Pope Francis invited a dozen refugees to join him on the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica for his general audience to press his demand for Europe to welcome more migrants.
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He said the papal visit underlines peace and the Pope’s desire to show his closeness to the entire nation of Armenia, whose people have suffered so much during their long history.
The majority of couples she meets who are preparing for marriage frequently tell her that they want to commit for life, she said, “but they often have their own personal asterisks – the unspoken “exceptions” that they believe will justify divorce and remarriage later on”. Pope Francis urged the more than 15,000 people present to “touch the excluded”, using the Bible story of Jesus healing a man with leprosy.
“Jesus teaches us to not be afraid to touch the poor and the marginalized, because He is in them”, he continued.
“Everything this man – who was considered impure – says and does is an expression of his faith!” the pope said. We offer him a coin but we avoid touching his hand, we toss (the coin) there. If this leper broke the law, Jesus did likewise by touching the man and cleansing him of the disease.
Taking up again the theme of mercy during this week’s audience, Francis cited the evangelist St. Luke’s account of Jesus healing a faith-filled leper guided his catechesis.
“A Christian excludes no one, makes room for everyone, lets everybody come”, he said. “And we forget that it is the body of Christ!”
Secondly, in asking the leper to register his healing with a priest, he is readmitting the leper to society, added Pope Francis.
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Pope Francis remains a passionate supporter of refugees. Recently, the Vatican brought a second group to Rome from the Moria Refugee Camp based on the island of Lesbos.
