The Church 'needs us to be prophets, not critics,' the Pope saidThe church needs true prophets who not only speak the truth fearlessly, but also empathise with the suffering of their people, Pope Francis said. A prophet must always be a person who not only is able to cry for his people, but also capable of taking risks to speak the truth, the Pope said in his homily on April 17 at morning Mass in the Domus Sanctae Marthae.