Church ministers should summon the
courage to say no to powerful politicians when they are in the
wrong, Pope Francis said Thursday.
"Even today, in Europe and in every part of the world, to be
Christians, and in particular to be ministers of the Church,
consecrated men and women, requires saying 'no' to the powers of
this world to confirm the 'yes' to the Gospel," said the pontiff
while receiving in audience at the Vatican the community of the
Pontifical Nepomuk College.
The pope added: "Sometimes they are political powers, sometimes
they are ideological and cultural and their conditioning is more
subtle, it passes through the media, which can exert pressure,
discredit, blackmail, isolate and so on".
Francis recalled the sacrifice of the patron Saint John Nepomuk
saying "I'm always struck by the fact that he was killed because
he wanted to stay faithful to the secret of Confession".
John of Nepomuk (or John Nepomucene), c. 1345 - 20 March 1393,
was the saint of Bohemia (Czech Republic) who was drowned in the
Vltava river at the behest of Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia. Later
accounts state that he was the confessor of the queen of Bohemia
and refused to divulge the secrets of the confessional. On the
basis of this account, John of Nepomuk is considered the first
martyr of the Seal of the Confessional, a patron against
calumnies and, because of the manner of his death, a protector
from floods and drowning.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
