Pope contrasts Christ's direct speech with Pharisees' corruption of language
June 04, 2013
"Hypocrisy is the very language of corruption,” Pope Francis said in his homily at Mass on June 4.
Reflecting on the Pharisees who sought to trap Jesus with questions, the Pope said that they “do not love the truth,” but try to deceive others with subtle speech. Jesus takes the opposite approach, the Pontiff reminded his congregation; the Lord tells his disciples: “Let your language be: Yes, yes! No, no!”
Hypocrites, the Pope continued, want “a truth enslaved to their interests.” Jesus encourages his followers to seek the truth as children do, meekly and honestly.
Pope Francis remarked that everyone is tempted toward insincerity in speech, because “we like people to say good things about us.” Those who are corrupt, he said, recognize that human weakness and exploit it.
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Posted by: John J Plick -
Jun. 05, 2013 9:17 AM ET USA
Why is it the we (the Church) cannot recognize and deal with the obvious? The Holy Father is quite right... In fact he barely scratches the surface. It has been for some time now that an assault on morals and standards is preceeded by a "linguistic maneuver." For instance... Illegal Alien is now an "immigrant" and "immigration reform" is the new term for amnesty (from the law).
