Pope Francis gave his customary press conference on his return flight following his trip to Armenia.
America magazine and the Catholic News Agency (CNA) among other news outlets are carrying reports of his comments.
In seeking to explain Pope Francis, Antonio Spadaro S.J. in Cyber Theology points to 5 traits of the ministry of Francis.
‘Francis is a pope who is living his ministry as a ministry of discernment, of ”incomplete thought”…’
Various news services are reporting remarks by Pope Francis that appear to indicate his willingness to formally study the possibility of the ordination of women to the diaconate.
Pope Francis’ prayer intention for May is for women.
Can we, and Pope Francis, join in this prayer without first challenging our own attitudes about the roles and ministries allowed to women in our church.
Pádraig McCarthy points to the 19 March letter of Pope Francis to Cardinal Marc Ouellet of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.
Francis has strong words on the importance of laity, and of the dangers of clericalism.
“It is not [for] the pastor to tell lay people what they must do and say, they know this better than we do.”
Hans Küng has released a statement to media about a letter he received from Pope Francis following his appeal for an open discussion about ‘nfallibility’.
The English version was released simultaneously by National Catholic Reporter and The Tablet.
Brendan Hoban in his weekly column in the Western People reflects on his 43 years in ministry in the light of the influence successive papacies have had on church.
‘as hope gradually died a long and difficult death and Rome eventually began to implode, a few years ago the cardinals came to the obvious conclusion that the Curia in Rome had to be reformed, rowing back in the general direction of the Council of Trent had failed and that the vision of Vatican Two was worth a second look.
Unexpectedly Francis emerged from the shadows……….’
A petition to reinstate Professor Hans Küng as a Catholic theologian.
Pope Francis –
“No one can be condemned for ever, because that is not the logic of the Gospel!”
“Here I am not speaking only of the divorced and remarried, but of everyone, in whatever situation they find themselves.”
“not all discussions of doctrinal, moral or pastoral issues need to be settled by interventions of the magisterium. Unity of teaching and practice is certainly necessary in the Church, but this does not preclude various ways of interpreting some aspects of that teaching or drawing certain consequences from it. This will always be the case as the Spirit guides us towards the entire truth.”
“We have been called to form consciences, not to replace them.”
Pope Francis, suffering from a cold, in addressing the curia prescribed a course of “curial antibiotics”.
He said that last year when speaking to members of the curia he “spoke of certain temptations or maladies – the catalogue of curial diseases. …Diseases which call for prevention, vigilance, care and, sadly, in some cases, painful and prolonged interventions.”
However this year “.. in the context of this Year of Mercy and our own preparation for the coming celebration of Christmas, I would like to present a practical aid for fruitfully experiencing this season of grace. It is by no means an exhaustive catalogue of needed virtues for those who serve in the Curia and for all those who would like to make their consecration or service to the Church more fruitful.”
A challenge for all, not just the curia!
The NCR carried an interesting Editorial about the “Year of Mercy” and what is intended by it.
“The fear inspired by legalism dominated the community’s life for decades, but we’ve learned that fear stifles and kills; it does not nourish or transform. Mercy is an encounter with the other, and ultimately an experience of God. Mercy is transformation. “
“Speaking at St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Dec. 8, Francis said: “We have to put mercy before judgment, and in every case God’s judgment will always be in the light of his mercy. Let us abandon all fear and dread, for these do not befit men and women who are loved. Instead, let us live the joy of encounter with the grace that transforms all.”
Brendan Hoban in his weekly column in ‘The Western People’ reviews Gabriel Daly’s most recent book, ‘The Church always in need of Reform’.
“This is a remarkable book in the clarity of its thought and the conviction of the writer. Gabriel Daly’s contribution to theology has been immense but I would suggest that nothing he has written is as important as this book.”
” … a robust and convincing analysis of where we are as a Church, and, if there’s a book I’d recommend for Christmas, this would have to be it.”
The Website IP5, or onepeterfive, carries an interesting article about an open letter written to Pope Francis by a “former member of the curia”.
The letter originally appeared in the German-language magazine, FOCUS.
While clearly meant to be read as a criticism of Pope Francis it perhaps unintentionally gives a disturbing insight into much of the culture and mindset of the curia and how they see their position, power and status in the church.
Do all bureaucracies, in the spirit of “Yes Minister’s” Sir Humphrey, eventually come to think that they are there to be served rather than serve, that all wisdom resides in them and none in the temporary ministers, or popes, who come and go and that all decisions should be left firmly in their control?
Pope Benedict’s reasons for retiring become clearer every day.
[for international readers; “Yes Minister” was a BBC tv comedy. The chief civil servant, bureaucrat, Sir Humphrey was apt to reply ‘Yes Minister’ to every request of the Government Minister and then worked wholeheartedly at subverting every single plan and policy of the minister if it in any way infringed on the power and control of the civil service.}
Seamus Ahearne wrote this in response to the post ‘De-centralisation and the selection of bishops’.
It deserves its own space and as usual Seamus challenges us in a gentle way to expand our horizons.
“We don’t have to protect God. God is used to our mess. Let’s take hold of the vision from Rome and apply it locally.”
Iacopo Scaramuzzi reports on some off the cuff remarks made by Pope Francis at a Conference sponsored by the Congregation for the Clergy.
He told bishops: “Be present in your dioceses of resign”
To priests he said “It is not normal for a priest to be often sad, nervous, or of a hard character; it is not good, and does no good, neither for the priest nor for his people,”
About those wishing to enter the seminary he said authorities should think twice if the young man “is too confident, rigid and fundamentalist”.
‘
Robert Mickens in his ‘Letter from Rome’ on Global Pulse Magazine comments on the stresses and strains that surface when trying to attempt de-centralisation in the church. He says “Reactions to the US bishops’ deliberations this week at their fall meeting suggest that Catholics may have drawn the conclusion, unwittingly, that decentralization may not be all that it’s cracked up to be.”
However he adds ‘it is going to be a rough and rocky road to healthy decentralization in the Catholic Church. It’s not likely to happen until the synodality that Francis is trying to instill in the Church’s way of living and being also embraces and transforms the way bishops are selected.
Even if a change in the discernment process for choosing our pastors were to be implemented in the next couple of years, it would probably take at least two more generations before we’d get an episcopate that would make decentralized government effective.
Having said that, there are some men in miters – even those with the august rank of cardinal – who should be doing everything as the pope wishes, both in style and emphasis.
And they actually do work for him. They are called apostolic delegates and Vatican officials.”
Rocco Palmo reports that Pope Francis today, Sunday 15 November, visited Rome’s Evangelical Lutheran church for an ecumenical dialogue.
Speaking of her marriage to a Catholic, a woman member of the Lutheran congregation addressed “the hurt we’ve felt together due to [their] difference of faith” and asked about their ability “to finally participate together in Communion.”
In response Francis said “I ask myself and don’t know how to respond – what you’re asking me, I ask myself the question. To share the Lord’s banquet: is it the goal of the path or is it the viaticum [etym. “to accompany you on the journey”] for walking together?”
Updated to include a translation of Pope Francis’ address. Translation kindly provided by Pádraig McCarthy. Translations of the Popes addresses are very slow to appear in Rome so our thanks to Pádraig.
Joshua J. McElwee reports in NCR on a speech by Pope Francis to a national conference of the Italian church in Florence.
Pope Francis made a fairly strong statement that the Church must continue to face problems of the present in new and culturally relevant ways.
“Before the problems of the church it is not useful to search for solutions in conservatism or fundamentalism, in the restoration of obsolete conduct and forms that no longer have the capacity of being significant culturally,”
“Christian doctrine is not a closed system incapable of generating questions, doubts, interrogatives — but is alive, knows being unsettled, enlivened,” said the pope. “It has a face that is not rigid, it has a body that moves and grows, it has a soft flesh: it is called Jesus Christ.”
Soline Humbert recommended this recent article by Joan Chittister OSB in NCR as worthwhile reading.
Joan argues that ‘if Pope Francis takes the question of married men seriously, that could, for a change, lead to real change’.
…”young unmarried women see little or no place for themselves in the male church.” …”So pollsters track them as they go somewhere else seeking spiritual nourishment or, just as likely, go nowhere at all. Disillusioned with the gap between Christian teaching and Catholic practice on equality, religion has little meaning for them now. In a world where secular institutions are more likely to recognize the fullness of a woman’s humanity than the church does, church does not interest them much anymore. “
“I am convinced that until the women’s question is addressed in the church, the numbers will continue to decline, and the church will fail in the 21st century”
A group of Catholic priests have taken Pope Francis at his word in calling for dialogue in the Church and have called for open discussion on the need for equality of Women in all aspects of Church life, including Ministry.
Their statement is attached for your information.
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