God's mercy overwhelms Chinese prisoner in Italy

‎“The Pope is a man in need of God’s mercy,” confides Pope Francis to a journalist in a book that was ‎officially released in Rome on Jan. 12, going on sale in 86 countries.  “The Name of God is Mercy” is ‎the title of the book in ‎interview format, in which the 79-year old pontiff argues his case for the ‎merciful face of God, emphasizing God never tires of forgiving and actually prefers ‎sinners who repent ‎over self-righteous moralizers who don't.  The publication, “The Name of God ‎is Mercy”, available in Italian, English, French, German, Spanish and Portuguese, takes an in-depth look ‎at Pope Francis' vision of mercy and forgiveness, with nine chapters of candid questions-and-answers ‎between the Holy Father and Italian journalist AndreaTornielli.‎

Among the speakers at the Jan. 12 press conference to officially release of “The Name of God is Mercy” at the Patristic ‎Institute "Augustinianum”, were Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, noted ‎Italian actor, ‎comedian, screenwriter and director, Roberto Benigni,  the author of the book, Andrea Tornielli, and others. ‎   However, the most poignant presentation at the book launch ‎came from Zhang Agostino Jianqing, a 30-year old Chinese immigrant in Italy who related his story of ‎committing a “grave error” at age 19 and being sentenced to 20 years in prison.  Last year he received Baptism in prison. Zhang spoke in Italian.  In today’s edition of THE BACKGROUNDER, we ‎bring you extracts of his testimony. 

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