the director. Credit: Marinella Bandini
Every morning, the children begin with a prayer. “We tell the parents right from the start,” Sgaramella explained. “It’s a prayer of thanksgiving for what God has created, for the day, for life, a blessing for parents, neighbors, friends, and also for children who suffer. We pray for peace in the world and in this country.”
Regarding the families, she shared: “There is great trust and respect. They usually choose to send their children here, especially for moral education and English-language instruction.”
Most of the children come from East Jerusalem, but some also come from al-Eizariya. One of the two teachers, Nihal Hashmime, who is also the vice director, has to pass through the checkpoint every day to get to work.
“With the war,” the sister told CNA, “we faced some educational challenges because initially, some children were absent. The work we do with them is to impart certain values, such as peace, friendship, love, and respect for differences.”
Play is also an important aspect. “Children here do not find toy weapons, and they are not allowed to bring them from home,” Sgaramella said.
“Our attempt in education and all other activities is to break down this wall that leads to seeing the other as an enemy,” Sgaramella said. “Sometimes it is difficult to recognize the universality of salvation. We know that Jesus died for everyone, but in certain conflict-ridden contexts, it is challenging to acknowledge the other as a brother. Personally, the field of teaching theology provides me with the space to build bridges among believers. Because in every religion, there are sincere believers seeking truth.”
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