Pope Francis has described himself as a sinner in need of God's mercy

Pope Francis has described himself as a

'sinner' in need of God's mercy, as he reveals
how the Roman Catholic's debates over divorce
have impacted on his own family.
In the first book of his papacy, the Pope - a
frequent visitor to prisons - told how he could
have been in jail if he was wasn't a pontiff and
refers to his 'special relationship' with convicts.
The revelation came as he declared one of his
nieces had married a divorced man in the book
The Name of God is Mercy. In extracts, Francis
said: 'I have always been very much attached
to them, precisely because of the awareness
that I have of being a sinner.'
'Every time I cross the doorway of a prison, I
always ask myself, "Why are they are here, and
not me?" I should be here, I should deserve to
be here. Their fall could have been mine. I don't
feel superior to those in front of me.'
The book will be published on Tuesday in 86
countries and compromises a series of
interviews, some of them highly personal, with
the 79-year-old Argentine-born pope.
The pope, interviewed by veteran Vatican
reporter Andrea Tornielli, talks of the power of
'shame', describing it as guidance from God for
providing a moral path.
He said: 'Shame is a grace: When we feel God's
mercy, we really are ashamed of ourselves.
Despite all our past of wretchedness and sin,
God remains faithful to us and raises us up.'
And turning to the jubilee year he launched on
December 8, whose theme is divine mercy, the
pope said: 'The church condemns sin, because
it has to tell the truth: this is a sin. But at the
same time, it embraces the sinner who
acknowledges what he is.
'I hope that the jubilee will show the face of a
Church which is rediscovering the womb of
mercy.
'A Church that goes out into the world... a field
hospital whose characteristic is to spring up
wherever there's fighting. Not some elaborate
structure, kitted out with everything... (but) a
mobile structure, for saving (people), for fast
intervention.'
The Pope also lays out his case for
emphasizing the merciful face of the Catholic
Church, saying God never tires of forgiving and
actually prefers the sinners who repent over
self-righteous moralizers who don't.
In the book, he condemns what he calls the
'scholars of law' — the doctrinaire-minded
rigorists who throughout the history of the
church have challenged Jesus's message of
unconditional love and mercy for even the most
wretched of sinners.
He says often these self-righteous Christians
are hypocrites themselves, using the law to
hide their own 'deep wounds.'
'These are men who live attached to the letter
of the law but who neglect love; men who only
know how to close doors and draw boundaries,'
Francis is quoted as saying.
The Vatican is officially launching the book
Tuesday with a high-level panel discussion
featuring Francis' secretary of state, Cardinal
Pietro Parolin, and 'Life Is Beautiful' actor
Roberto Benigni, signaling the importance
Francis places on getting the message out.
In the book, he also calls for the Church to be
more welcoming of gays.
He insists that his now-infamous "Who am I to
judge" comment about gays was merely a
repetition of the church's teaching on
homosexuality. Francis won praise from gays
with the comment, uttered during his first press
conference in 2013.
But many conservatives have criticised the
remark as vague and incomplete since church
teaching also holds that gay acts are
'intrinsically disordered.' Francis says the
church has long held that gays should be
treated with dignity and respect and seen as
individuals. And he goes to some length
throughout the text to cite scripture and
previous popes to make clear that his radical
agenda is fully rooted in the church's basic
teachings.
An extract read: 'People should not be defined
only by their sexual tendancies: Let us not
forget that God loves all his creatures and we
are destined to receive his infinite love.'