Pope Francis has described himself as a 'sinner' in need of God's mercy, as he reveals how the Roman Catholic's debates over divorce have impacted on his own family.
In the first book of his papacy, the Pope - a frequent visitor to prisons - told how he could have been in jail if he was wasn't a pontiff and refers to his 'special relationship' with convicts.
The revelation came as he declared one of his nieces had married a divorced man in the book The Name of God is Mercy.
In extracts, Francis said: 'I have always been very much attached to them, precisely because of the awareness that I have of being a sinner.'
'Every time I cross the doorway of a prison, I always ask myself, "Why are they are here, and not me?" I should be here, I should deserve to be here. Their fall could have been mine. I don't feel superior to those in front of me.'
The book will be published on Tuesday in 86 countries and compromises a series of interviews, some of them highly personal, with the 79-year-old Argentine-born pope.
The pope, interviewed by veteran Vatican reporter Andrea Tornielli, talks of the power of 'shame', describing it as guidance from God for providing a moral path.
He said: 'Shame is a grace: When we feel God's mercy, we really are ashamed of ourselves. Despite all our past of wretchedness and sin, God remains faithful to us and raises us up.'
And turning to the jubilee year he launched on December 8, whose theme is divine mercy, the pope said: 'The church condemns sin, because it has to tell the truth: this is a sin. But at the same time, it embraces the sinner who acknowledges what he is.
'I hope that the jubilee will show the face of a Church which is rediscovering the womb of mercy.
'A Church that goes out into the world... a field hospital whose characteristic is to spring up wherever there's fighting. Not some elaborate structure, kitted out with everything... (but) a mobile structure, for saving (people), for fast intervention.'
The Pope also lays out his case for emphasizing the merciful face of the Catholic Church, saying God never tires of forgiving and actually prefers the sinners who repent over self-righteous moralizers who don't.
In the book, he condemns what he calls the 'scholars of law' — the doctrinaire-minded rigorists who throughout the history of the church have challenged Jesus's message of unconditional love and mercy for even the most wretched of sinners.
He says often these self-righteous Christians are hypocrites themselves, using the law to hide their own 'deep wounds.'
'These are men who live attached to the letter of the law but who neglect love; men who only know how to close doors and draw boundaries,' Francis is quoted as saying.
The Vatican is officially launching the book Tuesday with a high-level panel discussion featuring Francis' secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and 'Life Is Beautiful' actor Roberto Benigni, signaling the importance Francis places on getting the message out.
In the book, he also calls for the Church to be more welcoming of gays.
He insists that his now-infamous "Who am I to judge" comment about gays was merely a repetition of the church's teaching on homosexuality.
Francis won praise from gays with the comment, uttered during his first press conference in 2013.
But many conservatives have criticised the remark as vague and incomplete since church teaching also holds that gay acts are 'intrinsically disordered.'
Francis says the church has long held that gays should be treated with dignity and respect and seen as individuals. And he goes to some length throughout the text to cite scripture and previous popes to make clear that his radical agenda is fully rooted in the church's basic teachings.
An extract read: 'People should not be defined only by their sexual tendancies: Let us not forget that God loves all his creatures and we are destined to receive his infinite love.'
No comments:
Post a Comment