Dialogue is a key element of mercy, Pope Francis said Saturday,
explaining that when we interrupt others in order to push our own
opinions without truly listening, we risk ruining relationships.
Speaking to pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square Oct. 22, the Pope pointed
to “a very important aspect of mercy, which is precisely dialogue.”
“We don’t dialogue when we don’t listen well or when we tend to
interrupt the other in order to prove that we are right,” he said,
noting that many times when we are listening to someone, “we stop them
and say ‘it’s not like this!’”
By not letting people finish explaining what they want to say, “this
impedes dialogue, this is aggression,” he said, adding that “if I don't
let others say everything they have in their heart, and if I start to
scream – and today there is a lot of screaming – this relationship
between us won't have a good ending.”
Instead, “true dialogue needs moments of silence in order to welcome
the extraordinary gift of the presence of God in our brother.”
Pope Francis spoke to the roughly 100,000 pilgrims gathered in St.
Peter’s Square for his Jubilee general audience, according to the
Vatican Gendarmerie.
The extra audience is held once a month in addition
to the Pope’s weekly audience for the duration of the Jubilee of Mercy.
In his address, the Pope focused on the Gospel passage from John in
which Jesus meets a Samaritan woman at a well who, after speaking with
him, tells the entire region about her conversation with the Messiah.
One of the things that stands out most in the passage, Francis said, is the dialogue between the Jesus and the woman.
“Dialogue allows people to know and understand the needs of others,”
he said, explaining that to dialogue is a sign of respect, because it
puts people in “a position to listen” and to receive the best of others.
It’s also a sign of charity, because although dialogue doesn’t ignore
differences, “it can help in searching for and sharing the common
good,” he said.
“Many times we don’t encounter our brothers, despite living beside them,
above all when we allow our position to dominate over that of the
other,” Francis continued.
When we listen to what others are saying and then, “with meekness,”
explain our own thoughts, “the family, the neighborhood and one’s place
of work are better.” However, if we interrupt and start “to scream,” the
relationship won’t end well.
Dialogue helps “to humanize relationships and to overcome
misunderstandings,” he said, adding that there is a great need for
dialogue within families.
“How much easier questions are resolved if they learn to listen to
each other,” he said, noting that this goes for every relationship,
including husband and wife, parents and children, teachers and students,
and managers and employees.
The Church is also in dialogue with the men and women of every age,
in order to understand “the needs that are in the heart of every person
and to contribute to the realization of the common good,” he said.
Pope Francis also pointed to the importance of dialogue with other
religions and of caring for creation, saying that “dialogue on such an
important theme is an unavoidable requirement.”
He concluded by emphasizing that all forms of dialogue “are an
expression of the great need for the love of God,” because dialogue
“breaks down walls of division and misunderstanding.”
Truly listening to others “creates bridges of communication and
doesn’t allow anyone to be isolated, locking themselves inside their own
little world.”
Jesus understood well what was in the Samaritan woman’s heart, but
“nevertheless, he did not deny her the ability to express herself and he
entered a little bit into the mystery of her life,” the Pope said,
explaining that this teaching “also goes for us.”
“Through dialogue, we can make signs of God’s mercy grow and render them an instrument of welcome and respect.”