Rome, 31 January, 2024 / 7:50 pm (ACI Africa).
Pope Francis dedicated his Jan. 31 general audience to the subject of wrath, characterizing it as a vice that is “pervasive” and “particularly dark.”
In his opening remarks, the Holy Father observed that wrath is an inherently physical vice, as it is “perhaps the easiest to detect from a physical point of view” because “one who is consumed by wrath” has a particular difficulty in “hid[ing] this impulse.”
“You can recognize it from the movements of his body, his aggressiveness, his labored breathing, his grim and frowning expression. In its most acute manifestation, wrath is a vice that concedes no respite,” the pope said to the faithful gathered in the Paul VI Audience Hall on Wednesday morning.
Aside from its physical manifestations, Francis noted that the vice stems from a perceived “injustice suffered,” which, in turn, permits it to be “unleashed not against the offender but against the first unfortunate victim,” making it something that “destroys human relationships.”
