With his apostolic exhortation
"Evangelii Gaudium" (The Joy of the Gospel), which the Vatican has
scheduled for publication Nov. 26, Pope Francis finally makes his real
debut as papal author.
Popes through the centuries have issued their most important written
messages in one of 10 classic forms, ranging from encyclical to
"chirograph," a brief document on a highly limited subject. But most of
these are typically formulaic texts that do not express the distinctive
voice or charism of the man who issues them.
Pope Francis has already published an encyclical, traditionally
considered the most authoritative form of papal writing.
But in the
opening paragraphs of "Lumen Fidei," released in July, he explained that
the text was essentially the work of his predecessor, Pope Benedict
XVI, to whose words Pope Francis had merely "added a few contributions"
of his own.
By contrast, Pope Francis has made clear that "Evangelii Gaudium" is very much his own work.
Apostolic exhortations are often based on deliberations of synods of
bishops, and this one takes into account the October 2012 synod on the
new evangelization. But last June, Pope Francis informed the ordinary
council of the Synod of Bishops, which is normally responsible for
helping draft post-synodal apostolic exhortations, he would not be
working from their draft.
Instead, the pope said, he planned to write an "exhortation on
evangelization in general and refer to the synod," in order to "take
everything from the synod but put it in a wider framework."
That choice surprised some, especially since Pope Francis had voiced his
strong commitment to the principle of consultation with fellow bishops
and even suggested that the synod should become a permanent advisory
body.
But the pope was merely reverting to earlier practice. None of the first
three modern synods, in 1967, 1969 or 1971, led to a papal document. It
was not until 1974 that Pope Paul first chose to use a synod's
recommendations to write an apostolic exhortation, "Evangelii
Nuntiandi," published the following year.
Pope Francis may already be deep into his next major document, an
encyclical on social teaching. In May, Bishop Luigi Martella of
Molfetta, Italy, wrote that the pope had recently told him and other
bishops of Italy's Puglia region that he was planning an encyclical on
poverty, "understood not in an ideological and political sense, but in
an evangelical sense." The bishop said the encyclical would be called
"Beati Pauperes" (Blessed Are the Poor).
Subsequent reports suggest that Pope Francis' social encyclical might
deal not only with poverty but also with protection of the natural
environment, a topic on which he has voiced concern from practically the
start of his pontificate.
A category of document that Pope Francis has not yet produced, but in
which he is likely to make a major contribution, is that of apostolic
constitutions. These are usually routine legal documents establishing a
new diocese or appointing a bishop. But they can also address
exceptional matters, as did Pope Benedict's 2009 "Anglicanorum
coetibus," which established personal prelatures for former Anglicans
who join the Catholic Church.
An apostolic constitution especially relevant to this pontificate is
Blessed John Paul's 1988 "Pastor Bonus," which was the last major set of
changes to the church's central administration, the Roman Curia.
Planning a revision of that document was the one specific task Pope
Francis assigned to his advisory Council of Cardinals when he
established the eight-member body in September.
Another consequential type of papal document is an apostolic letter
given "motu proprio," i.e., on the pope's own initiative. Such letters
are used to set up new norms, establish new bodies or reorganize
existing ones. Pope Benedict issued 18 of them in the course of his
eight-year pontificate -- most famously in 2007, when he lifted most
restrictions on celebration of the Tridentine Mass; and most recently in
February, when he changed the voting rules of a papal conclave less
than a week before he resigned from office.
Pope Francis has already issued three such apostolic letters in his
first eight months: to update the Vatican's criminal code so that it
includes all Vatican employees around the world, not just those working
in Vatican City; to broaden Vatican City laws against money laundering
and terrorism financing so that they cover all the offices of the Roman
Curia; and to expand the reach of the Vatican body that inspects
suspicious financial transactions.
As evidence of the pope's determination to reform, these impersonal legal documents may be his most eloquent statements yet.