Vatican City, Mar 3, 2019 / 06:37 am
To be effective teachers of the faith, Catholics must be cognizant of their own sins and shortcomings when giving correction and guide to others, Pope Francis said Sunday.
"So many times, we all know, it is easier or more convenient to discern and condemn the defects and sins of others, without being able to see our own with just as much clarity," the pope said before the Angelus March 3.
People want to hide their own defects and even themselves, he said. "The temptation is to be indulgent with one's self … and hard with others."
This teaching is illustrated in Scripture, Francis said, when Jesus says: "How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,' when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye?'"