VATICAN CITY (CNS) — People who judge and criticize others are hypocrites and cowards who are unable to face their own defects, Pope Francis said.
Gossip, too, is “criminal” as it destroys, rather than exalts the image of God present in others, he said in his early morning homily Sept. 13 at his residence of Domus Sanctae Marthae.
“Those who live judging their neighbors, speaking badly of them, are hypocrites because they don’t have the strength, the courage to look at their own defects,” he said.
“Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own,” he said, referring to the day’s Gospel reading according to St. Luke.
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Every time “we judge our brothers and sisters in our heart, and worse, when we talk about it with others, we are killer Christians,” imitating Cain who committed “the first homicide in history.”
Gossip, too, has “this dimension of criminality” because there is no such thing as “innocent gossip,” he said. “If one of us gossips, certainly he is a persecutor, someone violent.”
St. James the Apostle said the tongue is for praising God, “but when we use our tongue to speak badly of our brother or sister, we use it to kill God,” he said, killing “the image of God in our brother.”
Instead, people need to pray and do penance for others and, he said, “if it’s necessary, speak to the person who can solve the problem. Don’t tell everybody about it.”
People need “a gesture of conversion,” he said, because just as St. Paul was “a blasphemer and a persecutor and an arrogant man” he was “mercifully treated.”
The pope asked people to pray for “the grace of conversion from the criminality of gossip to love, humility, meekness, gentleness and the magnanimity of love toward the other.”
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How refreshing it is to reflect on Pope Francis’ recently homilies on the subject of humility and the massive problem in the Church and in our world of speaking ill of others and gossip. And how profound of Pope Francis to be able to reflect on the idea that those of us who do such things “don’t have the strength and courage to face their own defects”. And that in giving into the tempation to gossip about others that this can actualy “kill God”. If this isn’t enough to awaken the faithful, I don’t know what will.
This subject has been brought to my attention in recent years especailly upon reflection of the Catholic faithful’s desire to evangelize. Many think that the reason people fall way from the Church is that they were never properly catechised, and it does play a major part in why people become luke-warm or fall away. However, I would beg to differ that the behavior of our priests, religious and lay faithful has a much greater influence on why people leave the Church. Pope Francis not only speaks of humility, he lives it, and his example of reaching beyond his own circle of “religious friends” is a shining example to all people regardless of religious affiliation. How sad it is that in our own Churches not only does this problem exist, but it is the root cause of the decline of the Catholic faith around the world. Instead of memorizing our Catechism or standing behind one of the Churches causes, which are all good, maybe if we as faithful Catholics did as Pope Francis suggests and refuse to participate in speaking ill of others and of reaching out to people instead, things would change immensely. And as the Pope states, “if it’s necessary, speak to the person who can solve the problem…and not tell everybody about it”. How profound.
There is a book that many are talking about in Catholic circles called, “Rebuilt” by Michael White and Tom Corcoran. This book is about this particular problem in the Church and how one Church in our country decided to face this problem head on, and the results were amazingly positive. The problem of those Catholics who do not have the courage to look beyond their own righteousness and take a step toward peace and reconcilation with others by refraining from gossip and living and behaving with an “air of superiority” toward other Catholics and toward all. The Catholic Church is God’s gift to us. It is not a major corporation where self-righteous or hypocritical religious try and move up the ladder of success so that a priest can eventually move-on and become a Bishop, not in giving himself to others, but for himself and his career in the Church. Let us look to our wonderful and humble Holy Father with lessons on how live for Christ in order to bring peace to ourselves and to all those around us, both in the “Catholic world” and in the whole world! I believe if we can do this, our Churches will begin to fill-up again, and the true peace of God will reign.