ROME — Pope Francis urged the Christians of Cyprus Friday to bear witness to Jesus Christ but never to proselytize.
Proselytism — or the attempt to convert others to one’s faith — is different from evangelization, the pope suggested, which is the joyful witness of one’s experience of Christ.
Speaking at Mass in Nicosia, the pontiff reflected on the day’s gospel reading that recounts the healing of two blind men, who, despite being “sternly” warned by Jesus not to talk about their cure, spread the news throughout the region.
“There is a bit of irony in this fact: Jesus had told them not to tell anyone, but they do the exact opposite,” the pope noted. “From the story, however, we understand that it is not their intention to disobey the Lord; they simply cannot contain the enthusiasm of having been healed, the joy of their encounter with him.”
Pope Francis celebrates mass at Nicosia’s main football stadium, in the Cypriot capital Nicosia, Europe’s last divided capital, on December 3, 2021. – Pope Francis spoke to thousands of Catholics at an open-air mass in Cyprus, the second day of a visit to the divided island that has focused heavily on the plight of migrants. (ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP via Getty Images)
“And here there is another distinctive sign of the Christian: the joy of the Gospel, which is irrepressible,” Francis added, insisting that “the joy of the Gospel frees us from the risk of a privatized, serious, plaintive faith, and introduces us to the dynamism of witness.”
In his homily, the pope praised his hearers for “joyfully living the liberating proclamation of the Gospel.”
“I thank you for that,” he said. “This is not about proselytizing — please, never proselytize! — but of testimony; not of moralism that judges — ‘no, don’t do it’ — but of mercy that embraces; not of external worship, but of lived love.”
Like the two blind men of the gospel, “let us go out of ourselves without fear to witness Him to those we meet!” Francis said. “Let’s go out to bring the light we have received, let’s go out to illuminate the night that often surrounds us!”
Worshippers attend mass by Pope Francis at Nicosia’s main football stadium, in the Cypriot capital Nicosia. ( AMIR MAKAR/AFP via Getty Images)
“Brothers and sisters, there is a need for Christians who are enlightened but above all luminous,” he said. These are Christians who “touch with tenderness the blindness of the brothers” and “with gestures and words of consolation turn on lights of hope in the dark.”
On Saturday morning, the pope will depart from Cyprus and travel to Athens, Greece. On Sunday, he will visit the Greek island of Lesbos (Lesvos), where he will meet with migrants and refugees before returning to Rome on Monday.