QUESTION: “Lust is not the worst of the seven deadly sins,” according to Pope Francis. He made this comment about the resignation of the archbishop of Paris. He said, “I accepted the resignation of Aupetit not on the altar of truth, but the altar of hypocrisy. There is a sin there, but not the worst kind.” What is your comment on this position of Pope Francis?

ANSWER: The archbishop has not accepted fully this comment from the Holy Father. He has a different interpretation regarding the whole incident. We do not know exactly the truth behind it. But, at the same time, what the Holy Father said also hints at a current reality in the church, which is that man, because of his human weakness, is part of his very nature. This means, we have to accept the human reality when we take the vow of celibacy, priest-hood, or consecrated life if we are to be true to our vocation or the vows that we take. There are moments of weaknesses which we should squarely face. In Western communities, they are rather loose in matters of sex, but they are very strict when it concerns any leader, priest, or bishop. Definitely, there is a contradiction in this kind of attitude. When you pro-claim that you are leading a life of celibacy, they expect you to be honest about it. The Pope is trying to say that some people take sins like pride, hatred etc very lightly, but, at the same time, get scandalised by sexual misdeeds. When the allegation against Cardinal Bernardin of Chicago came up, the entire media celebrated it. But when the cardinal personally met the victim, he admitted that it was a false accusation. The media did not take notice of the retraction. The media are always searching for the sensational and the spicy.

Bp. Alex Vadakumthala
Kannur