Commitment to truth is theme of Vatican Lenten Retreat
March 02, 2012
As he preaches the Lenten Retreat for Pope Benedict XVI and the Roman Curia, Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya of Kinshasa, Congo, has stressed the need for all Christians—and especially priests—to be truthful about themselves.
Truth, Cardinal Monsengwo said, “means rejecting the hypocrisy which impels us to appear other than as we are.”
Without a firm commitment to be truthful, the African prelate warned, “priestly ministry becomes mere functionality and has no true sense of God.” He pointed to the example of St. Peter’s betrayal, and said: “Our generosity does not protect us from sin.”
Cardinal Monsengwo said that by deliberately choosing truth, the faithful must perforce be renouncing sin. He contrasted that commitment with the sorry state of those “who have no awareness of their own sins, for people who have lost the sense of sin because they no longer pose themselves the problem of God.”
In his meditations the cardinal encouraged the Vatican leaders to testify forthrightly to the truth about world affairs, and denounce injustices and oppression. A dedication to truth means a willingness to denounced “repression and man’s exploitation of man,” he said.
The Lenten Retreat, which began on Sunday, February 26, will conclude on Saturday, March 3. During the week of the retreat there have been no papal audiences and the work of the Roman Curia has proceeded on a reduced schedule.
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