During his homily at his first morning Mass at Santa Marta since the summer break, Pope Francis recommended “silence and prayer” when one is confronted “with people lacking good will, with people who only seek scandal, who seek only division, who seek only destruction, even within the family: silence, prayer.”
His remarks on Sept. 3 are being viewed as his first public response to the 11-page letter of Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, the former nuncio to the United States. Many have sought to get Francis or the Vatican to respond to Archbishop Viganò’s serious allegations that as pope he covered up the multiple abuses of the former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick after the former-nuncio said he told Pope Francis about these offenses in a private audience on June 23, 2013.
“The truth is meek. The truth is silent. The truth is not noisy,” Pope Francis said in his homily.
The archbishop also alleged that Francis had lifted what are now being described as “private” sanctions alleged to have been imposed on Archbishop McCarrick by Benedict XVI in 2009 or 2010. Without providing evidence for these charges, Archbishop Viganò called for the pope’s resignation.
But the pope only urged journalists to look into the archbishop’s allegations and has so far refused to comment further.
“The truth is meek. The truth is silent. The truth is not noisy,” Pope Francis said in his homily. He was commenting on the Gospel story of the day from Luke that describes how Jesus reacted when he returned to Nazareth and met with opposition from his former neighbors after commenting on a passage from the prophet Isaiah.
Even in a family, Pope Francis said, there are times when a discussion of politics or sports or money escalates into a truly destructive argument; “in these discussions in which you see the devil is there and wants to destroy—silence. Have your say, then keep quiet.”
“With his silence,” he said, Jesus wins against “the wild dogs”; he wins against “the devil” that “sowed lies in the heart.”
He said the Gospel story helps us “to reflect how to act in daily life, when there are misunderstandings” and “to understand how the father of lies, the accuser, the devil, acts to destroy the unity of a family, of a people.”
He recalled Jesus’ silent composure on that occasion, when people wanted him to do miracles as he had done elsewhere, but when he chose instead to comment on the prophet’s words and they got furious and the atmosphere quickly changed “from peace to war.” Jesus adopted “silence” when confronted with the devil.
Pope Francis said that those who attacked Jesus “were not persons, they were a pack of wild dogs that threw him out of the city. They did not reason. They shouted. Jesus stayed silent. They took him to the top of the mountain to throw him down, but he passed through their midst and went away.”
“With his silence,” he said, Jesus wins against “the wild dogs”; he wins against “the devil” that “sowed lies in the heart.”
Pope Francis said that Jesus’ dignity shines through “this silence that triumphs” over his attackers, as it would also on Good Friday when they shouted “crucify him!” after praising him on Palm Sunday.
He acknowledged that what Jesus did is not easy, but “silence wins, through the Cross.” He emphasized that “the dignity of the Christian is anchored in the power of God.”
Pope Francis concluded by praying,“May the Lord give us the grace to discern when we should speak and when we should stay silent. This applies to every part of life: to work, at home, in society.”
In this way, he said, “we will be closer imitators of Jesus.”
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