God did not send his son into the world to cast off the wicked but to offer them a path to conversion through mercy and love, Pope Francis said.
Those who object to Jesus's mercy toward sinners often create an "image of God that impedes them from enjoying his real presence," the Pope said on September 7 at his weekly general audience.
"Some carve out a 'do-it-yourself' faith that reduces God to the limited space of their own desires and their own convictions," the Pope said. "Others reduce God to a false idol; using his holy name to justify their own interests or even to incite hatred and violence."
