Pope says he wept for Christians crucified

May 02, 2014 - Even today there are many “masters of conscience” in some countries who kill in the ‎name of God and put people in prison for possessing a cross or a copy of the Gospel, Pope Francis ‎said on Friday. Speaking in his homily at the morning Mass in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta ‎residence, the Pope reflected on the Acts of the Apostles episode of Christ's disciples being flogged by ‎the Sanhedrin, and offered three icons. The first is the ‘power of love’ of Jesus who shows his love for ‎people and his concern for their problems as demonstrated in the Gospel episode of the Multiplication of Loaves.
The second is the ‘jealousy’ and hypocrisy of the religious ‎authorities of the time, whom the Pope described as the ‎‘masters of conscience”, who couldn’t stand people following Jesus. The ‎father of envy, the Pope said, is the devil who brought evil into the world. They paid to silence the ‎truth, the Pope said, adding they cannot tolerate the meekness of Jesus, they cannot tolerate the ‎meekness of the Gospel, they cannot tolerate love, and hence out of envy and hate, pay to hide the truth. In this ‎regard he recalled the unjust flogging of Jesus followers under orders of the Sanhedrin, whose members ‎with their political and ecclesiastical maneuvers continue to dominate the people. Even in today's ‎world, there are so many ‘master of conscience”, the Pope noted, adding he wept on hearing the news of ‎Christians crucified in a non-Christian country. Still today, he lamented, there are these people who ‎kill and persecute, in the name of God. However, there are also many who, like the apostles, "rejoice ‎that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor in Christ's name". This, the Pope said is the third icon ‎‎– the joy of witness. Just think that in some countries, you can go to jail for just carrying a Gospel. You ‎may not wear a crucifix or you will be fined. But the heart rejoices.‎