Dialogue is a reflection of mercy, Pope says at jubilee audience

October 24, 2016

Pope Francis reflected on the relation between mercy and dialogue during a special October 22 audience.

During the jubilee year, the Pope has been holding a monthly Saturday audience in addition to his weekly Wednesday general audience.

“Throughout this Jubilee Year, we have reflected on God’s mercy and our own responsibility, as followers of Jesus, to be ‘merciful like the Father,’” Pope Francis said to 100,000 pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

“In this light, we now turn to the dialogue of Jesus and the Samaritan woman (cf. Jn. 4:6-15),” he continued, in the words of the official English-language synthesis of his remarks. “Through dialogue, in fact, we come to know and respect others; we come to see each individual as a gift of God.”

The Pope added:

How much we need to encourage dialogue in our families, our schools and our workplaces! For only through dialogue can we truly understand others and their needs, and work together for the good of society and the care of our common home.

Dialogue between the religions can make a real contribution to the building of a world of peace and solidarity. God has placed a seed of goodness in each of us and he asks us to use it in the service of his creation. Through dialogue, mutual acceptance and fraternal cooperation, may we make God’s merciful love ever more evident in our world.

 

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Further information:

• 2016.10.22 Holy Year of Mercy, Jubilee audience (YouTube Vatican)
• L’Udienza Giubilare, 22.10.2016 (Holy See Press Office)
• Jubilee audience: mercy and dialogue, 22.10.2016 (Holy See Press Office)