Vatican City, May 2, 2017 / 15:29 pm
Moralists without empathy are unable to see how God transforms "hearts of stone" into real hearts of flesh – and it's a problem that harms the Christian community, Pope Francis said.
"This causes suffering in the Church. The closed hearts, the hearts of stone, the hearts which do not want to be open, do not want to hear, the hearts which only know the language of condemnation," the Pope said during his Tuesday morning homily at Casa Santa Maria.
He reflected on the hardness of heart which lead to the death of Saint Stephen, as depicted in the day's reading from the Acts of the Apostles at Mass.
The temple authorities who stoned St. Stephen are what Pope Francis called "those who condemn all who are outside the law." He said Stephen had called them "uncircumcised of heart" because they lacked an ability to understand the word of God.