Source: Zenit
LISBON, Portugal, MAY 11, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI says the greatest persecution that the Church endures comes from the sins of her own children.
The Pope said this en route to Portugal, in response to a question about the sufferings the Church endures today in the midst of the sex abuse scandal.
"The attacks on the Pope and the Church do not just come from outside, but the sufferings of the Church come precisely from within the Church, from the sin that is in the Church," he said. "This has always been known, but today we see it in a really terrifying way: The greatest persecution of the Church does not come from external enemies, but is born from the sin in the Church.
"And the Church, therefore, has the profound need to learn penance again, to accept purification, to learn on one hand forgiveness, as well as the need for justice. Forgiveness does not replace justice."
Still, the Pope confirmed that "the Lord is stronger than evil and the Virgin is, for us, the visible, maternal guarantee of the goodness of God, who is always the last word in history."
Article provided by ZENIT News Agency.