By Junno Arocho Esteves
VATICAN
CITY (CNS) — Christians must beware of a “polite” persecution that is cloaked in a disguise
of “culture, modernity and progress,” Pope Francis said.
Those
who suffer this kind of persecution are not persecuted “for confessing
Christ’s name, but for wanting to have and manifesting the values of the son of
God,” he said April 12 during the Mass in
the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae.
“We see every day that the
powerful make laws that force them to go on this path, and a nation that does not follow these
modern, cultured laws, or at least does not have them in their legislation, are accused (and) are
politely persecuted,” he said.
The
day’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles (7:51-8:1) recalled the martyrdom
of St. Stephen, who was stoned to death after firmly rebuking the scribes and
elders who “always oppose the Holy Spirit.”
The
pope said that persecution is “the church’s daily bread” and that today,
there are “everyday men and women” who are martyred for the faith.
“Only
three weeks ago, those Christians celebrating Easter in Pakistan were martyred
precisely because they were celebrating the risen Christ. And like so, the history of the
church goes forward with its martyrs,” the pope said.
However,
he added, there is also a “polite” persecution that “takes away
from man and woman their freedom, as well as their right to conscientious objection.”
“Jesus
has named the head of this ‘polite’ persecution: the prince of this world. And
when the powerful want to impose behaviors, laws against the dignity of the son
of God, they persecute them and go against God the Creator. It is the great
apostasy,” the pope said.
Pope
Francis said that although Christians are besieged by persecution, Jesus will always remain
close.
“The Lord has promised that he will not be
far from us: ‘Beware, beware! Do not fall for the spirit of the world. Beware!
But go forward, I will be with you,'” he said.
– – –
Follow Arocho on Twitter: @arochoju
– – –
Copyright © 2016 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. www.catholicnews.com. All rights reserved. Republishing or redistributing of CNS content, including by framing or similar means without prior permission, is prohibited. You may link to stories on our public site. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To request permission for republishing or redistributing of CNS content, please contact permissions at cns@catholicnews.com.
