VATICAN CITY
Zenit
Vatican City, April 15, 2013 (Zenit.org) Staff
Drawing from the First Reading account of Stephen, the first martyr, being dragged before the Sanhedrin, Pope Francis today strongly condemned the sin of calumny.
At his customary morning Mass in Domus Sanctae Marthae, the Holy Father noted that Stephen was accused of “false witness,” and that his enemies chose “the path of calumny.”
Vatican Radio reported on the Holy Father’s homily, noting that Francis described calumny as worse than sin and a direct expression of Satan.
“We are all sinners; all of us. We all commit sins. But calumny is something else. It is of course a sin, too, but it is something more. Calumny aims to destroy the work of God, and calumny comes from a very evil thing: it is born of hatred. And hate is the work of Satan. Calumny destroys the work of God in people, in their souls. Calumny uses lies to get ahead. And let us be in no doubt, eh?: Where there is calumny, there is Satan himself,” he said.
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