Pope Francis
presented the vision for his papacy last Thursday, calling on Catholics to
battle what he called the “globalization of indifference” to create a
more compassionate church that champions the poor as it works to achieve
social justice in an increasingly secular and money-oriented society.
Called ‘Evangelii Gaudium’, (the Joy of the Gospel), the document offers the Roman Catholic Church
a road map of sorts for navigating the complexities of the modern
world, with the Gospel as a compass for what the pope called “a new
phase of evangelisation, one marked by enthusiasm and vitality”.
The
document, a papal pronouncement known as an apostolic exhortation, was
the first major written work that Francis has created since he was
chosen eight months ago to lead the 2,000-year-old church.
It challenges the church to “abandon the
complacent attitude that says: ‘We have always done it this way,’” to
find novel, “bold and creative” ways to speak to the faithful and to
make the church more meaningful.
The 84-page document is essentially a compendium of what Francis has said in dozens of speeches and sermons.
“It is the fruit of personal reflection,” the Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said at a news conference.
“There is coherence between the words of the documents and the actions of the pope.”
An apostolic exhortation does not define Church doctrine, and the
document makes clear that some issues - such as abortion, or the
ordination of women - are not up for discussion.
But there is an acknowledgment too, that the world has changed, and that the church must change with it.
It is time, Francis said, for “still broader opportunities for a more
incisive female presence in the Church,” in particular “in the various
other settings where important decisions are made”.
The
local church must have greater say in decision-making, and the renewal
of the church can only gain strength if it begins from the bottom up,
the pope said.
Bishops and priests on the ground
have a better sense of the needs of the faithful, as well as their
frustrations, and parishes should become a critical part of the church’s
evangelisation and outreach.
A parish should be a
point of “contact with the homes and the lives of its people,” and not a
“useless structure out of touch with people or a self-absorbed cluster
made up of a chosen few,” he wrote.