Vatican City, 28 March 2014 (VIS) –
This morning in the Hall of Blessings Pope Francis received in
audience the six hundred participants in the annual course of the
internal forum of the Apostolic Penitentiary. For a quarter of a
century this dicastery has offered the course, especially to recently
ordained priests and deacons, to contribute to the formation of good
confessors.
In his address, the Holy Father
encouraged those present to “treasure the experience acquired with
wise creativity, to further help the Church and confessors to perform
their ministry of mercy, which is so important”, and reflected on
three key points related to confession.
“Firstly, the agent of the ministry
of Reconciliation is the Holy Spirit”, he said. “The forgiveness
that the Sacrament confers is the new life transmitted by the Risen
Lord by means of His Spirit. … Therefore, you are required always
to be “men of the Holy Spirit”, witnesses and proclaimers, joyful
and strong, of the resurrection of the Lord”. The Bishop of Rome
encouraged them to welcome penitents “not with the attitude of a
judge or even that of a mere friend, but with God's charity. … A
priest's heart is a heart that is able to be touched. … If it is
true that tradition suggests the dual role of doctor and judge for
confessors, we must never forget that the doctor cures and the judge
absolves”.
Moving on to the second aspect, he
explained, “If Reconciliation transmits the new life of the Risen
Lord and renews baptismal grace, then your task is to give this
generously to your brethren. A priest who does not take care of this
part of his ministry … is like a shepherd who does not take care of
his lost sheep. … But mercy is at the heart of the Gospel! It is
the good news that God loves us, that He always loves man the sinner,
and with this love he draws man towards Him and invites him to
convert. We must not forget that the faithful often struggle to
receive this Sacrament, both for practical reasons and for the
natural difficulty of confessing one's own sins to another man.
Therefore, it is necessary to work hard upon ourselves, on our
humanity, so as never to be an obstacle to but rather to facilitate
an approach to mercy and forgiveness. … Confession is not a
sentencing court, but rather an experience of forgiveness and
mercy!”.
Finally, Pope Francis referred to the
difficulties that may frequently be encountered in confession. “There
are many reasons, both historical and spiritual. However, we know
that the Lord wished to offer this immense gift to the Church,
offering the baptised the security of the Father's forgiveness. For
this reason, it is very important that particular care is taken in
the celebration of this Sacrament of forgiveness and salvation in all
dioceses and parish communities. It is essential that in every parish
the faithful know when they can find available priests: when there is
trust, the fruits can be seen”.
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