Days before his election as Pope a year ago, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was given a book by a fellow cardinal and an old friend. The theme of the book was mercy, which has for Francis from the moment of his first Angelus address become the touchstone of his radical and reforming papacy People are sometimes shocked by what theologians say; I am more often scandalised by what they do not see. It is astounding that so many ­theologians have overlooked the heart of the biblical message. Both the Old and New Testaments make it clear that mercy is the key feature of God’s self-revelation throughout the whole history of salvation. Yet there is practically nothing written on mercy in ­dogmatic theology texts. For the past year, Pope Francis has spoken so much about mercy that many of us