Paolo Cugini
Thus you make the word of God of no effect by your
tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do (Mk 7:13).
It is one of the most striking
verses in the Gospel for its clarity and lucidity. It is a verse that contains
a very important revelation, because it shows what has happened over time: the
replacement of the Word of God with human traditions. This is the drama.
Without a doubt, those who lived in search of an authentic meaning to life
could not help but realize that something was wrong with Israel's religious
system. The relationship with God, instead of being free and lived in an
atmosphere of freedom, was conditioned by money and an unbearable network of
precepts. How can one exploit the dimension of life, which has to do with
personal and communal sensitivity, as well as the delicate thread that binds us
to the Mystery? Yet, what was impossible even to imagine happened. This was
Jesus' great discovery, which, once publicly manifested, caused his death. It
is a great temptation for all those in religious power: to manipulate the
sacred, by manipulating consciences. After all, it's easy to manipulate a conscience
when it's in a delicate moment of life and, therefore, turns to God and his
mediators. One must be truly rotten not to respect the soul of a desperate
person, or one experiencing great anguish. One must have one's conscience
completely shrouded in evil, to act like jackals, ready to pounce on those who
are clearly in a state of weakness, incapable of defending themselves and,
therefore, easily preyed upon by unscrupulous people. That all this can happen
in a religious context is utterly despicable, because personal conscience is at
stake. Exploiting a person who comes asking for help, who feels the full weight
of their own fragility and therefore pleads for mercy, and instead receives
orders, rules, and the imposition of money, is truly unforgivable. This is why
Jesus uses harsh words, leaving no room for misunderstanding. Jesus knows full
well the price he will have to pay for these accusations, but he also knows
that his example will serve to free religion from those who defraud the sacred.
Unfortunately, as we know,
history has repeated itself, even in more serious forms than those identified
by Jesus. There is no end to human misery. The religious sphere, precisely
because it deals with the Mystery of God, lends itself, for those who reach the
highest echelons of religious power and are people without any sense of shame,
to the greatest forms of exploitation of consciences. This is the paradox: the
most sacred space of the human person, namely, its religious dimension,
becomes, at the same time, the most vulnerable place for every form of
manipulation. How many psychological, sexual, and power abuses have occurred
and continue to occur in the sacred spaces of our churches? How many exploited,
massacred, and humiliated people, who, after opening their souls to the
unscrupulous mediator of the sacred on duty, have felt abused? In these
situations, it seems there is no remedy for evil. Instead, the hope that dwells
in our Gospel-filled hearts shows us the great love manifested in the cross of
Jesus, a love that conquered hatred. A hope that transcends
all negative sensory perceptions.
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