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Pope Francis: Don't be indifferent to those who are sick or in prison


During his General Audience on Wednesday with pilgrims in St Peter's Square, Pope Francis urged the faithful not to fall into indifference but to become active instruments of mercy. As the Holy Year of Mercy comes to end, he was reflecting on the corporal work of mercy that calls us to visit the sick and those in prison.

Those who are sick can feel very lonely and even a short visit can make someone feel much better, he said. "A little company is excellent medicine!.. A smile, a caress, a handshake are simple gestures, but so important.. Let us not leave the sick alone!'

Describing hospitals as 'cathedrals of pain,' the Pope said visiting the sick brings them relief but also is an act which enriches us. "How much good is done when we visit the sick and those in prison, and how much we ourselves are enriched by these acts of charity!"

While acknowledging that prisoners often have made serious errors and justly are serving time for their mistake, the Pope noted: "Whatever one prisoner may have done, he still remains loved by God...Who can enter in the depths of his conscience to understand what proof? Who can understand the pain and remorse? It is too easy for others to wash their hands, saying: 'He was wrong.'"

"Lack of freedom is without doubt one of the greatest deprivations for a human being" the Pope said. "If to this, is added the degrading, often inhumane conditions in which these individuals often find themselves living, then it is truly a case in which a Christian must feels stirred to do everything to help restore their dignity."

This must be done with an attitude of sharing and respect, he said.

"I often think of those in prison ... I often think, I carry them in my heart. I wonder what led them to commit a crime and how they could succumb to different forms of evil. Yet, along with these thoughts I feel that they all require closeness and tenderness because the mercy of God works wonders."

Pope Francis recalled how many prisoners he has visited, wept, because they felt welcomed and loved.

"May we we not fall into indifference, but become instruments of God's mercy," Pope Francis concluded, urging that our acts of mercy can help "restore joy and dignity to those who have lost it."

Source: Vatican Radio

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