During a recent audience with the National Association of Magistrates, Pope Francis said: “It is precisely the timing and ways in which justice is administered that touch the living flesh of people, especially those most in difficulty, and leave in them signs of relief and consolation, or wounds of oblivion and discrimination.

“Therefore, in your valuable task of discernment and judgment, seek always to respect the dignity of each person, ‘without discrimination or prejudice on the grounds of sex, culture, ideology, race, or religion’ (Statute, art. 9). May your view of those whom you are called to judge always be a gaze of goodness.

“‘Mercy triumphs over judgment’ (James, 2:13), the Bible teaches us. May the justice you administer be increasingly ‘inclusive’, attentive to the least and their integration; indeed, with the duty of giving to each person what is due to them, one cannot forget the extreme weakness that afflicts the lives of many and influences decisions.”         

Kasper criticises Müller

Cardinal Walter Kasper has strongly criticised Cardinal Gerhard Müller’s ‘Manifesto of Faith’. Kasper said that it contains half-truths and could lead to division and confusion in the Church.

Müller, formerly prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, said that his publication is in response to “growing confusion about the doctrine of the faith”.

Kasper suggested that Müller was following the path of Martin Luther.

Priests abusing nuns

In a statement issued after the Pope publicly condemned the sexual abuse of nuns by priests in several countries, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious Days – the largest organisation of sisters in the US – said:

“Catholic sisters who have been sexually abused by priests have not always reported this crime for the same reasons as other abuse victims: a sense of shame, a tendency to blame themselves, fear they will not be believed, anxiety over possible retaliation, a sense of powerlessness, and other factors.

“We regret that when we did know of instances of abuse, we did not speak out more forcefully for an end to the culture of secrecy and cover-ups within the Catholic Church that have discouraged victims from coming forward.

“We hope that, through the Pope’s acknowledgement, sisters and other survivors find strength to come forward, and that his words lead to more welcome and receptive avenues of healing.”

(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)