Vatican City, Dec 2, 2020 / 04:00 am
Pope Francis said Wednesday that God does not wait for us to stop sinning to start loving us, but always holds out hope for the conversion of even the most hardened sinner.
"There is no sin that can completely erase the image of Christ present in each one of us," the pope said at his general audience Dec. 2.
"Sin can disfigure it, but not remove it from God's mercy. A sinner can remain in error for a long time, but God is patient till the end, hoping that the sinner's heart will eventually open and change," he said.
Speaking via livestream from the library of the Vatican's Apostolic Palace, Pope Francis said that reading the Bible with prisoners or a rehabilitation group can be a powerful experience.