This week’s General Audience took place in an overcast St Peter’s Square before pilgrims and visitors from all over the world. Holy Father Pope Francis continued his reflections on the Ten Commandments, this time focusing on the Fifth: “Do not kill”. His Holiness Pope Francis said that, read in the context of St John’s Gospel, “Jesus reveals a deeper meaning of this commandment”. Even anger against a sister or brother “is a form of murder”. But Jesus does not stop at this, continued the Pope: in the same logic, Jesus adds that even insult and contempt can kill.
As reported by Vatican news, the Pontiff remarked that “Human life needs love. None of us can survive without mercy, we all need forgiveness”, he continued. “So, if killing means destroying, suppressing, eliminating someone, then not killing means taking care of, giving value to, including, and forgiving. The Commandment, “Do not kill”, is a call to love and mercy. It is a call to live according to the Lord Jesus.”
The Pontiff concluded his remarks by inviting all those in St Peter’s Square to remember and to repeat this simple phrase: “Doing no harm is a good thing. But not doing good is not good. We must always do good.” he said.
