‘Mercy does not cancel out justice’ in matrimonial processes, Pope tells Roman Rota
November 25, 2024
» Continue to this story on Vatican Press Office
CWN Editor's Note: Pope Francis addressed participants in a conference organized by the Roman Rota, the Church’s highest appellate tribunal, and emphasized that justice, charity, and truth “go together—and, if you disregard one, the others lose their authenticity.”
“A cold justice that is merely distributive without going beyond it, that is, without mercy, must be avoided,” he said. “But neither can one hypothesize charity without justice.”
Warning against a false sense of charity in matrimonial processes, the Pope continued:
In the name of love, one cannot neglect the duty of justice. For example, one cannot interpret the current rules on matrimonial processes as if, in the dutiful pursuit of proximity and celerity, they imply a weakening of the demands of justice. For its part, mercy does not cancel out justice, on the contrary, it urges us to live it more gently as the fruit of compassion towards our neighbor’s suffering.The above note supplements, highlights, or corrects details in the original source (link above). About CWN news coverage.
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