Vatican City, 3 February 2016 (VIS) –
The relationship between mercy and justice, in the light of the
Sacred Scriptures, was the theme of Pope Francis' catechesis in this
Wednesday's general audience, which took place in St. Peter's Square
and was attended by more than ten thousand people.
"The Sacred Scripture presents God
as infinite mercy, but also as perfect justice", he said. "How
can the two be reconciled? They may appear to be contradictory, but
this is not the case, as it is precisely God's mercy that leads us to
achieve true justice. In the legal administration of justice, we see
that those who consider themselves to have been victims of abuse
consult a judge in court and ask that justice be done. It is a
retributive justice, inflicting punishment on the guilty, according
to the principle that each person receives what he deserves. … But
this route does not lead to true justice, as in reality it does not
conquer evil, it simply limits it. Instead, only by responding with
good can evil truly be conquered".
The Bible, he explained, proposes a
different form of justice, in which the victim invites the guilty
party to convert, helping him to understand the harm he has done and
appealing to his conscience. "In this way, recognising his
blame, he can open up to the forgiveness that the injured party
offers. … This is the way of resolving conflicts within families,
in relations between spouses and between parents and children, in
which the injured party loves the guilty and does not wish to lose
the bond between them. It is certainly a difficult path: it demands
that the victim be disposed to forgive and wishes for the salvation
and the good of the perpetrator of the damage. But only in this way
can justice triumph, as if the guilty party acknowledges the harm he
has done and ceases to do so, the evil no longer exists and the
unjust becomes just, as he has been forgiven and helped to find the
way of good".
"God treats us sinners, in the
same way. He continually offers us His forgiveness, He helps us to
welcome Him and to be aware of our evil so as to free ourselves of
it. God does not seek our condemnation, only our salvation. God does
not wish to condemn anyone! … The Lord of Mercy wishes to save
everyone. … The problem is letting Him enter into our heart. All
the words of the prophets are an impassioned and love-filled plea for
our conversion".
God's heart is "the heart of a
Father Who loves all His children and wants them to live in goodness
and justice, and therefore to live in fullness and happiness. A
Father's heart that goes beyond our meagre concept of justice so as
to open up to us the immense horizons of His mercy. A Father's heart
that does not treat us or repay us according to our sins, as the
Psalm says".
"It is precisely a Father's heart
that we encounter when we go to the confessional", Francis
emphasised. "Perhaps it will tell us something to better
understand our evil, but at the confessional we all go in search of a
father who will help us change our life; a father who gives us the
strength to go on; a father who forgives us in God's name. Therefore,
to be a confessor is a great responsibility, as the son or daughter
who comes to you seeks only to encounter a father. And you, the
priest there in the confessional, are the place where the Father does
justice with His mercy", he concluded.
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