Foreign Affairs

The message in the Angelus

The Pope in St. Peter's Square: "It is convenient to look for a culprit instead of asking questions"

Commenting on the Gospel of John, in the passage dedicated to the healing of the blind man, the Pontiff told the faithful: "Let us ask for the grace to see the various circumstances of life, even the most difficult to accept as opportunities to do good".

19/03/2023

"What position do we take, what would we have said then? And above all, what are we doing today?" These are the questions that the Pontiff highlighted during the Angelus before the faithful, commenting on the passage of the Gospel of John dedicated to the healing of the blind man.

"It is convenient to look for a culprit, instead of asking more demanding questions," Pope Francis said as he looked out of the window of his study in the Vatican Apostolic Palace before the faithful and pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square.

"Let us ask for the grace to be amazed every day by God's gifts and to see the various circumstances of life, even the most difficult to accept, as opportunities to do good, as Jesus did with the blind man. May Our Lady help us in this, together with St. Joseph, a just and faithful man", the Holy Father added, referring to the passage from the Gospel of John that "shows us Jesus who restores sight to a man blind from birth".

A prodigy "badly received by various individuals and groups", Pope Francis pointed out, specifying that this passage of the Gospel is a teaching for us too, because too often, he pointed out, "we seek another explanation, we seek a more elegant way out rather than seeking the truth".

At the end of the Angelus, Bergoglio greeted the participants in the Rome Marathon, expressed his closeness to the Ecuadorian people affected by the earthquake and invited the faithful to pray for the martyred Ukrainian people who continue to suffer from war crimes".