The Gospel of the forgiven adulteress gave the Pope the opportunity to explain what God's mercy is. The episode is well known: the Pharisees and scribes bring to Jesus a woman caught in adultery and ask him what to do with her, given that the law of Moses foresaw stoning, as a sin considered very serious. 

 The woman's accusers didn't care about adultery, they only cared about setting a trap for Jesus! Hence the Lord's response: “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her!”.

Jesus forgives! But here is something more than forgiveness: Jesus passes the law and goes beyond it. He doesn't tell her: 'Adultery is not a sin!'. No, he doesn't say that! But he doesn't condemn her with the law. And this is the mystery of mercy. This is the mystery of Jesus' mercy.

Mercy is something difficult to understand, we ask ourselves: "But, Father, does mercy erase sins?". No! What erases sins is God's forgiveness!'. Mercy is the way God forgives. Because Jesus could say: 'I forgive you. Go! ', As he said to that paralytic who had brought him from the ceiling: 'Your sins are forgiven you!' Here he says: 'Go in peace!'. Jesus goes further. He advises her not to sin anymore. Here we see the merciful attitude of Jesus: he defends the sinner from his enemies; defends the sinner from a just condemnation. Mercy goes further and makes a person's life in such a way that sin is put aside. it's like the sky”: “We look at the sky, many stars, many stars; but when the sun comes in the morning, with so much light, the stars cannot be seen. And so is God's mercy: a great light of love, of tenderness. God forgives not with a decree, but with a caress, stroking our wounds of sin. Because He is involved in forgiveness, He is involved in our salvation. And so Jesus acts as a confessor: he doesn't humiliate her, he doesn't tell her 'What have you done, tell me! And when did you do it? And how did you do it? And who did you do it with?'. No! 'Go, go and from now on sin no more!'. God's mercy is great, Jesus' mercy is great. Forgive us, caressing us!”.