McElwee, Joshua J

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Spiritan Magazine Volume 40 Number 1 Winter Article 8 Winter 2016 Pope Francis: The 'club of judgement' won't bring back the sheep Joshua J. McElwee Follow this and additional works at: https://dsc.duq.edu/spiritan-tc Recommended Citation McElwee, J. J. (2016). Pope Francis: The 'club of judgement' won't bring back the sheep. Spiritan Magazine, 40 (1). Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/spiritan-tc/vol40/iss1/8 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Spiritan Collection at Duquesne Scholarship Collection. It has been accepted for inclusion in Spiritan Magazine by an authorized editor of Duquesne Scholarship Collection. brought to you by COREView metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.ukprovided by Duquesne University: Digital CommonsSpiritan l Winter 2016 l 11The ‘club of judgment’ won’t bring back the sheepJoshua J. McElweeNational Catholic ReporterPope Francis has asked the special group of priests hecommissioned to hear confessions during the JubileeYear of Mercy to never judge those who confess theirsins, but to embrace them as if putting a coat on someone in need.In an audience with the priests who will be serving as“Missionaries of Mercy” during the Holy Year, the pope alsosuccinctly laid out anew his vision of re-evangelization in the 21st century.“It is not … with the club of judgment that we will bringback the lost sheep to the fold, but with the holiness of lifethat is the principle of renewal and reform in the church,” he told the priests.“Holiness is nourished by love and knows how to bringupon itself the weight of those who are weaker,” he said. “A missionary of mercy takes the sinner on his shoulders, and consoles him or her with the power of compassion.”Created by the pontiff just for this Jubilee Year, the priests received theirmandate in a special ceremony in St. Peter’s Basilica as part of the AshWednesday celebration. They are to hearconfessions during the year and will begranted “the authority to pardon eventhose sins reserved to the Holy See.”In speaking to the priests the popeoutlined three particular characteristicsthey should practice when hearing confessions. The mostpoignant of the three was a reflection Francis offered on the shame people sometimes feel in coming to confession.“It is not easy to offer yourself before another man, knowing he represents God, and to confess your sins,” saidthe pontiff. “Shame is an intimate sentiment that affects thepersonal life and requires from the confessor an attitude ofrespect and encouragement.”The pope then reflected on how the Bible expresses theshame felt by three characters in the Genesis creation story:Adam and Eve, when they realize they are naked in the Gardenof Eden; and Noah, who is found naked after becoming drunk.“This reading tells me how important our role is in confes-sion,” said Francis. “Before us there is a ‘naked’ person, with hisor her weakness and limits, with the shame of being a sinner.”“Do not forget,” the pope exhorted the priests. “Before usthere is not sin, but a person that feels the desire to be ac-cepted and pardoned — a person who does not want to be further distanced from the house of the Father but wants todo everything to live as a child of God.”“Therefore, we are not called to judge, with a sense of superiority, as if we were immune from sin,”said  Francis. “On the contrary, we are calledto act like Shem and Japheth, the sons ofNoah, who placed a robe over their  father tohide his shame.”“To be a confessor according to the heartof Jesus means to cover the sinner with therobe of mercy so that they are not shamedanymore and may recover the joy of theirfilial dignity,” he said.Francis also called on the priests to express the “maternity”of the church and to respect the desire of forgiveness presentin the heart of someone who is penitent.“As you go into the confessional,  always remember that it is Christ who welcomes; Christ who listens; Christ who pardons; Christ who gives peace,” said the pontiff.“We are his ministers; and in the first place we alwayshave need to be forgiven by him,” said Francis. “Therefore,whatever the sin being confessed, every missionary is calledto remember his true existence as a sinner and to offer himself humbly as a channel of God’s mercy.” nReprinted by permission of National Catholic Reporter, 115 E Armour Blvd,Kansas City, MO 64111 NCRonline.org.Pope Francis: “A missionary of mercytakes the sinner on hisshoulders, and consoleshim or her with thepower of compassion.”

Pope Francis: The \u27club of judgement\u27 won\u27t bring back the sheep

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Pope Francis: The \u27club of judgement\u27 won\u27t bring back the sheep

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