Bogoslovska smotra, Vol. 86 No. 3, 2016.
Original scientific paper
God´s Mercy According to the Teachings of Post-conciliar Popes
Anton Tamarut
; Catholic Faculty of Theology, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
The teaching of the five post-conciliar popes on God´s mercy is a response to special needs of contemporary, spiritually impoverished and wounded human being and the world and it is a part of the task of the Church that ought to realise the letter and the spirit of the Second Vatican Council. Already at the beginning of the Council, in his renowned speech Gaudet Mater Ecclesia, John XXIII has clearly expressed the commit ment of the Church for »oil of mercy, instead of weapon of severness« and expressed his wish for the Church to show itself as »kind and benevolent mother of all, full of mercy and goodness«. The narrative of the Good Samaritan is not only the paradigm that reminds us of spirituality of the Second Vatican Council, but also mirrors the direction and decisiveness of the Church to be the merciful Samaritan to wounded humankind in the contemporary world. In their teachings on mercy, all five popes emphasise the importance of the social dimension of love and they primarily point out the primacy of love over justice, while reflecting on justice in the service of love. The teaching on mercy of the five post-conciliar popes carries within itself a deep message oflove and hope that have their source in God, who showed us the richness of his mercy in Jesus Christ, in his Cross and Resurrection. The mystery of God´s mercy and hope that springs from it, gives us certainty that there is no situation from which there would be no way out and that we are not, as Pope Francis stated, »destined to drown in quicksand«. On the contrary, we are destined for life. We have been chosen, created, and redeemed for love, for life in communion with the Triune God, with God who is love and whose name is Mercy.
Keywords
mercy; tenderness; love; forgiveness; justice; Christ´s Cross; resurrection; Church
Hrčak ID:
170878
URI
Publication date:
17.12.2016.
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