Pope Francis holds special Jubilee Mass for prisoners

Pope Francis on Sunday held a special Jubilee Mass for prisoners in St Peter's Basilica, as part of the Vatican's Holy Year of Mercy, which comes to an end later this month, bringing a message of mercy and hope to prisoners from around the world

The pope who was wearing green robes and a white skull cap, stood before a congregation made up of some 1000 prisoners from 12 countries and their families, as well as prison chaplains and volunteers who work in prisons.

"Today we celebrate the Jubilee of Mercy for you and with you, our brothers and sisters who are imprisoned," he told the prisoners at the event.

Pope Francis said while breaking the law involves paying the price, "hope must never falter."

"Sometimes, a certain hypocrisy leads to people considering you only as wrongdoers, for whom prison is the sole answer," he said in his homily.

"We don't think about the possibility that people can change their lives. We put little trust in rehabilitation. But in this way we forget that we are all sinners and often, without being aware of it, we too are prisoners."

Pope Francis also returned to a favourite theme, the danger he sees in a blind adherence to capitalism and individualism.

"At times we are locked up within our own prejudices or enslaved to the idols of a false sense of wellbeing. At times we get stuck in our own ideologies or absolutize the laws of the market even as they crush other people. At such times, we imprison ourselves behind the walls of individualism and self-sufficiency, deprived of the truth that sets us free," he said.

Associated Press