Pope Francis lays out his case for emphasizing the merciful face of the Catholic Church in his first book as pontiff, saying God never tires of forgiving and actually prefers the sinners who repent over self-righteous moralizers who don’t.
“The Name of God Is Mercy,” a 100-page conversation with Italian journalist Andrea Tornielli, is being published this week in 86 countries to help kick-start Francis’ Holy Year of Mercy.
A copy was provided in advance to The Associated Press on Sunday.
In the book, Francis condemns what he calls the “scholars of law” — the doctrinaire-minded rigorists who throughout the history of the church have challenged Jesus’ message of unconditional love and mercy for even the most wretched of sinners.
He says often these self-righteous Christians are hypocrites themselves, using the law to hide their own “deep wounds.”