Pope Francis: ‘Hypocrisy in the Church is Particularly Detestable’| National Catholic Register

Pope Francis said on Wednesday that hypocrisy within the Church is “particularly detestable.”  Speaking at the general audience in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall on Aug. 25, the Pope underlined that hypocritical behavior damaged Church unity. “Hypocrisy in the Church is particularly detestable, and unfortunately there is hypocrisy in the Church, and there are many hypocritical Christians and ministers. We should never forget the Lord’s words: ‘Let what you say be simply Yes or No; anything more than this comes from evil,’” he said, quoting from Matthew 5:37. “Brothers and sisters, today, let us think about the hypocrisy that Paul condemns, and that Jesus condemns: hypocrisy. And let us not be afraid to be truthful, to speak the truth, to hear the truth, to conform ourselves to the truth, so we can love. A hypocrite does not know how to love.”  “To act otherwise means jeopardizing the unity of the Church, that unity for which the Lord Himself prayed.”

Pope Francis: ‘Hypocrisy in the Church is Particularly Detestable’| National Catholic Register