From the Friars: Understanding Pope Francis

Over the past few months, some people have expressed concerns about things happening in the Church, particularly with Pope Francis. While I cannot answer every question that one may have in this short space, I believe that we can use his 2013 Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel) as a map for understanding his thinking and the direction he desires for the Church. It is in looking at what Pope Francis actually said and wrote and not in false media analyses given by spin doctors that can help us understand his thought.

Throughout Evangelii Gaudium (EG), Pope Francis list some important principles that underline his theological method. Among them he adopts a principle of “look, judge, act” for both ecclesial and societal issues. In the first two chapters of EG he “looks” at the nature of the Church and the world and concludes that “a uniform and rigid program of evangelization is not suited to this complex reality” (EG 75). In the third chapter he “judges” the importance of popular piety as a locus fidei (a locus of the faith) (EG 126) to utilize in evangelization. In the fourth chapter, he demonstrates “act” by calling Christians (animated by the love of God and the power of the Holy Spirit) to make the Gospel the very center of culture. In other words, the Holy Father is using a reasonable theological method to tackle some tough problems in today’s world.

Other principles (which have since been restated in his other writings and speeches) are that “time is more important than space” (EG 224), which addresses the importance of patience in the process of building people up and that “unity prevails over conflict” (EG 227) which addresses the importance of true dialogue in helping to build up any community. Two additional principles are that “realities are more important than ideas” (EG 232) which emphasizes a practical way to apply hypothetical theories to real situations and the “whole is greater than the part” (EG 234) which is his template for building a world cultural community while keeping local priorities in their proper place.

Pope Francis’ method of evangelization has a broad outlook for the present and charts a program for the Church for future decades. This causes us to be unsettled, because he forces us to move out of our comfort zones. We need to meet people where they are, listen to their sufferings and hopes and accompany them in their lives… to be Christ for the other.

–Rev. Andrew Beauregard, FPO