Letter 11: I know your grief, dear brothers, because it is my own.

I know your grief, dear brothers, because it is my own. You weep over the downfall of our brothers and sisters — I weep with you. Each one who fell brings pain to all of us. As the apostle said: "Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn?" And again: "If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it." I share your suffering for those who buckled under the severity of the persecution and fell — tearing away, as it were, a piece of our own flesh as they went. God's mercy can bring healing to them. But I do not think we should rush. Nothing must be done carelessly or prematurely. If we grab at peace too hastily, we risk provoking God's anger more seriously. The blessed martyrs have written to me about certain individuals, asking that their cases be reviewed. When the Lord grants us peace and we return to the Church, those cases will be examined in your presence and with your input. But I hear that certain presbyters — ignoring both the Gospel and what the martyrs actually wrote to me, and disregarding the bishop's authority — have already begun granting communion to the lapsed. This is premature and destructive. What good is a reconciliation that isn't grounded in genuine repentance? It's a bandage over an unhealed wound. I urge you all: be patient. Wait for the proper time and process. Those who have fallen must show by their tears and their works that they understand the gravity of what happened. And those who stood firm must see that their courage is not cheapened by an indiscriminate forgiveness that costs nothing. The time will come to welcome them back. But it must be done right — for their sake, for ours, and for the Lord's.

Epistle 11