Pope Francis kicks off Holy Year of Mercy by opening Vatican door, urging forgiveness above judgment

Pope Francis formally starts his Holy Year of Mercy
(Image credit: Alberto Pizzoli/AFP/Getty Images)

On Tuesday, Pope Francis pushed open the huge bronze Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica and walked through, followed carefully by a frail Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI. Some 10 million people are expected to follow them over the next 12 months of the pope's Holy Year of Mercy.

Pope Francis announced the jubilee year in March, and on Tuesday he explained why at a rain-soaked Mass before 50,000 in St. Peter's Square. "How much wrong we do to God and his grace when we speak of sins being punished by his judgment before we speak of their being forgiven by his mercy," Francis said, reinforcing a major theme of his papacy. "We have to put mercy before judgment, and in any event God's judgment will always be in the light of his mercy."

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.