Pope Francis, in penitential liturgy of the Synod of Synodality: The Church belongs to sinners who seek forgiveness

Pope Francis affirmed this Tuesday that the Church “is one of the sinners who seek forgiveness,” in his reflection during the penitential liturgy prior to the start of the second global phase of the Synodality Synod.

“We are here as beggars of the Father’s mercy. “The Church is always the Church of the poor in spirit and of sinners who seek forgiveness, and not only of the just and the saints, indeed, of the just and the saints who recognize themselves as poor and sinners,” stated the Holy Father as he begins his reflection in St. Peter’s Basilica.

“Sin is always a wound in relationships: the relationship with God and the relationship with brothers and sisters. No one is saved alone, but it is equally true that the sin of one generates effects on many: just as everything is connected to good, it is also connected to evil,” the Pontiff stressed.

After recalling the Gospel read in the liturgy, about the Pharisee and the publican who pray in the temple, Pope Francis pointed out that “today we are all like the publican, we have or want to keep our eyes down and feel ashamed of our sins.”

“On the eve of the beginning of the Synodal Assembly, confession is an opportunity to restore trust in the Church and in her, trust shattered by our errors and sins, and to begin to heal the wounds that do not stop bleeding, breaking ‘ the chains of evil.”

After praying to God for the grace of conversion, the Pope highlighted: “We all ask for forgiveness, we are all sinners, but we all have hope in your love Lord, Amen.”

Heartbreaking testimonies

The liturgy was marked by the testimony of three people and by the request for forgiveness for different sins. The texts were written by Pope Francis and read by cardinals of the Roman Curia “because it was necessary to call our main sins by name and surname,” the Pontiff explained.

Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay (India), read the request for forgiveness “for the sin of the lack of courage, of the courage necessary to seek peace between peoples and nations, in recognition of the infinite dignity of every human life in all its phases, from the nascent state to old age.”

Afterwards, a South African man named Laurence shared his testimony of having suffered sexual abuse as a child, narrating the pain and consequences that this caused him, such as depression and thoughts of suicide.

“Since then, I have been forced to walk with this perpetrator stamped on my soul for the past 53 years… The impact of this type of abuse is deep and lasting,” he added.

“One of the most heartbreaking aspects of this issue is the anonymity that often surrounds it. “Many survivors remain nameless and unheard, their stories silenced by fear, stigma or threats,” he lamented, and then encouraged the Church to be transparent regarding this issue.

Then it was the turn of Sara, regional director in Tuscany of the Migrants Foundation, who told the story of Solange, a migrant from the Ivory Coast, who like many others risked her life to leave Africa and arrive in Europe in search of a future. better.

“We are here today to bear witness to a new humanity; of people who accompany people to be people; by women who help women to be women: people and women who welcomed the stranger,” Sara added.

Sister Deema, from the city of Homs, who has suffered the horrors of the war in Syria, also shared her testimony.

“War, in fact, not only destroys buildings and roads, but also affects the most intimate ties that anchor us to our memories, our roots and our relationships,” he said.

War, he continued, “manages to bring out the worst in us, bringing to light selfishness, violence and greed. However, it can also bring out the best in us: the ability to resist, to unite in solidarity, to not give in to hate.”

However, he confessed, the war has also been an opportunity to “perceive the grace of being part of a universal Church, which today we celebrate on its path towards synodality,” a place where one can encounter God “in the midst of ruins.”

Requests for forgiveness in the name of the Church

After the testimonies, Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development, read the request for forgiveness for having transformed “the creation of a garden into a desert, manipulating it to our liking; and for what we have not done to prevent it,” for the mistreatment of indigenous people and migrants.

Next, Cardinal Seán Patrick O’Malley, Archbishop Emeritus of Boston, read the request for forgiveness “for all the times that we faithful have been complicit in or have directly committed abuses of conscience, abuses of power and sexual abuses.”

Cardinal Kevin Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life, asked for forgiveness “for all the times that we have not recognized and defended the dignity of women, when we have made them mute and subjugated, and not infrequently exploited, especially in the condition of consecrated life.”

Cardinal Cristóbal López Romero, Spanish and Archbishop of Rabat (Morocco), asked for forgiveness “for the times that we have turned our heads towards the other party before the sacrament of the poor, preferring to adorn ourselves and the altar with a guilty beauty that Take bread from the hungry.”

In turn, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, asked for forgiveness for “all the times that in the Church (…) we have not been able to preserve and propose the Gospel as a living source of eternal newness. , ‘indoctrinating’ and risking reducing him to a pile of dead stones to throw at others.”

“I apologize, feeling ashamed for all the times we have given doctrinal justification for inhumane treatment,” he added.

To conclude the requests for forgiveness, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna, asked for forgiveness “for the obstacles that stand in the way of building a truly synodal, symphonic Church, conscious of being the holy people of God walking together recognizing the common baptismal dignity.”

“I ask for forgiveness, feeling ashamed for all the times that we have not listened to the Holy Spirit, preferring to listen to ourselves, defending opinions and ideologies that hurt the communion in Christ of all, expected at the end of time by the Father,” he added.

At the end of the liturgy, all those present prayed the Lord’s Prayer and the Pope gave the gospel to five of the participants, as a sign of the importance of announcing it to the world.