Pope Francis at Vigil: We are here as beggars of God’s mercy

By Christopher Wells

During a penitential service marked by testimonies from those wounded by abuse, war and lack of charity, Pope Francis asked for forgiveness from God and those who have been hurt by our sin.

The penitential vigil marked the culmination of the two-day synodal retreat ahead of Wednesday’s solemn inauguration of the second session of the Sixteenth General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops.

Confession of sins

During the ceremony, seven cardinals expressed their shame and asked forgiveness “in the name of all in the Church” for sins against peace, against the environment, against the dignity of women and against the poor; for sins of abuse and for using the doctrine as a “throwing stone” at others; and for sins against synodality.

“I wanted to note the requests for abuse that were read by some cardinals,” the Pope said, “because it is necessary to name our main sins.”

In his reflection after the confession of sins, the Holy Father emphasized that the Church, “in its essence of faith and proclamation, is always relational – and it is only by healing sick relationships that we become a synodal Church.

“How can we be credible in mission,” he asked, “if we do not recognize our mistakes and strive to heal the wounds we have caused by our sins?

The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector

Reflecting on the Gospel reading, which told Jesus’ parable of the proud Pharisee and the repentant tax collector, Pope Francis invited faith to consider how many times we in the Church have acted as the first.

How many times, he asked, “have we taken up all the space ourselves, with our words, our judgments, our titles, our conviction that we alone have merit?” »

Instead, Pope Francis said, “Today we are all like the tax collector, looking down and ashamed of our sins. Like him, we are lagging behind, freeing the space occupied by vanity, hypocrisy and pride.

Restore trust

Pope Francis said Tuesday’s penitential service, on the eve of the solemn opening of the Synod, “is an opportunity to restore trust in and towards the Church, a trust broken by our errors and our sins; and start healing the wounds that won’t stop bleeding.

Weighed down as we are by “the humanity of our sin,” the Pope said: “We would not want this burden to slow down the path of the Kingdom of God in history.”

Finally, Pope Francis turned to the younger generations, “who are waiting for us to pass on our testimony to them,” to ask their forgiveness, “if we have not been credible witnesses.”

Seek forgiveness

Following his reflection, Pope Francis summarized the request for forgiveness in a prayer to God the Father, saying: “We ask you for forgiveness for all our sins; help us to restore Your Face which we have disfigured by our infidelity. We ask forgiveness, in shame, from those who have been hurt by our sins.

And he asked God to “give us the courage of sincere repentance for true conversion.”

The sign of peace and the transmission of the Gospel

At the end of the penitential vigil, Pope Francis invited those present to exchange the sign of peace.

The Holy Father himself extended the sign of peace to those who gave their testimony earlier in the ceremony, as well as to a young man and a young woman, a seminarian and a nun.

To these latter, representatives of young people, Pope Francis then gave a copy of the Gospel, entrusting them and their contemporaries with the mandate to announce the Good News to future generations, in the hope of a “mission better, ever more faithful to youth.” logic of the Kingdom of God.