POPE FRANCIS wants to abolish hypocrisy, heavy-handedness and other “bad habits” within the church leadership, according to the Archbishop of Southwark, writes James Macintyre.
In a homily at the diocese’s Chrism Mass last week, Archbishop Peter Smith said that the Pope “wants a reform of the way authority is exercised in the Church, abolishing heavy-handedness, intransigence, hypocrisy and other shortcomings which undermine the credibility of those in positions of authority”.
The archbishop also criticised the “self-absorbed” nature of some church leaders. “We can’t be authentic Christians, true disciples of Christ, faithful to the spirit of the Gospel and the mission Christ gave each one of us in baptism, if we have a weary and half-asleep faith, if we shut the door of our hearts or our church buildings, self-absorbed and caring only about ourselves.”
He added that in his apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis “reveals to us both the bad habits that need to be abandoned and the pastoral priorities in the public life of the Church, the body of Christ, whose mission is to proclaim the Gospel in season and out of season”. Archbishop Smith said the Pope was “truly a real breath of fresh air, soon making it clear [after his election] that his mission was to bring fresh life to the Church, to initiate once again the process of purification, reform and renewal which … has always been a recurring need for the Church,” Archbishop Smith added.
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