Mercy and Justice
Catechesis by Pope Francis
General Audience, Wednesday 3 February 2016, St Peter's Sqaure - in Arabic, Croatian, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese & Spanish
"Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning,
Sacred Scripture presents God to us as infinite mercy and as perfect justice. How do we reconcile the two? How does one reconcile the reality of mercy with the demands of justice? It might appear that the two contradict each other; but in fact it is not so, for it is the very mercy of God that brings true justice to fulfilment. But what kind of justice are we talking about?
If we think of the legal administration of justice, we see that those who consider themselves victims of injustice turn to a judge in a tribunal and ask that justice be done. It is retributive justice, which inflicts a penalty on the guilty party, according to the principle that each person must be given his or her due. As the Book of Proverbs says: “He who is steadfast in righteousness will live, but he who pursues evil will die” (11:19). Jesus, too, speaks about it in the parable of the widow who went repeatedly to the judge and asked him: “Vindicate me against my adversary” (Lk 18:3). This path however does not lead to true justice because in reality it does not conquer evil, it merely checks it. Only by responding to it with good can evil be truly overcome.
There is then another way of doing justice, which the Bible presents to us as the royal road to take. It is a process that avoids recourse to the tribunal and allows the victim to face the culprit directly and invite him or her to conversion, helping the person to understand that they are doing evil, thus appealing to their conscience. In this way, by finally repenting and acknowledging their wrong, they can open themselves to the forgiveness that the injured party is offering them. And this is beautiful: after being persuaded that what was done was wrong, the heart opens to the forgiveness being offered to it. This is the way to resolve conflicts in the family, in the relationship between spouses or between parents and children, where the offended party loves the guilty one and wishes to save the bond that unites them. Do not sever that bond, that relationship.
Certainly, this is a difficult journey. It requires that those who have been wronged be ready to forgive and desire good and salvation for their offender. Only in this way can justice triumph, because thus, if the culprit acknowledges the evil done and ceases to do it, the evil is no more; and he who was unjust becomes just, because he is forgiven and is helped to rediscover the path of goodness. And this is where forgiveness and mercy come in.
This is how God acts towards us sinners. The Lord continually offers us his pardon and helps us to accept it and to be aware of our wrong-doing so as to free us of it. For God wants not our condemnation, but our salvation. God does not want to condemn anyone! One of you might ask me: “But Father, didn’t Pilate deserve condemnation? Did God want that?” No! God wanted to save Pilate as well as Judas, everyone! He, the Lord of Mercy, wants to save everyone! The difficulty is in allowing him to enter our hearts. Every word of the prophets is a passionate appeal full of love which seeks our conversion. This is what the Lord says through the Prophet Ezekiel: “Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked... and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?” (18:23; cf. 33:11), that’s what pleases God!
This is the heart of God, the heart of a Father who loves and wants his children to live in goodness and in justice, and thus that they might live to the fullest and be happy. The heart of a Father who goes beyond our little concept of justice to open us to the limitless horizons of his mercy. His is the heart of a Father who does not treat us according to our sins nor repay us according to our faults, as the Psalm says (103[102]:9-10). His is precisely the heart of the father whom we want to encounter when we go to the confessional. Perhaps he will say something to help us better understand our sin, but we all go to find a father who helps us to change our lives; a father who gives us the strength to go on; a father who forgives us in the name of God. That is why being a confessor is such an important responsibility, because that son, that daughter who comes to you is only looking for a father. And you, priest in the confessional, you are there in the place of the Father who does justice with his mercy."
Saluti:
"Chers pèlerins de langue française, je suis heureux de vous accueillir ce matin. Je salue particulièrement la Communauté Saint-Martin, les jeunes venus de France et de Suisse, ainsi que les pèlerins de Côte-d’Ivoire. Je vous invite à demander au Seigneur de vous rendre capables d’accueillir son pardon et, à votre tour, de pardonner à vos frères et à vos sœurs. Que Dieu vous bénisse !
I offer an affectionate greeting to all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors present at today’s Audience, including those from the United States of America. May you open your lives to the Lord’s gift of mercy, and share this gift with all whom you know. May you be children of the Good Father, missionaries of his merciful love. May God bless you all!
Einen herzlichen Gruß richte ich an die Pilger deutscher Sprache, besonders an die Brüder, Schwestern und Familiaren des Deutschen Ordens, die anlässlich des 825. Ordensjubiläums nach Rom gekommen sind. Bitten wir darum, dass Jesus Christus uns fähig mache, die Vergebung des himmlischen Vaters anzunehmen und so selber unseren Mitmenschen aufrichtig zu vergeben. Der Herr segne euch und eure Familien.
Saludo cordialmente a los peregrinos de lengua española, en particular a los grupos provenientes de España y Latinoamérica. Que el Señor Jesús, rostro misericordioso del Padre, nos conceda, con su fuerza salvadora, acoger el perdón divino y aprender a perdonar a nuestros hermanos. Muchas gracias.
Saúdo cordialmente todos os peregrinos de língua portuguesa. Queridos amigos, devemos deixar para trás o nosso pobre conceito de justiça e abrir o nosso coração à infinita misericórdia de Deus, que nunca se cansa de nos perdoar, para que possamos buscar a reconciliação com todos, começando pelos nossos familiares. Que Deus vos abençoe.
أُرحّبُ بالحجّاجِ الناطقينَ باللغةِ العربيّة، وخاصةً بالقادمينَ منالشرق الأوسط. أيّها الإخوةُ والأخواتُ الأعزّاء، إنّ عدالة الله هي مغفرته! لنقبل إذًا هذه المغفرة الإلهيّة لنتمكّن بدورنا من أن نغفر للإخوة.ليبارككُم الربّ!
Sprawiedliwość Boga, to Jego przebaczenie. A my, jako dzieci tego dobrego Ojca, jesteśmy wezwani, aby przyjąć Boże przebaczenie i do przebaczenia z kolei naszym braciom. Módlmy się, aby Bóg nas do tego uzdolnił, abyśmy mogli się do Niego zwrócić z prośbą żeby: „odpuścił nam nasze winy jako i my odpuszczamy naszym winowajcom” i abyśmy Go mogli nazywać w całej prawdzie „Ojcem naszym”.
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Un cordiale benvenuto ai pellegrini di lingua italiana! Sono lieto di accogliere i fedeli della Diocesi di Livorno, con il Vescovo Mons. Simone Giusti; i partecipanti al seminario promosso dalla Pontificia Università della Santa Croce, gli alunni della Scuola Svizzera di Roma e gli artisti dell’American Circus. E vi ringrazio! Vorrei ripetere quello che ho detto una settimana fa, quando è stato fatto uno spettacolo così. Voi fate bellezza e la bellezza ci avvicina sempre a Dio. Vi ringrazio per questo. Ma c’è un’altra cosa che vorrei sottolineare: questo non si improvvisa; dietro questo spettacolo di bellezza, ci sono ore ed ore di allenamento che comportano fatica. L’allenamento è fatica! L’apostolo Paolo ci dice che per arrivare proprio alla fine e per vincere ci si deve allenare, e questo è un esempio per tutti noi, perché la seduzione della vita facile, trovare un fine buono senza sforzo, è una tentazione. Voi con questo che avete fatto oggi, e con l’allenamento che c’è dietro, ci date una testimonianza che la vita senza sforzarsi continuamente è una vita mediocre. Vi ringrazio tanto del vostro esempio. Saluto i rappresentanti della Federazione Italiana Esercizi Spirituali ed auspico che quest’esperienza di fede possa essere maggiormente vissuta in occasione del Giubileo della misericordia. Saluto i fedeli dell’Arcidiocesi di Trento, accompagnati dall’Arcivescovo Mons. Luigi Bressan e dalle Autorità della Provincia Autonoma: vi rinnovo la mia riconoscenza per l’allestimento del Presepio che tanti pellegrini hanno potuto ammirare nelle scorse settimane in Piazza San Pietro - ed oggi sarà l’ultimo giorno -. A tutti auguro che il passaggio attraverso la Porta Santa, fatto con fede, trasformi i cuori di ciascuno e li apra alla carità operosa verso i fratelli.
Rivolgo un pensiero affettuoso ai giovani, ai malati e agli sposi novelli. Oggi ricordiamo San Biagio, martire dell’Armenia. Questo santo vescovo ci ricorda l’impegno di annunciare il Vangelo anche in condizioni difficili. Cari giovani, diventate coraggiosi testimoni della vostra fede; cari ammalati, offrite la vostra croce quotidiana per la conversione dei lontani alla luce di Cristo; e voi, cari sposi novelli, siate annunciatori del suo amore a partire dalla vostra famiglia."