No one is forced to be a Christian. But no one should be forced to live according to the "new religion" as though it alone were definitive and obligatory for all mankind.
Those who with God's help have welcomed Christ's call and freely responded to it are urged on by love of Christ to proclaim the Good News everywhere in the world.
“What is perfection in love? Love your enemies in such a way that you would desire to make them your brothers … For so did He love, Who hanging on the Cross, said ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’” (Luke 23:34)
Assuredly, the word of truth can be painful and uncomfortable. But it is the way to holiness, to peace, and to inner freedom. A pastoral approach which truly wants to help the people concerned must always be grounded in the truth. In the end, only the truth can be pastoral.
To live without faith, without a patrimony to defend, without a steady struggle for truth – that is not living, but existing.
It is with great sadness that we note that Bergoglio is on a roll. His assaults on the integrity of the faith seem to be gaining pace. His words seem to be all the more incoherent, as are the excuses used to defend him.
originally published: October 31, 2014 UPDATED JUNE 6, 2016
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