In his Sunday Eucharist, the auxiliary bishop of Managua, Monsignor Silvio José Báez, highlighted the Christian value of not judging others for the sins they have committed, emphasizing that God opposes those who set themselves up as “inquisitors” of others.
“Authentic religiosity and true worship of God consists in introducing God’s love and mercy within human frailty, poverty and weakness,” explained Báez.
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The bishop, using the Gospel passage referring to the woman who is found in adultery, asked the believers to have a look like that of Christ, who did not judge her -as requested by the Jewish religious leaders-, but had an attitude of listening and compassion for those who commit sins due to human frailty.
«Those religious men who accused women are us when we do not stop to humbly recognize our defects, but we are attentive to discover the faults of others. Those religious men are us when we invoke God with our lips, but we deny him by treating others without understanding or mercy, even murmuring and gossiping about their faults, “said the Catholic hierarch.
“Restore dignity”
The auxiliary bishop of Managua urged the parishioners to put aside the religious hypocrisy that is present in many Church communities in the face of the faults that believers can commit.
“Only when we break down the wall of our religious hypocrisy and open our hearts to the truth, are we able to be merciful. When we humbly recognize that we are sinful human beings, weak and fragile, but loved and forgiven by God, we are no longer capable of ruthlessly condemning others », he exhorted.
Báez also assured that while the Jewish religious leaders were determined to harass the woman, Jesus restores her dignity by not judging her and talking to her.
“Addressing the woman with respect, Jesus restores her dignity. He gives her the floor, he wants to listen to her. He does not hold her sin in her face, he does not ask her for an explanation of what happened, he does not even demand that she show signs of conversion. That’s how Jesus is. He never leaves us sunk in our sin, nor does he identify us with the evil we have committed, “explained the religious leader.
“God forbids to condemn”
Monsignor Báez ended the homily by emphasizing that God does not allow judgment within the Christian community and always puts the emphasis on those who have the most difficult time achieving holiness of life.
“We don’t need people to throw stones at others; We do not need hard-hearted and rigid-minded people, but people who know how to understand, who are sensitive to help and strong to forgive. If something had to be condemned, what must always be condemned is the legalism that oppresses men, the self-righteousness that fosters religious hypocrisy, and the cruel intolerance that points the finger, judging or marginalizing others”, the bishop concluded. .
