Highlights from Amoris Laetitia (307-310)
Chapter 8: The Logic of Pastoral Mercy
- To show understanding in the face of exceptional situations never implies dimming the light of the fuller ideal, or proposing less than what Jesus offers to the human being. (307)
- I understand those who prefer a more rigorous pastoral care which leaves no room for confusion. But I sincerely believe that Jesus wants a Church attentive to the goodness which the Holy Spirit sows in the midst of human weakness, a Mother who, while clearly expressing her objective teaching, “always does what good she can, even if in the process, her shoes get soiled by the mud of the street.” (308)
- "The Bride of Christ must pattern her behaviour after the Son of God who goes out to everyone without exception.” She knows that Jesus himself is the shepherd of the hundred, not just of the ninety-nine. He loves them all. (309)
- We cannot forget that “mercy is not only the working of the Father; it becomes a criterion for knowing who his true children are. In a word, we are called to show mercy because mercy was first shown to us.” (310)
- It is true that at times “we act as arbiters of grace rather than its facilitators. But the Church is not a tollhouse; it is the house of the Father, where there is a place for everyone, with all their problems.” (310)
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