Mercy ‘denounces sin openly,’ says Vatican cardinal
October 27, 2015
Discussing the upcoming Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, Cardinal Mauro Piacenza emphasized that mercy does not consist in tolerance of sin.
Cardinal Piacenza, the Major Penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary, told the Zenit news agency that
[m]ercy isn’t tolerance, in as much as it does not limit itself to “endure” the sinner, leaving him to continue to sin; rather, it denounces sin openly, and, precisely in this way, it loves the sinner: it recognizes that the sinner doesn’t consist of his sin, but is more; it leads his actions to the light of truth, the whole truth: and thus offers him salvation. Hence, [m]ercy doesn’t justify sin, in virtue of the socio-cultural, political-economic or personal circumstances that exist, but it so esteems man as to ask him to give an account of all his actions, thus recognizing him to be “responsible” before God.
“In a Jubilee Year, the Church as loving Mother does her utmost to multiply the ‘occasions of grace,’ especially in regard to the remission of sins, through sacramental confession,” he added.
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Posted by: fenton1015153 -
Oct. 27, 2015 6:10 PM ET USA
What keeps confession numbers low and yet the number of communicants seems to grow? It has been said that many do not recognize sin and so do not feel the need to confess. Perhaps the Church should rethink the process of confession. I wonder if the Confiteor should be the regular admission of each person and the priest could then examine the penitent in another way. Getting people into the confessional is a big thing and should be priority number one!
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Posted by: koinonia -
Oct. 27, 2015 1:56 PM ET USA
Perhaps something has been missed on my part, but it doesn't seem too out of touch with reality to conclude that this brief summation might accomplish more (and do so coherently) than does the end-result of all the energies spent over 3 weeks at the 2015 Synod.
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Posted by: feedback -
Oct. 27, 2015 8:31 AM ET USA
This kind of clear teaching on how mercy relates to sin was so noticeably missing from the Synod deliberations. It should be stated at the opening and be a part of the final document. That would greatly help to avoid so much confusion. May God bless Cardinal Piacenza!
