Vatican City, Feb 4, 2010 / 10:01 am
Today Pope Benedict XVI made public his Lenten message for 2010 emphasizing “divine justice” which, he noted, “is profoundly different from it's human counterpart.” In his reflection, the Pontiff touched on the fact that modern man has a tendency to focus on alleviating external concerns regarding injustice yet often fails to look internally, where the origin of injustice lies.
The Holy Father began his message on the common, human usage of the term “justice” saying that it is generally defined as every person receiving what is “due” to them.
“In reality, however, this classical definition does not specify what 'due' is to be rendered to each person,” explained the Pope. “What man needs most cannot be guaranteed to him by law. In order to live life to the full, something more intimate is necessary that can be granted only as a gift: we could say that man lives by that love which only God can communicate since He created the human person in His image and likeness.”
“Material goods are certainly useful and required - indeed Jesus Himself was concerned to heal the sick, feed the crowds that followed Him and surely condemns the indifference that even today forces hundreds of millions into death through lack of food, water and medicine - yet 'distributive' justice does not render to the human being the totality of his 'due,'” Pope Benedict added.