Pope Francis: audience, “it is all too easy to wash our hands” of prisoners, no “vigilantism”. “I often think of them, I carry them in my heart”

“It is all too easy to wash our hands” of prisoners: “let no one point the finger at another”. Pope Francis said this in his General Audience catechesis today, in which he explained that “visiting the imprisoned is a work of mercy that takes on great significance today as we are faced with different forms of vigilantism”. “Jesus “did not forget” the prisoners, on the contrary, by “including visiting the sick in the works of mercy, He wanted to exhort us not to judge anyone”, the Pope said. “If one is behind bars, it is because s/he has made a mistake, or has not respected the law or civil coexistence. This is why they are in jail, because they are serving their sentence. However, no matter what a prisoner may have done, s/he is always loved by God”, the Pope pointed out. “Who can penetrate the depths of their conscience to understand what they feel? Who can feel their pain and regret?”. “It is all too easy to wash our hands by saying they have made a mistake!”, he warned. “Rather, a Christian is called to take on responsibility so that those who have made mistakes may understand their wrongdoings and be rehabilitated. For a human being, the lack of freedom is undoubtedly one of the greatest deprivations. If we add to this the degradation and inhuman conditions in which these people have to live, then a Christian should really feel called to try his or her best to return them their dignity”. “Hence let no one point the finger at another!”, the Pontiff exhorted. “Rather, let us all become instruments of mercy, with gestures of sharing and respect”. “I often think of prisoners, I carry them in my heart”, Pope Francis repeated: “I ask myself what has led them to crime and how they could become involved in various forms of evil. Yet, alongside these thoughts, I also feel that they are all in need of closeness and tenderness, because God’s mercy works wonders. How many tears I have seen flowing from the cheeks of prisoners, they who may never have cried before in their lives; and this was simply because they felt accepted and loved”.