The Pope on Judas

“Judas is a difficult character to understand; there have been so many interpretations of his personality. In the end, however, when he sees what he has done, he turns to the ‘righteous,’ to the priests: ‘I have sinned: I handed over an innocent man to be killed.’ They answer him: ‘What does that matter to us? That’s your affair.’ (Matthew 27:3-10) Then he goes away with that guilt that suffocates him … Perhaps if he had met the Virgin Mary, things would have gone differently, but the poor man goes away, doesn’t find a way out of his situation, and he went to hang himself.”

“But, there’s one thing that makes me think that Judas’ story doesn’t end there … Perhaps someone might think, ‘this pope is a heretic…’ But, no! They should go see a particular medieval capital of a column in the Basilica of St. Mary Magdalen in Vézelay, Burgundy [in France],” he said. “On that capital, on one side there is Judas, hanged; but on the other is the Good Shepherd who is carrying him on his shoulders and is carrying him away.” 

He revealed that he has a photograph of that two-part capital behind his desk, because it helps him meditate. “There is a smile on the lips of the Good Shepherd, which I wouldn’t say is ironic, but a little bit complicit,” he describes.



“There are many ways of reacting to shame; one is to despair, but we must try to help despairing people to find the true path of shame, so they don’t go down the path that put an end to Judas’ life … Shame is a grace,” the pope said.

(Ary Waldir Ramos Diaz, “Pope: What would have happened if Judas had met Our Lady on his way to kill himself?”, Aleteia, Nov. 24, 2017)