The study of history protects Catholics “from an overly angelic conception of the church, presenting a church that is unreal because she lacks spots and wrinkles,” the pope wrote.
“The church, like our own mothers, must be loved as she is; otherwise we do not love her at all, or what we love is only a figment of our imagination. Church history helps us to see the real church and to love the church as she truly exists, and love what she has learned and continues to learn from her mistakes and failures,” he wrote.
In a letter titled “On the Renewal of the Study of the History of the Church,” published by the Vatican 21 November, Pope Francis said his message was meant to help priests, seminarians, pastoral workers and all those involved in formation.
Only a church that is conscious “of her deepest identity,” which is rooted in her history, “can be capable of understanding the imperfect and wounded world in which she lives,” the pope wrote.