“In this evil lies radical sin, the absurd pretension of being like God. The sin of our firstborn, recounted in the book of Genesis, is for all intents and purposes a sin of pride,” the sermon continues, before describing some “symptoms that reveal that a person has succumbed to the vice of pride.”
Among them, “an obvious physical appearance” is listed, such as “he has a rigid neck that does not bend.” He is also characterized because “for nothing, he makes irrevocable judgments about others,” forgetting that Jesus “gave us very few moral precepts, but in one of them he was inflexible: never judge.” At the same time, the arrogant usually reacts “in an exaggerated way, as if someone had offended his majesty” to any comment or constructive criticism.
The Pope points out that “little can be done with a person sick with pride. It is impossible to talk to her, much less correct her, because deep down she is no longer present for herself. You just have to be patient with her, because one day her building will collapse.”