The false relationship between mercy and justice in the family

 

A)  The text of the speech by J.M.Bergoglio:

There is then another way of doing justice, which the Bible presents to us as the royal road to take. It is a process that avoids recourse to the tribunal and allows the victim to face the culprit directly and invite him or her to conversion, helping the person to understand that they are doing evil, thus appealing to their conscience. In this way, by finally repenting and acknowledging their wrong, they can open themselves to the forgiveness that the injured party is offering them. And this is beautiful: after being persuaded that what was done was wrong, the heart opens to the forgiveness being offered to it. This is the way to resolve conflicts in the family, in the relationship between spouses or between parents and children, where the offended party loves the guilty one and wishes to save the bond that unites them. Do not sever that bond, that relationship.
Certainly, this is a difficult journey. It requires that those who have been wronged be ready to forgive and desire good and salvation for their offender. Only in this way can justice triumph, because thus, if the culprit acknowledges the evil done and ceases to do it, the evil is no more; and he who was unjust becomes just, because he is forgiven and is helped to rediscover the path of goodness. And this is where forgiveness and mercy come in….” (General Audience – Saint Peter’s Square – Wednesday, 3 February 2016)

 

B) References to Scriptures:

Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay your tithe of mint and dill and cummin and have neglected the weightier matters of the Law-justice, mercy, good faith! These you should have practised, those not neglected” (Mat 23:23)

What should we say, then? That God is unjust? Out of the question! For speaking to Moses, he said: I am gracious to those to whom I am gracious and I take pity on those on whom I take pity. So it is not a matter of what any person wants or what any person does, but only of God having mercy” (Rom 9:14-16)

And in fact God does find fault with them; he says: Look, the days are coming, the Lord declares, when I will make a new covenant with the House of Israel and the House of Judah, but not a covenant like the one I made with their ancestors, the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of Egypt, which covenant of mine they broke, and I too abandoned them, the Lord declares” (Heb 8:8-9)

 

C) Comment:

The theme of the relationship between justice and mercy is delicate and at the same time vital in God’s Plan of Salvation. So it’s necessary to thoroughly understand the terms. What is certain is that Bergoglio proposes the relationship between mercy and justice in a misleading and deceptive way. Consequently, all his reasoning leads those who follow him to go astray.

First of all, Bergoglio is concerned to address the issue of mercy as a remedy for sin, thus making believe that sin is inevitable. But this is not true. This contradicts the Father’s first invitation that urges his children to be holy as He is holy. The example is given by Jesus, the Man God, showing how man can live a life without sin. This is the example to follow, in all relationships. That’s why this concept of mercy is deceptive from the beginning.

Bergoglio is also increasingly concerned with justifying those who commit the mistake before worrying about who undergoes it. This is deeply unfair. This is not the true justice of God. That’s why true justice must worry about who suffered the wrong and not vice versa.

The true mercy of God cannot be implemented without first recognizing Christ, the Son of the living God, the only Mediator between the Father and mankind. Those who do not recognize Christ, the Son of the living God, and do not convert to His teachings, changing life and embracing the true religion, cannot expect or hope to receive the Mercy of the Father, who in Christ Is.

Bergoglio said: there is not, not even for those who believe, an absolute Truth (but for Christians, Christ is the Absolute Truth); there is not a Catholic God (but for authentic Christians, Christ is the Catholic God, Universal). Bergoglio has shown to not believe in Christ as the only Savior of the world, when he expressed his new religion, that unites the other ideas of religion, discarding and sacrificing Christ, no longer at the center of everything.

Without the action of Christ, all this could not be accomplished. So it is not true, as Bergoglio affirms, that if the offender recognizes the harm done and stops doing it, here it is that evil has gone, and he who was unjust becomes just. Evil is cancelled in the blood of the Lamb. The one who was unfair, however, does not become just like a magic spell. The sinner from then on, must start a conversion and redemption path. So that the sinner from unfair becomes just, he must first ask for forgiveness with sincerity and so radically change life, to sin no more. Only the fruits of lasting conversion will attest that the unjust is on the way to become right, with will, live passion and sacrifice.

In family relationships, taking the example of the union of two spouses who in Christ promise mutual fidelity, it must be first understood that this promise must never be broken. From this we must start. This pact of alliance should be maintained with all our strength. This is what must be done. And this is what should always be said.

Bergoglio, in his speech, says that “to no cut that relationship, that relation” even if “this is a difficult journey“. But Bergoglio contradicts himself. Bergoglio on his own, in his motu proprio, has written new rules for which Christian spouses can be separated by “cutting” the relationship with total ease (it is sufficient to declare that one didn’t have faith when the marriage covenant was ratified).

What coherence does Bergoglio demonstrate? None. And what (false) mercy does Bergoglio show? A false mercy that does not spur to sin no more, to remain holy and faithful to the conjugal Promise. A false mercy that deceives the hearts and minds. This is the first deception.

The second deception, even more devious and painful for those who receive the damage, is to be told, after this manifested inconsistency, that in the name and by virtue of a (false) mercy, you “must” forgive. Forgiveness is so perceived, by those who have suffered wrong, as an obligation.

God the Father Almighty, and so the Son Christ, do not teach this. Jesus says that “justice, mercy and faithfulness” must all be respected. St. Paul tells us that mercy is a prerogative of God. God decides if and when to forgive, after the men were wrong. One cannot demand mercy after betraying. One cannot demand mercy, after having failed, after betraying the Covenant sanctioned in the name of God. Whoever betrays cannot demand anything.

As a result, you can never oblige those who have been betrayed to keep the marital relationship alive. A man betrayed by his wife, who betrayed the conjugal covenant, cannot be obliged to continue the marital relationship. You cannot rage against those who, after suffering the injury, are likely to also suffer insult in morally feeling compelled to keep that relationship alive, especially when there are not the right conditions, such as those who have betrayed are not sincerely repented; as when those who have betrayed, have also used full will in betraying. Different would be the case in which, those who have betrayed, realizing their mistake, having even more strength by their error, they will not want to sin again but will change life and will want to be more holy than before, with sacrifice and with living and true will.

This is true justice that relates to the true mercy. There can never be real mercy without true justice.

Understanding this, we understand the subtle and deadly deceit that the false mercy, taught by Bergoglio, can cause in the hearts and minds of those who, instead of trying not to sin, lie back thinking that mercy, always, all excuses and all remedies.