God’s mercy cannot be denied

Cardinal-designate Víctor Manuel Fernández in an interview with La Civiltà Cattolica, said the Lord’s mercy “must not be denied by theological reasoning”.

Outlining his vision as the new prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, he criticised those who “claim to be the only ones who can correctly interpret Revelation and truth; they alone are ‘serious’, ‘intelligent’, ‘faithful’.”

“This explains the power some churchmen arrogate to themselves, going so far as to determine what the pope can or cannot say, and presenting themselves as guarantors of the legitimacy and unity of the faith,” he continued.

Justice, not charity

Don Vitto Impellizzeri, professor of fundamental theology at the Faculty of Theology in Sicily, told La Croix that “Welcoming migrants is a question of justice, not kindness.”

He said “you can’t be a Christian without seeing a close link between the life of Jesus, who had to flee to Egypt to save his life, and migrants. The Church must be a place of salvation for those who flee.”

Importance of prayer

The importance of prayer was at the centre of the pope’s address to participants of the meeting of the daughters of Divine Zeal and the Rogationists of the Heart of Jesus, two religious orders founded by Sicilian saint Annibale Maria di Francia.

“Indeed, when one places oneself, docile and humble, before God, often one receives a specific understanding of the meaning of one’s own life: it is in faithful and unwavering prayer, in particular in adoration, that everything assumes harmony, that one grasps more clearly one’s aims, finding in the Lord the strength and the light to put them into practice according to his plans. Without prayer, one cannot remain standing, and one does not know where to go.

It is, therefore, important that there be a prolonged dialogue with the Lord every day, and then an invocation to him before every important moment, every meeting, every decision.”

(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)