Misericordia et Misera: a Summary

As the Year of Mercy ended, Pope Francis signed an apostolic letter imploring us to continue being merciful, called Misericordia et Misera. The title can be translated as "Mercy and Misery". St. Augustine used this expression to explain the episode of the Gospel in which people wanted to stone an adulterous woman and Jesus forgives her. This letter continues the key themes of Pope Francis, especially that of Mercy.

Pope introduces his theme in the first paragraph: “Mercy cannot become a mere parenthesis in the life of the Church; it constitutes her very existence, through which the profound truths of the Gospel are made manifest and tangible.  Everything is revealed in mercy; everything is resolved in the merciful love of the Father” (MM 1). “Forgiveness is the most visible sign of the Father’s love, which Jesus sought to reveal by his entire life.  Every page of the Gospel is marked by this imperative of a love that loves to the point of forgiveness” (MM 2). From this Francis draws the fact that “none of us has the right to make forgiveness conditional”. For this to be understood well, two distinctions are helpful: first, God puts some limits on forgiveness which we must respect as absolution is not given if someone firmly intends to commit the sin again they are confessing; second, forgiving does not imply giving free reign as an abused woman might forgive her ex-husband yet file a restraining order against him.

“Mercy gives rise to joy, because our hearts are opened to the hope of a new life.” To a technological and sad culture, the Pope offers an antidote: “All who put aside sadness and put on joy will live in God” (MM 3). Pope Francis suggests “pastoral conversion” which is “shaped daily by the renewing force of mercy” (MM 5) as part of the new evangelization. The footnote explains that “pastoral conversion” is a conversion of the Church’s ministry to more openness and outreach.

Pope Francis says, “We are called to celebrate mercy,” and proposes with four ways to do this.

First, “From the beginning to the end of the Eucharistic celebration, mercy constantly appears in the dialogue between the assembly at prayer and the heart of the Father” (MM 5)

Second, “Hearing the word of God” celebrates mercy because, “In the biblical readings, we retrace the history of our salvation through the proclamation of God’s tireless work of mercy” (MM 6)

Third, “The Bible is the great story of the marvels of God’s mercy” (MM 7). In this context he suggests a “Bible Sunday” every year without further details.

Fourth, “The celebration of mercy takes place in a very particular way in the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation.” Here, “God shows us the way to turn back to him and invites us to experience his closeness anew” (MM 8)

Pope also lists the attributes a priest should have in hearing confessions: “I ask you to be welcoming to all, witnesses of fatherly love whatever the gravity of the sin involved, attentive in helping penitents to reflect on the evil they have done, clear in presenting moral principles, willing to walk patiently beside the faithful on their penitential journey, far-sighted in discerning individual cases and generous in dispensing God’s forgiveness” (MM 10). “No law or precept can prevent God from once more embracing the son who returns to him, admitting that he has done wrong but intending to start his life anew”. (MM 11)

Paragraph 12 extends two dispensations:
First, all priests can forgive the sin of abortion. "Given this need, lest any obstacle arise between the request for reconciliation and God’s forgiveness, I henceforth grant to all priests, in virtue of their ministry, the faculty to absolve those who have committed the sin of procured abortion. The provision I had made in this regard, limited to the duration of the Extraordinary Holy Year, is hereby extended, notwithstanding anything to the contrary". But at the same time he wants to restate firmly that abortion is a grave sin, since it puts an end to an innocent life. In the same way, however, he states that there is no sin that God’s mercy cannot reach and wipe away when it finds a repentant heart seeking to be reconciled with the Father. He exhorts every priest, therefore, be a guide, support and comfort to penitents on their journey of special reconciliation.

The second disposition is extended faculties for confession to the priests of the Society of St. Pius X until further provisions are made.

Pope Francis encourages the mercy of consolation where words of hope reach those in pain. We might suffer pain, “yet God is never far from us at these moments of sadness and trouble” (MM 13). Mercy is interpersonal: “It is an encounter between two hearts: the heart of God who comes to meet us and a human heart.  The latter is warmed and healed by the former” (MM 16).

“The social character of mercy demands that we not simply stand by and do nothing.  It requires us to banish indifference and hypocrisy” (MM 19). He calls for “a culture of mercy” - like John Paul II called for “a culture of life” - which is “based on the rediscovery of encounter with others, a culture in which no one looks at another with indifference or turns away from the suffering of our brothers and sisters.  The works of mercy are ‘handcrafted’, in the sense that none of them is alike” (MM 20). As a conclusion to the Year of Mercy, Francis tells us, “the Jubilee now ends and the Holy Door is closed.  But the door of mercy of our heart continues to remain wide open” (MM 16).