Cardinal Bergoglio slams those “who think they own life”

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sep 4, 2007 / 09:10 am

During a Mass on the feast of St. Raymond Nonnatus, the archbishop of Buenos Aires, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, slammed those who “think they own life,” and he said, “We are all invited to the banquet of life.”

“The joy of living is given to all, it is a gift,” the cardinal stressed, offering a special prayer to St. Raymond Nonnatus, the patron saint of the unborn and of pregnant women.

“Those who think they own life are mistaken,” he said. “We should not think that because we have a little bit of power, we can monopolize or make ourselves the owners of life.”

“The greater you are the more humble you must be, because the great power makes one dizzy, and when you get dizzy you say foolish things that are out of place,” the cardinal emphasized.

He warned against the pride of those who “think they own life and can say who can live and who can die.”  He encouraged Argentineans to reflect on the three words “permission, thanks, and forgiveness.”

“Thanks for the gift of life, and forgiveness for the times we have not lived up to life,” he told the faithful. 

After the Mass, which was attended by pregnant women and married couples who desire to have children, the cardinal blessed images of St. Raymond.  He also prayed a special blessing for couples seeking to have children.