This year, the Holy Week also includes the second anniversary of the April 2, 2005, death of Pope John Paul II. Last Monday, the Catholic Church closed one phase of its investigation into Pope John Paul’s saintliness as it keeps up the momentum to have the beloved pope beatified.
Pope Benedict continued the tradition started by Pope John Paul and dedicated Palm Sunday to the young, who were out in force in St. Peter’s Square in
He told them that to follow God they should have “innocent hands and pure hearts.”
“Innocent hands are hands that are not used for acts of violence,” he told them. “They are hands that are not sullied by corruption and bribes.”
Hearts are pure when they are not “stained by lies and hypocrisy,” he said. “A heart is pure when it is estranged from the intoxication of pleasure; a heart for whom love is true and not just the passion of a moment,” he said.
Pope Benedict had an unusually busy schedule this week. In addition to the traditional Holy Week ceremonies, he presided over a Mass on Monday afternoon in honour of Pope John Paul to mark the second anniversary of the pontiff’s death.