Hekk kif instemghet l-ahbar li l-Papa Benedittu XVI kien se jaghmel zjara f’Malta, id-domanda li qamet fost il-prigunieri mill-ewwel kienet: ‘tghid din id-darba se ssehh il-holma taghna?  Il-Papa se jkollu cans biex jigi jzurna bhalma ghamlu Papiet ohra, bhal Papa Gwanni XXIII ‘il fuq minn 50 sena ilu fil-habs Regina Coeli ta’ Ruma?’.  Nistqarr li mhux biss fil-prigunieri imma fija wkoll qamet xewqa u aspettativa kbira biex nara kemm hu possibbli li l-Papa jaghmel zjara fil-Facilita’ Korrettiva ta’ Kordin.  Imma din l-aspettativa mill-ewwel dehret impossibbli minhabba li l-programm taz-zjara tal-Papa kien mifrux biss fuq 26 siegha u kien mimli daqs bajda.  Minkejja dan  il-prigunieri ma riedux jitilfu l-okkazjoni biex isemmghu lehinhom u juru lill-Papa li huma wkoll, bhal maggoranza tal-Maltin, japprezzaw din iz-zjara li l-Papa kien se jaghmel f’pajjizna.  Ghalhekk nibtet l-ideja li tinkiteb ittra minnhom stess u tintbaghat lill-Papa permezz ta’ Fr.Savio Vella SDB li kien il-mohh principali wara l-laqgha li l-Papa kellu maz-zghazagh fil-Valletta Waterfront. L-ittra nkitbet minn prigunieri li jinsabu fis-sezzjoni tal-YOURS, cioe’ is-sezzjoni taz-zghazagh. L-ittra tghid hekk:

Your Holiness,

Welcome to our Island, on behalf of all inmates at Corradino Correctional Facility.  May your visit to Malta, for which we would like to express our gratitude, renew and strengthen our island’s Christian Faith, brought to us by St.Paul our patron saint.

People sometimes think that, because God is God, he cannot understand huma faults and weakness.  That is exactly why he sent us his son Jesus Christ.  By becoming man he became one with our weakness, he shared our experiences and he felt everything we will ever feel, even though he was without sin.  These distortions form the prison that houses the real self. Satan has always tried to make us believe his lies, in order to make us stray from the path of righteousness, through these distortions.  We need to challenge these lies, and see where they come from, rebuking them in the name of Jesus almighty.

All of these distortions where learned in the context of relationships and it is in this context that they need to be healed.  We internalize how we are treated, and we must free ourselves from our old ways of relating and open ourselves up to God’s way.  Again, as in the other stages, this is not done without risk and pain.  However real healing and spiritual power can be found through the sacrament of confession and safe relationships where the darkness can be made light and we can find forgiveness and acceptance for our misgivings.

May we learn from our mistakes but no longer carry the burden of our sins.  May we look to the future with hope rather then despair and may we fully appreciate the now, the present moment.  May we remember that time is a gift and that is why it is called the ‘present’.  Help us to be of service to others providing inner freedom even within the walls of prison.

Your Holiness pray for us and for our families who worry about us, suffer with us and support us through these hard times.  Pray for the guards and management who care for us.  We should especially like to pray for those people we might have hut.  May they have the strength to forgive us and learn to trust again.  Finally pray for our multi ethnic prison.  May we learn to live as one family treating one another with love and respect as ou Heavenly Father intended.

Our sincerest gratitude

The residents at the Young Offenders Unit of Rehabilitation Service (YOURS).

Din l-ittra inghatat lil Fr.Savio li minn naha tieghu ra li tasal f’idejn il-Papa.  Waslu l-jiem tas-17 u t-18 t’April u l-Papa gie zejjen din il-gzira taghna bil-prezenza tieghu.  Fil-laqgha maz-zghazagh tal-Hadd 18 t’April filghaxija kien hemm prezenti xi whud mill-inmates tal-YOURS TAL-Facilita’ Korrettiva u wkoll prigunieri li qeghdin jaghmlu l-programm ta’ rijabilitazzjoni mid-droga gewwa s-SATU (Substance abuse therapeutic Unit) li hija extention tal-habs.  Sahansitra, wiehed miz-zghazagh tal-YOURS tela’ quddiem il-Papa biex jindirizzah f’isem dawk li jhossuhom fil-periferija tal-Knisja, omosesswali, dawk bil-vizzju tad-droga u ohrajn.  Hu stess esprima kemm halliet marka profonda fil-qalb tieghu il-harsa tal-Papa u wisq izjed it-tghannieqa sinciera li tah wara li temm id-diskors tieghu.

Iz-zjara ghaddiet u xi jumejn wara, l-Arcisqof taghna l-E.T.Pawlu Cremona O.P sejjahli fir-residenza privata tieghu gewwa H’Attard fejn b’sorpriza kbira ghalija, tani ittra li l-Papa kien kiteb personalment bhala risposta ghall-ittra li l-prigunieri kienu kitbulu.  L-ittra hi ffirmata direttament mill-Papa u tghid hekk:

Dear Friends,

I have received the message that you sent me and I would like to convey to you my deep appreciation for the sentiments that you expressed and for the support of your prayers.

During this visit to the Maltese Islands, I come as a Pastor to greet all the people in the name of the Lord.  Be assured that I shall be especially minful of those who suffer in any way – the sick, the elderly, the housebound, and those like yourselves who are in prison.  I pray that you will draw comfort from the knowledge that you share in the condition of Saint Paul himself, who. Although a prisoner, had the inner freedeom to ‘rejoice in the Lord’ (Phil 4:10), knowing that ‘neithier, nor life, nor angels, nor principalitiesm nor things to present, nor things to come. Nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 8:38-39).

With these sentiments, I assure you of my spiritual closeness.  Invoking upon you and your loved ones the intercession of Saint Paul, Apostle of Malta, I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of strength and peace in the Lord.

From the Vatican, 13 April 2010

Benedictus PP XVI.

Din l-ittra tatni ferh kbir minhabba l-fatt li jiena hassejt li l-Knisja, fil-persuna tal-Papa, hija vicin dawk li qed ibatu. Harget l-ideja li jkun in-Nunzju Apostoliku stess li f’isem il-Papa jigi biex jipprezenta l-ittra lill-prigunieri f’celebrazzjoni apposta.  Fil-fatt in-Nunzju laqgha bil-ferh din l-istedina u s-Sibt 12 ta’ Gunju gie biex jiccelebra quddiesa fil-kappella principali tal-Facilita’ Korrettiva ta’ Kordin fejn ingabru ghadd sabih ta’ prigunieri u ufficcjali flimkien mal-Agent Direttur Abraham Zammit f’ambjent verament ferrieh u ta’ akkoljenti.

Mal-wasla tieghu, in-Nunzju gie milquh mill-ufficcjali li sellmulu permezz ta’ parata, imbaghad kellu laqgha ma l-Agent Direttur fl-ufficcju tieghu u wara ccelebra l-quddiesa fil-kappella principal ital-Facilita’.  Waqt il-quddiesa sar qsim ta’ esperjenzi minn prigunieri li kienu prezenti ghal-laqgha tal-Papa maz-zghazagh, talb b’diversi lingwi minn prigunieri li jirrapprezentaw id-diversi pajjizi li kienu gejjin minnhom. Imbaghad in-Nunzju Apostolika ghamel kelmtejn li fihom wera lill-prigunieri li huma ghal qalb il-Knisja ghax huma wkoll uliedha.  Huwa heggighom biex juzaw iz-zmien li jqattghu il-habs, bhala zmien ta’ riflessjoni li twassalhom biex japprezzaw aktar is-sabih tal-hajja, id-dinjita’ ta’ kull persuni u l-kwalitajiet sbieh li wiehed jista’ jghix u jizviluppa fih innifsu b’risq is-socjeta’.  Heggighom ukoll sabiex jintelqu f’idejn il-Madonna (peres li konna qed niccelebraw il-festa tal-Qalb ta’ Marija), u jafdawha aktar ghax hi l-Omm taghna, li se tifhimna u tressaqna aktar lejn Binha Gesu’.

Fl-ahhar tad-diskors tieghu, in-Nunzju qara l-ittra tal-Papa li ntleqghet b’capcip minn dawk kollha prezenti u prezentaha lili bhala l-Kappillan tal-Facilita’ Korrettiva.  Fl-ahhar tal-quddiesa jiena f’isem kulhadd irringrazzjajt lin-Nunzju Apostoliku u tlabtu jwassal il-gratitudni taghna lill-Papa, filwaqt li tlabtu biex ipoggi fit-talb  tieghu lill-prigunieri, familjari u vittmi.  Fl-ahharnett esprimejt it-tama tieghi u ta’ kull min kien prezenti li fil-futur ikollna l-opportunita’ nilqghu lill-Papa nnifsu fil-Facilita’ Korrettiva ta’ Kordin. L-ittra li kitbu l-prigunieri lill-Papa u r-risposta tal-Papa nnifsu ghal din l-ittra, issa qeghdin f’post xieraq fil-kappella tal-Facilita’ biex jibqghu tifkira ta’ dan l-avveniment prezzjuz ghal kull wiehed u wahda minna.

Kif intemmet il-quddiesa, l-E.T. Mgr. Caputo sellem u ha b’idejn dawk kollha li kienu prezenti u wara hareg fil-bitha tal-Facilita fejn innawgura u bierek monument li jfakkar l-ufficjali li mietu maz-zmien. F’kelmtejn ghal okkazjoni, l-Agent Direttur Abraham Zammit fakkar dwar l-impenn li kull ufficjal korrettiv ghandu lejn ir-riforma tar-residenti, u sahaq li minkejja l-ambjent difficli, l-ufficjali korrettivi ghandhom tassew ikunu kburin bis-servizz li qeghdin joffru lis-socjeta.

Fr Franco Fenech

Kappillan tal-Facilita’ Korrettiva ta’ Kordin