Stations of the Cross with a difference

Near Trafalgar Square

Fr Joe Ryan writes: On Holy Saturday a different type of Stations of the Cross were organised by The Catholic Worker and Pax Christi.

We went to Central London visiting various sites; Government buildings, arms manufacturers headquarters; oil and gas companies, mining companies and other historical sites built on the backs of extraction, slavery the destruction of our climate and the deaths of innocent people.

Holy Saturday is a time of waiting and prayer. We are in times of uncertainty in our world today. We are still reeling from the violence of Good Friday. That violence is still with us as people suffer today from war, starvation, greed, inhumanity to the vulnerable and injustices of all kinds.

We tried to meditate on how Jesus is still suffering today in the lives of so many children, women and men. At each location/station we remembered Jesus being condemned to death in a mock trial, taking up his cross, falling under that same burden, the consolation of Simon of Cyrene, Veronica and the Women of Jerusalem, the brutality of the Roman soldiers and Jesus nailed to the Cross. We tried to make that connection between the Suffering Christ and human suffering today.

We began at the Home Office, the place responsible for immigration control, security and order. It is also a place that strikes fear into many migrants, many of whom are waiting for decisions about whether they are safe to stay in the UK. Around 150,000 people are awaiting an asylum appeal decision, with a backlog of over 80,000 cases. This is all in the wake of rising hatred-filled rhetoric towards migrants with increasing hostility from the Home Office and our Government.

We visited the former site of Rolls Royce and QinetiQ at Buckingham Gate. Here we were reminded of the manufacture of the Dreadnought nuclear armed ballistic missile submarines and the security they would supposedly bring us. But we know there are no winners in a nuclear war! In these buildings, the Ministry of Defence is orchestrating the continuing support for vital tests, training in warfare and evaluation in how to maximise the use of weapons of mass destruction.

At Parliament Square, opposite the Houses of Parliament, the centre of democratic power in our country, we reflected on this scene where many people face arrest in protest of proscription of the group Palestine Action. This action, organised by Defend our Juries, has seen people from all walks of life put their freedom on the line.

At Trafalgar Square, we reflected on the Fourth Plinth; the work of the Mexican artist, Teresa Margolles. It depicts the faces of 726 trans, non-binary and gender non-conforming people. the idea behind the art piece is rooted in its fragility; exposed to the elements, the faces will slowly disintegrate, showing how some people are marginalised out of existence.

We stood outside Downing Street and nearby, the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero and reflected on the Climate Crisis and all its implications.

We visited the Rio Tinto headquarters of the British-Australian mining multinational, responsible for the extraction of natural resources across the world; the BP buildings, one of the world largest companies with licences to extract oil and gas from Iraq, Nigeria, Venezuela and Libya. It shows how entangled the oil and gas industry is in the proliferation of war and genocide.

Finally, back to Trafalgar Square; Nelson's Column reminding us of Imperialism and the 19th century naval supremacy and colonial power giving rise to colonisation, slavery, the suppression of indigenous communities and sheer greed supported by power. This exploitation is still very much alive today in the invasion of countries by so-called super powers. We see it day after day in our media.
Then we saw St Martin-in-the fields, a beacon of light and support for the homeless; a place of prayer and musical celebrations lifting the human spirit, just like the National Gallery, celebrating art and human dignity in our troubled world.

These Saturday Stations and reflections have been very powerful and also very challenging. We have to live in the real world and bring to life the reality of the suffering Jesus today. We have to identify and see the face of Jesus on those who suffer; we have to protect God's creation and yet not hinder development and human growth. It's like walking a tightrope.

I was so glad to have the opportunity to join with others in that exercise.