Editorial

Called to ‘a Witness of Mercy’

Posted

Pope Francis made it clear from the start of his pontificate. There would be no harsh judgments or exclusionary practices from him.

Mercy, he said, is what it’s all about.

It’s what Jesus preached and practiced, it’s the mission of the Church to carry that teaching forward through the ages, and it’s the mission of Christians to carry it forward in their daily lives.

But it’s not always easy.

All of us, from time to time, have been quick to anger, quick to criticize, slow to forgive.

That’s why the pope’s announcement of an extraordinary jubilee year, a Holy Year of Mercy, is so welcome, and why we urge all Catholics to observe this special time with prayer, reflection, confession and participation in Masses and events designed to foster spiritual growth.

We hope that all parishes, schools and Catholic organizations in the archdiocese will be fully on board, taking the opportunity to engage New York’s Catholics and walk with them on this journey.

Pope Francis announced the holy year March 13 at a Lenten penance service marking the second anniversary of his pontificate. The Holy Year, to be coordinated by the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization, will be celebrated from Dec. 8, 2015, until Nov. 20, 2016.

“I frequently have thought about how the Church can make more evident its mission to be a witness of mercy,” the pope said, announcing the jubilee year. Its theme, he said, will be “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

Traditionally, popes proclaim a holy year every 25 years; extraordinary holy years, like the Holy Year of Mercy, are less frequent but feature the same opportunities to experience God’s grace through the sacraments, especially confession, special celebrations and pilgrimages, and strong calls for conversion and repentance.

In announcing the holy year in St. Peter’s Basilica, the pope took care to note that confessors, in particular, have a special duty to be merciful.

People should not be afraid to approach a priest and confess their sins, he said. In the confessional, one has “the certainty of being welcomed in the name of God and understood, despite our misery.”

“The greater the sin, the greater the love, which the Church must express,” he said.

And practicing what he preaches, at that very penance service in St. Peter’s, which featured individual confessions, the pope removed his liturgical vestments and went to confession himself.

He then put on a purple stole and sat down to hear confessions of others, spending about 45 minutes in a confessional booth of the basilica.

In his homily before the confessions, the pope said the doors of the Church “are wide open so that all those who are touched by grace can find the certainty of forgiveness.”

It’s our wish and our prayer that Catholics, no matter what the state of their practice or their life, will take the opportunity in the Holy Year to walk through those doors and into God’s merciful embrace.