Pope Francis: God was “unjust with His Son, He sent Him to the Cross”

Last December 14, in an audience in the Paul VI hall with patients and staff of Rome’s Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, Pope Francis suggested that God “was unjust with his son”, because “he sent him to the cross.”

The controversial comments were an answer to a question put to him by Valentina Vanzi, a nurse in multi-speciality paediatrics, who asked why children suffer. The Pope replied:

"I have no answer to this question. Nor has Jesus given an answer to these words. There is no answer to this question, all we can do is look at the crucifix and let it give us the answer”. The Pope added: “is God unjust? He was unjust with his son, he sent him to the cross, if we follow this logic then we have to say this. But it is our human existence, our flesh, that suffers in that child and when one suffers, people do not speak, they weep and pray in silence."

The commentary of the Pope contradicts with the Church’s understanding of Jesus’ self-giving act on the Cross. God is not “unjust” for sending His Son to the Cross – to the contrary, the Church teaches that one of the attributes of God is that He is Just.

Likewise, the Church teaches that Jesus voluntarily laid down His life out of love for us – His dying on the cross was not a result of an unjust decision by the Father, but rather an expression of His love for us.