Scottish Catholic Observer

Pope Francis has said the Church must put mercy first as he opened a Holy Door at St Peter’s Basilica and launched the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy.

The Pope was joined by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI on Tuesday as he pushed open the doors and prayed on the threshold of the Basilica on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

The year from December 8 to the Feast of Christ the King next November, has been declared a jubilee year during which the faithful can receive blessing and pardon from God and remission of sins.

Across the world Holy Doors will be opened in cathedrals and churches with St Andrew’s Cathedral in Glasgow and St Mary’s Cathedral in Edinburgh set to open their Holy Doors on Sunday.

Archbishop Leo Cushley of St Andrews and Edinburgh has said he hopes Catholics will re-embrace the Sacrament of Confession in the Year of Mercy.

Launch

Seventy thousand people attended Mass in St Peter’s Square before the opening on Tuesday, which had very stringent security including uniformed military patrolling through the crowd.

In his homily, the Pope said the Extraordinary Holy Year was a gift of grace.

“To pass through the Holy Door means to rediscover the infinite mercy of the Father who welcomes everyone and goes out personally to encounter each of them,” he said. “This will be a year in which we grow ever more convinced of God’s mercy.”

“But that is the truth,” he went on. “We have to put mercy before judgement, and in any event God’s judgement will always be in the light of His mercy. In passing through the Holy Door, then, may we feel that we ourselves are part of this mystery of love. Let us set aside all fear and dread, for these do not befit men and women who are loved. Instead, let us experience the joy of encountering that grace which transforms all things.”

Second Vatican Council

The Pope also paid tribute to the Second Vatican Council as ‘a genuine encounter between the Church and the men and women of our time.’

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—This story ran in full in the December 11 edition print of the SCO, available in parishes.