November 24, 2013, will remain a milestone date, similar to October 11, 1962, when John XXIII – the Pope of ‘aggiornamento’, – in his speech opening the Second Vatican II, lambasted “those prophets of doom who are always forecasting disaster” at a time when he was seeing Divine Providence leading us to “a new order of human relations”.
Last Tuesday, Pope Francis’s apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel) was made public. It is a reform manifesto similar to John XXIII’s speech (quoted above) Gaudet Mater Ecclesia (Mother Church Rejoices), a similarity which goes beyond the terminological level.
The Church ‘cannot passively and calmly wait in our church buildings… we need to move from... mere conservation to a decidedly missionary pastoral ministry’- Pope Francis
“I dream of a ‘missionary option’,” wrote Pope Francis, a dream of new missionary impulse capable of transforming everything, ranging from a change of the Church’s customs, ways of doing things, language and structures. The aim of the change is intended to channel all the Church’s life towards the evangelisation of today’s world, rather than hanging to her own self-preservation.
Joy is the first sign of the presence of the Gospel. Pope Francis makes it amply clear the first paragraph of this exhortation, his wish is “to encourage the Christian faithful to embark upon a new chapter of evangelisation marked by this joy… pointing out new paths for the Church’s journey”. And in the dictionary, ‘new’ is the antonym of ‘old’!
While asking world leaders to fight against poverty, and reminding the rich – and that includes Church institutions – to share their wealth, Pope Francis makes a biting critique of capitalism – “money must serve, not rule!”
In the same vein, he urges the media to change its priorities: “How can it be that it is not a news item when an elderly homeless person dies of exposure, but it is news when the stock market loses two points?”
However, the Pope does not stop at looking at other people’s responsibilities. His criticism of the Church and its institutions is as strong as his love for it. He does not shy away from the fact that “the Papacy and the central structures of the Church [read ‘the Roman Curia’] need to hear the call to pastoral conversion”.
He prefers a Church that is bruised and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a Church that is unhealthy from being confined, and clinging to its own security.
As regards the diocesan ministry, the Pope argues along the same lines: “I encourage each particular Church to undertake a resolute process of discernment, purification and reform”.
He is equally blunt about the parishes: “…the call to review and renew our parishes has not yet sufficed to bring them nearer to people… if part of our baptised people lack a sense of belonging to the Church, this is also due to certain structures and the occasionally unwelcoming atmosphere of some of our parishes and communities, or to a bureaucratic way of dealing with problems… in the lives of our people”.
While he reiterated that the ordination of women was “not a question open to discussion”, he says they should play a larger role in “decision-making” processes in the Church, while admitting that the role of women presents the Church with “profound and challenging questions which cannot be lightly evaded”.
Space does not allow for an exhaustive commentary on the Pope’s position. However, it would be unjust not to list the main themes of ‘The Joy of the Gospel’, namely, the reform of the Church in her missionary outreach; the temptations of pastoral workers, the Church as the entire people of evangelisers, the homily and its preparation, the poor in society, peace and dialogue, and the spiritual motivations for mission.
To conclude with the Pope’s words, the Church “cannot passively and calmly wait in our church buildings… we need to move from a pastoral ministry of mere conservation to a decidedly missionary pastoral ministry”.
joe.inguanez@gmail.com
Fr Joe Inguanez, a sociologist, is the executive director of Discern.