Pope
Francis: A person who can’t forgive is not a Christian
(Vatican
Radio) Pope Francis warned against conflicts within the Christian community and
said priests who struggle to be merciful should not be hearing confessions. He
also reiterated his condemnation of those who produce lethal arms to be used in
wars and said Christians must forgive and show mercy in all that they do. The
Pope’s remarks came during his homily at Mass on Thursday (10th September)
celebrated at the Santa Marta residence.
Mercy,
peace and reconciliation as opposed to war and hatred were the key themes
focused on by Pope Francis during his homily. He asked whether we are always
able to accept the gift of peace that we receive via Jesus and lamented the
many wars, destruction, hatred and enmity that we see and read about every day
on TV and in the newspapers.
“There
are also many men and women who work hard -- really hard – in order to
manufacture lethal weapons, arms that eventually become bathed in the blood of
so many innocent people, so many of them. There are wars (being waged)!
There are these wars and there is also that wickedness of preparing for war, of
making weapons (to be used) against other people in order to kill! Peace saves
us, peace makes you live, it makes you grow: war annihilates you, it drags you
down.”
A
person who can’t forgive is not a Christian
Pope
Francis went on to warn that wars can take other forms, saying they exist
“within our Christian communities, between us.” He said the key word in today’s
liturgy talks about forgiveness and we need to make peace among
ourselves.
“If
you can’t forgive, you are not a Christian. You may be a good man, a good
woman…. but you are not doing what our Lord did. What’s more, if you
can’t forgive, you cannot receive the peace of the Lord. And every day when we
pray the ‘Our Father:’ Forgive us as we have forgiven those…...It’s a
condition. We are trying to ‘convince’ God that we’re good, that we’re good by
forgiving: in reverse. (It’s just) words, right? As that beautiful song
went: ‘Words, words, words,’ wasn’t it? I think it was (the
Italian singer) Mina who sung it. Words! Forgive one another! Just as the Lord
has forgiven us, do likewise.”
The
Pope paid tribute to the many heroic men and women who patiently put up with so
much hardship and injustice in order to support their families, describing them
as the good people. But at the same time, he warned, there are also people who
speak badly about others and make war that way. He said it was important to
“understand other people, not condemn them.”
Saying
God is always merciful, Pope Francis stressed the need for priests to show
mercy and forgiveness in the confessional box.
“If
you are a priest and you can’t manage to be merciful, tell your bishop who will
give you a job in administration but please don’t go into the confessional
box! A priest who is not merciful does a lot of harm in the confessional
box! He beats people. ‘No, Father, I am merciful but I’m a bit stressed….? It’s
true…. Before going to hear confessions, go to your doctor who will give you
some pills to make you less stressed! But show mercy! And also show mercy
among ourselves. ‘But this person did that…. What have I done?’ ‘That
person is more of a sinner than me!’ Which of us can say this, that the
other person is more of a sinner than me? None of us can say this!
Only our Lord knows this.”
The
Pope urged all of us to show feelings of kindness, goodness and humility,
saying this is the Christian style, rather than being arrogant or condemning or
speaking badly about others. May the Lord, he concluded, give all of us the
grace to provide support to others, to forgive and be merciful, just as our
Lord is merciful towards us.
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