U.S. cardinal says sin causes people to break bonds with God, others

Published: 2005-10-05

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- When people sin, they break the bonds of friendship with God and with their brothers and sisters, which is why penance and reconciliation are needed for an honest participation in the Eucharist, said U.S. Cardinal J. Francis Stafford. The cardinal, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, a Vatican court dealing with the sacrament of penance and matters of conscience, was one of several U.S. and Canadian prelates addressing the world Synod of Bishops Oct. 3-4. The Oct. 2-23 synod was convoked to discuss the Eucharist. The Vatican released summaries of all the bishops' talks and provided briefings with fuller quotations from the speeches. While the church recognizes itself as the community of those redeemed, saved and reconciled with God through Jesus, Cardinal Stafford said, the church also recognizes that each of its members is tempted by sin and in need of reconciliation.

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