Pope Francis revealed on Thursday he had succumbed to "that thief in all of us" and broke the seventh commandment by stealing a small cross from the coffin of his late confessor from his casket and wears it to this day in a fabric pouch under his cassock so he could remember the man.
Pope Francis made the revelation during an informal chat with Roman priests about the need to be merciful to their flocks. He told the story of the "great confessor" of Buenos Aires who had heard confessions from most of the diocesan priests as well as from Pope John Paul II when he visited Argentina
When the priest died, Pope Francis went to pray by his open casket and was stunned that no one had brought any flowers. He bought some and laid them out in the coffin where the dead priest was holding a rosary in his hand.
"Suddenly, that thief that all of us have inside of us came into my mind. As I was laying out the flowers, I took the cross that was on the rosary and, using some force, detached it"
Francis, who did not say when the episode took place, added that he has carried the little cross with him ever since in order to remember the priest and the mercy he showed to others.
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