ROME — Pope Francis warned Catholics against the danger of polarization Tuesday, insisting that such divisions are the work of the devil.
The devil wishes to sow division among believers, the pontiff declared in his homily during a Mass commemorating the 60th anniversary of the beginning of the Second Vatican Council. “Let us not give in to his enticements or to the temptation of polarization.”
The pope went on to lament how often Christians preferred to “choose sides in the Church” in the years following the Council.
“How many times did they prefer to cheer on their own party rather than being servants of all?” he asked. “To be progressive or conservative rather than being brothers and sisters? To be on the ‘right’ or ‘left,’ rather than with Jesus?”
In these past decades, many have preferred to present themselves as “guardians of the truth” or “pioneers of innovation,” he continued, “rather than seeing themselves as humble and grateful children of Holy Mother Church.”
These divisions do not come from God, Francis asserted, who wills unity and communion, not divisiveness.
“All of us are children of God, all brothers and sisters in the Church, all of us making up the Church, all of us. That is how the Lord wants us to be,” he said.
“Let us overcome all polarization and preserve our communion. May all of us increasingly ‘be one,’ as Jesus prayed before sacrificing his life for us,” he exhorted.
Francis went on to pray that yearning for unity might grow among the faithful, along with “the desire to commit ourselves to full communion.”
“Let us leave aside the ‘isms,’ for God’s people do not like polarization,” he said. “The people of God is the holy faithful people of God: this is the Church.”
In his homily, the pope concluded by asking God to “free us from the presumption of self-sufficiency and from the spirit of worldly criticism.”
“Prevent us from excluding ourselves from unity,” he said. “You who lovingly feed us, lead us forth from the shadows of self-absorption.”
“You who desire that we be a united flock, save us from the forms of polarization and the ‘isms’ that are the devil’s handiwork,” he prayed.
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