7 keys to understanding the
Apostolic Letter "Misericordia et Misera"
2016-11-21
WHAT IS AN APOSTOLIC LETTER?
An apostolic letter is a document of papal magisterium, less
solemn than an encyclical, but of great importance. John Paul II published one
after closing the Jubilee year in 2000.
In the letter, the pope combines the greatest lines of the
Jubilee and explanations so that these intense months are not reduced to a mere
"theory of mercy."
WHAT DOES "MISERICORDIA ET MISERA" MEAN?
The title translates to "Mercy and Misery." St.
Augustine used this expression to remember the scene of the Gospel in which
they wanted to stone an adulterous woman and Jesus forgives her.
WHAT DOES IT SAY?
The main point is to do everything possible to make it
easier for people to go to confession. There are many transformations. One for
example, is it will be easier to find priests available to hear confessions,
because the sacrament should not only be a novelty.
It proposes that each Catholic community dedicate one Sunday
a year to "renew its efforts to make the Sacred Scriptures better known
and more widely diffused."
He also instituted a "World Day of the Poor," to
be held in all churches on the last Sunday before the feast of Christ the King.
ABORTION
From now on all priests will be able to absolve the sin of
abortion from those who confess it, both from the doctors performing it and the
parents of the child. Previously, only bishops could absolve people from this
sin.
FIVE RESERVED SINS
Pope Francis is maintaining the force of the
"Missionaries of Mercy," a thousand priests from all over the world
who can absolve these five sins reserved only to the Vatican:
- The
violation of the secret of confession
- The
ordination of bishops without the approval of the pope
- The
complicity of priests who propose sexual relations to another person and
then confess of that sin
- Desecration
of the Eucharist
- Violence
against the pope
FAMILY
Pope Francis returns to the main idea contained in the
document "Amoris Laetitia," and asks the Church to "regard all
human problems from the standpoint of God’s love, which never tires of
welcoming and accompanying."
Pope Francis reminds priests how they should care for those
who want to return to the life of faith, but are divorced and have remarried or
live a delicate personal situation. It is a matter of exercising "a
careful, profound and far-sighted spiritual discernment, so that everyone, none
excluded, can feel accepted by God, participate actively in the life of the community
and be part of that People of God which journeys tirelessly towards the
fullness of his kingdom of justice, love, forgiveness and mercy."
HELPING OTHERS
The pope shows that in addition to receiving mercy, it must
be given. That means not being indifferent to the sufferings of people.
He calls on Catholics to work to "restore dignity to
people." Especially those who do not have work, do not have a house, are
marginalized, are hungry, have to migrate, are in prison in inhuman conditions
or do not have access to education.
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