Pope ends 2014 with an examination of conscience, above all on the poor

“In his final public appearance of 2014, Pope Francis on Wednesday invited believers to a serious “examination of conscience” about sins both personal and communal during the past year, especially whether “the poor, weak, and marginalized are the center of our thoughts and daily actions.”

“We need a great daily attitude of Christian liberation,” the pope said, “to defend the poor rather than defending ourselves from the poor, and to defend the weak rather than defending ourselves from the weak.”

In his homily for a New Year’s Eve vespers service, Pope Francis set up a contrast between what he described as the liberation offered by Christ and the slavery imposed by sin.

“Paradoxically,” he said, “often more or less unconsciously we prefer slavery,” he said, arguing that the responsibility implied by freedom “frightens us.””

Somehow this sounds a lot like Matthew 25.

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