In our ecclesiastical region there are priests who don't baptize

Hear the words of Pope Francis, spoken with fire and compassion: “In our ecclesiastical region there are priests who don't baptize the children of single mothers because they weren't conceived in the sanctity of marriage. These are today's hypocrites. Those who clericalize the church. Those who separate the people of God from salvation.” In this saying he thunders against hardness of heart, against those who use the garments of religion to deny mercy, and against those who guard the gates of grace as if they were theirs to own. His words pierce through centuries of custom, reminding all that the church is not a fortress for the perfect, but a refuge for the broken.

The meaning of this saying is profound. Pope Francis calls out hypocrisy, the ancient sin of those who claim to serve God but who place human rules above divine love. To refuse baptism to a child because of the circumstances of conception is to punish the innocent for what is not their sin. It is to treat God’s grace as a privilege to be earned rather than as a gift freely given. Such priests, he says, clericalize the church—turning the faith into a cold institution bound by regulations, rather than the living body of Christ whose arms are open to all.

The origin of this teaching lies in the very heart of the Gospel. Jesus himself condemned the Pharisees who “loaded people with burdens hard to bear” while neglecting mercy, justice, and love. He welcomed the tax collectors, the prostitutes, and the sinners, declaring that the kingdom of God belonged to such as these. Pope Francis echoes this eternal cry: that the church must never become a wall that excludes, but a bridge that brings souls to salvation. To withhold baptism is to betray the very mission of Christ, who came not for the righteous but for the lost.

History, too, bears witness to this struggle. Consider the story of St. Augustine, born of St. Monica, who prayed for him with tears while he wandered far from the faith. If Augustine had been judged only by his youthful sins, the church would have cast him aside. Yet he was baptized, welcomed, and later became one of the greatest fathers of the church. The mercy shown to him changed not only his life but the course of Christian history. What Augustine received is what Francis demands for every child and every sinner: mercy before judgment, grace before condemnation.

Pope Francis’s words also strike at the dangerous pride of clericalism. When priests act as though they are owners of the sacraments rather than servants of them, they exalt themselves above the people of God. They forget that they too are sinners, dependent on grace. To separate the people of God from salvation is to place oneself in the position of God, and thus to fall into the deepest arrogance. Francis warns the church not to lose its soul by becoming a bureaucracy of exclusion, but to remain what it was always meant to be: a family of mercy.

The lesson here is sharp and enduring: never let human judgment extinguish divine mercy. If you are a parent, a leader, a teacher, or a priest, remember that the innocent must never be punished for the sins of others. Remember that grace is not a prize but a gift, and that salvation is not earned by pedigree but offered freely by God. If you see hypocrisy, name it. If you see exclusion, challenge it. If you see a child denied baptism or a sinner denied welcome, open the door.

So, children of tomorrow, learn this truth: the church, the community of faith, or any house of worship, is not for the perfect but for the wounded. Do not be a hypocrite who guards the gates, but a servant who holds them open. Extend mercy where others draw lines, and love where others raise walls. For in the eyes of God, every child, every mother, every sinner is precious. And only when mercy triumphs over judgment will the people of God truly walk the path of salvation.