(Vatican Radio) The destructive force of calumny was the focus of Pope Francis’ homily
for Mass on Monday morning celebrated with staff from the Vatican’s telecommunications
office and internet services. Emer McCarthy reports:
The Pope drew
inspiration from the daily readings, in particular the first reading that recounts
the episode of Stephen, the first martyr of the Church, being dragged before the Sanhedrin
because of his witness to the Gospel. Pope Francis noted that Stephen was a victim
of calumny. He is accused of “false witness” but it is not a “fair fight, a fight
between good men”, noted Pope Francis, because Stephen’s enemies chose the path of
a dirty fight, “the path of calumny”. Calumny he continued is worse than sin - it
is the direct expression of Satan.
"We are all sinners; all of us. We all commit
sins. But calumny is something else. It is of course a sin, too, but it is something
more. Calumny aims to destroy the work of God, and calumny comes from a very evil
thing: it is born of hatred. And hate is the work of Satan. Calumny destroys the work
of God in people, in their souls. Calumny uses lies to get ahead. And let us be in
no doubt, eh?: Where there is calumny, there is Satan himself. "
From the behaviour
of the accusers, Pope Francis then turned his attention to the accused. Stephan, he
noted, does not return falsehood with falsehood: "He does not want to go that way
to save himself. He looks to the Lord and obeys the law", being in the peace and truth
of Christ. And that Pope Francis said “is what happens in the history of the Church",
because from the first martyr until today there have been numerous examples of those
who have witnessed to the Gospel with great courage:
"But the age of martyrs
is not yet over, even today we can say, in truth, that the Church has more martyrs
now than during the first centuries. The Church has many men and women who are maligned
through calumny, who are persecuted, who are killed in hatred of Jesus, in hatred
of the faith: some are killed because they teach the catechism, others are killed
because they wear the cross ... Today, in many countries, they are maligned, they
are persecuted ... they are our brothers and sisters who are suffering today, in this
age of the martyrs".
And again Pope Francis repeated “The age of martyrs is
not yet over, the Church has more martyrs now than during the first centuries". This
age of “such great spiritual turmoil” reminded the Pope of an ancient Russian icon
that depicts Our Lady covering the people of God with her mantle:
"We pray
to Our Lady to protect us, and in times of spiritual turbulence the safest place is
under the mantle of Our Lady. She is the mother who takes care of the Church. And
in this time of martyrs, she is the protagonist, the protagonist of protection: She
is the Mother. (...) Let us state with faith: Mother, the Church is under your protection:
Care for the Church. '"