I think of Hagia Sophia and I am very saddened.
The pope could not contain himself. After the Angelus, visibly upset, he expressed his current state after the controversial decision by the Turkish president to turn Hagia Sophia into a mosque.
Minutes earlier, he had reflected on Sunday's Gospel on the parable of the sower. The pope said for God's seed to bear fruit in the soul, one must first learn to listen to Him.
POPE FRANCIS
We are often distracted by too many interests, too many claims. It is difficult to distinguish, among so many voices and so many words, that of the Lord, the only One who liberates us. That is why it is important to get used to listening to the Word of God, to reading it.
The pope repeated the advice he had already offered on other occasions: that Christians carry a Bible in their pocket or on their cell phones to read throughout the day and thus, little by little, give space for God in daily life.
Javier Romero
Translation: Melissa Butz
