Why the world needs mercy now: U.S.-born archbishop explains

As Vilnius prepares to host the Sixth World Apostolic Congress on Mercy (WACOM 6) from June 7–12, Archbishop Gintaras Grušas, president of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences, touched upon how the virtue of mercy helps societies understand justice and respond to those suffering.

“A culture of mercy seeks restoration rather than exclusion, reconciliation rather than endless polarization, and solidarity rather than fear,” he explained.

As archbishop of Vilnius, a city often referred to as the “Rome of the North,” he shepherds a place that St. John Paul II charged with proclaiming the message of divine mercy to the world.

Speaking to EWTN News ahead of the congress, the Washington, D.C.-born archbishop explained that mercy is “God’s love poured out for us and in us,” stressing that it is not an abstract idea but a lived reality, encountered “in a privileged way through the sacraments, especially the Eucharist and reconciliation.”

A congress in the city of mercy

WACOM is a global Catholic apostolic conference held every three years in a different country to help people encounter God’s mercy and translate it into concrete acts of compassion.

Vilnius holds a particular place in the divine mercy story. St. Faustina lived in the city and recorded visions of Jesus in her diary, while the first widely recognized image of the merciful Jesus was painted there under the guidance of her confessor, Blessed Father Michał Sopoćko.

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In a letter addressed to Catholic bishops across the continent, Archbishop Gintaras Grušas of Vilnius, Lithuania, linked this call to the recent updating of the Charta Oecumenica.

WACOM 6’s theme — “Building a City of Mercy” — is meant to frame the congress not only as a major gathering but also as a call to conversion and daily witness. In a pastoral letter released in preparation for the congress, Grušas urged Catholics to begin a shared pilgrimage now by building a “City of Mercy” “not of stone,” but one with forgiveness, fidelity, love, and compassion.

Mercy is not theoretical

Grušas said several images come immediately to mind when he hears the word mercy: the divine mercy image itself, the father who runs to embrace the prodigal son, and the good Samaritan who crosses boundaries to care for the wounded stranger.

His understanding of mercy, he added, deepened through personal milestones. He first encountered the Divine Mercy Chaplet in his preparatory year at the Franciscan University of Steubenville in a retreat preached by Father George Kosicki, CSB, who had participated in translating St. Faustina’s diary into English.

Later, in 2000, as a priest in the Archdiocese of Vilnius, he attended St. Faustina’s canonization and participated in earlier World Apostolic Congresses on Mercy. Now, as host of WACOM 6, he sees mercy as “a shared mission entrusted to the whole Church.”

Grušas also pointed to pastoral experiences that made mercy concrete in a stark way. Witnessing a person being freed during an exorcism, he said, clarified St. John Paul II’s teaching that “mercy is the limit God places on evil.” It also illuminated what he called the hidden drama of the confessional: “Every confession is a quiet liberation, a real victory of grace over darkness.”

Mercy after occupation

Lithuania’s recent history, including decades of Soviet occupation, also shapes how the archbishop speaks about mercy. Oppression, he said, wounds “memory and identity,” but the survival of faith under pressure shows that spiritual resistance can outlast political regimes.

Since independence, Grušas explained, forgiveness has been essential to rebuilding — “not as forgetting” but as refusing to let resentment define the future. Mercy, he said, allowed the nation to move from mere survival toward renewal and hope.

That history also informs why he believes Vilnius can speak credibly to the world about divine mercy. The city’s mission, he said, is not only historical but also ecclesial: After Faustina’s canonization, St. John Paul II entrusted Vilnius and the other cities associated with her to proclaim divine mercy anew.

Differences between the U.S. and Europe

Grušas’ international formation, shaped by his childhood in the United States and later studies in Rome, also informs how he compares mercy in different cultural settings. In the U.S., he said, mercy is often expressed through initiative: service, outreach, and concrete action. In Europe, by contrast, mercy is approached with greater caution and depth of reflection, shaped by “long and complex histories.” Both instincts, he argued, are necessary: Mercy must be “active and courageous” but also “mature and discerning.”

At the personal level, Grušas said many Catholics struggle more with accepting mercy than extending it. People often believe love must be earned, he noted, and frequent confession helps heal that wound by teaching that grace comes first and conversion follows.

He also cautioned against a common misconception: that mercy excludes repentance. “Mercy invites repentance,” he said, pointing to the prayer “Jesus, I trust in you” as a concise expression of the relationship between mercy, trust, and conversion.

What WACOM 6 aims to send home

According to the congress organizers, the six-day program will include prayer and worship, talks and testimonies, Mass, reconciliation services, pilgrimages in Vilnius, and charitable works — with 6,000 pilgrims expected to participate. The dates also place the congress between the solemnities of Corpus Christi and the Sacred Heart, with organizers linking that timing to Pope Francis’ 2024 encyclical on the heart of Jesus, Dilexit Nos.

For Grušas, however, the ultimate measure of success will not be numbers but what participants bring back to their local churches.

“I hope they come as pilgrims and return as witnesses,” he added. If they leave convinced that mercy is not only something received but also something to be lived and proclaimed in their homes, parishes, and communities, he clarified, “then WACOM 6 will have fulfilled its mission.”