Christ can deliver us from evil

■ Calls for “the truth about abuse cover-ups” and “a road map for the future” which go beyond the inadequacy of apologies, condemnations and compensation have characterised the run-up to Pope Francis’s visit.

Coming to such awareness of our utter impotence in the face of evil is absolutely essential if we are to allow the ‘good news’ that has been the hallmark of Pope Francis’s papacy to touch our hearts and penetrate our national psyche.

Jesus did not come into the world to exhume wrongs, apportion blame, and wallow in tears over what might have been. Rather he proclaimed an amnesty for even the most reviled sinners.

This so scandalised those who saw no need for God’s mercy that they had him publicly executed, only to be confronted with reports of his resurrection.

We really need our holy father to reach out to us and confirm us in this faith – the faith of our Church – that no matter what horror has marked our past, it need not go on doing so. Jesus Christ can break its control over us. He can deliver us from its power.

This is the message of forgiveness, reconciliation and hope: the “unique selling point” of the Church Jesus founded. It is to bring good out of ever y evil, it is to participate in god’s kingdom taking shape, coming alive in our own person.

This is not to minimise any betrayal of trust. It is, however, to point out that there is a bigger picture and our lives are not complete until we embrace it, and nothing anyone has done can rob us of it, the greatest joy on earth, experiencing our heavenly father’s tender care for us. This is why Pope Francis’s visit means so much to me. Gearóid Duffy

Lee Road, Co Cork