“Being Christians does not make us faultless”: “like Matthew the publican, we all entrust ourselves to God’s grace, despite our sins”. Pope Francis explained this in his general audience catechesis today, commenting on the Gospel account of the calling of Matthew. “We are all sinners, we have all sinned”, he said off the cuff. “Matthew was a ‘publican’, that is, a tax collector for the Roman Empire, which is why he was seen as a public sinner”, he began. “But Jesus calls him to follow Him and become His disciple. Matthew accepts, and invites Jesus and His disciples to his home for dinner. This gives rise to a discussion between the Pharisees and Jesus’ disciples over the fact that the latter sit at the table with publicans and sinners”. They say to Jesus: “You cannot go to the house of these people!”. “By calling Matthew – the Pope explained –, Jesus shows sinners that He does not look at their past, at their social condition, at outward conventions, but rather gives them a new future”.