Holy Father explains: 'the saints weren't perfect'
The saints are not people who never made mistakes or committed sins, but they repented and turned to God, Pope Benedict said at his general audience yesterday. Addressing around 6,000 people in Paul VI Hall, the Holy Father dedicated his weekly address to three of St Paul's closest collaborators: Barnabas, Silas and Apollos. Occasionally St Paul had confrontations with them, at least with Barnabas, because of differences of opinion on specific questions. "Among the saints there are oppositions, discords and controversies. This is very consoling for me, as we see that the saints have not 'fallen from heaven,'" the Holy Father said. "The saint are like us, with complicated problems. Holiness does not consist in not making mistakes or never sinning. Holiness grows with the capacity for conversion, repentance, willingness to begin again, and above all with the capacity for reconciliation and forgiveness. "And we can all learn this way of holiness." Source: VIS