The Church warns leaders not to overdo the power

The pilgrimage in honor of Jesus Nazareno de Atalaya was the setting for the authorities of the Panamanian Catholic Church call the attention of both rulers and the Christian people not to fall into the temptation of excessive power.

In his homily for this first Sunday of Lent before some 200,000 Catholics gathered in Atalaya, the Apostolic Nuncio in Panama, Andrés Carrascosa Cosso questioned the fact that there are people who come to this sanctuary to ask "power, success and material things" and that is contrary to the way God intends.

"Some people are able to come here to ask the Nazarene things which constitute a temptation to go against the cross of Jesus Christ," he stressed the representative of Pope Francisco amid applause from the thousands of believers who heard the message .

To Carrascosa material is not the main and power are never favors the Nazarene is going to grant to any person because they go against the principles of the Catholic Church.

The Panamanian apostolic nuncio suggested as a way against the temptation and power, practicing acts and works of mercy in this Lenten season.

The message of the prelate was given in the presence of President of the Republic, Juan Carlos Varela, who praised the words of the apostolic nuncio were clear for Panamanians to focus on good practice and that power is used only to serve.

In an emotional ceremony were many pilgrims who did not withstand the heat and sun, so they had to be evacuated by pictures of fainting and dehydration.

At 12:00 noon off the image of Jesus Nazareno inside the basilica amid cheers and tears of joy of the faithful they waited in long lines to take the traditional route of an hour around the he Atalaya central square.

Bishop Aguilar Audilio appreciated the fact that the faith of Catholics to Panamanians Nazareth remains intact and continues to grow by the need for people to have a sanctuary as Atalaya.

At the end of the procession , the security sectors implemented a device to speed up traffic flow of thousands of vehicles across the country who were in this town .

A Report by the security agencies that participated in the operation in the procession, revealed that no criminal incidents were recorded from Ash Wednesday until Sunday when he finished the religious festival .

A report by SINAPROC and the Panamanian Red Cross realized that about 50 cases of pilgrims affected by dehydration, heat stroke and high blood pressure caused by physical wear and yesterday crowds packed the central square of Atalaya were met .

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Carencia

• Faltó el agua potable

• La falta de agua potable nuevamente se puso de manifiesto este año en la romería en honor a Jesús Nazareno de Atalaya, pese a que en el pasado 2015 el presidente Juan Carlos Varela se había comprometido a resolver el problema. De hecho, el año pasado cuando correspondió la homilía al cardenal José Luis Lacunza, el purpurado llamó la atención de Varela que se encontraba presente en aquel entonces, sobre los problemas con el suministro de agua potable. Este año, mientras algunos periodistas abordaron al mandatario respecto del tema, Varela evadió hablar sobre la situación de falta del vital líquido.