Pope Francis closed a month-long youth synod gathering by urging Catholics to reject versions of faith as “doctrinal formulae” or “social work” but go out to the world with a message of mercy and redemption.
“It is not Christian to expect that our brothers and sisters who are seekers should have to knock on our doors; we ought to go out to them, bringing not ourselves but Jesus,” the Pope said during a homily at the closing Mass for a synod gathering on young people, the faith and vocational discernment in St Peter’s Basilica on Sunday 28 October.
His remarks on Sunday chime with the 2013 pre-conclave speech that helped get him elected Pope, then-Cardinal Bergoglio said that sometimes in the Church, "I think that Jesus may be knocking from the inside, that we may let him out."
Throughout his five-year papacy, Francis has pushed for an outward-looking, missionary Church and has taken the synod of bishops structure has a major tool for this renewal programme. Last night the synod produced its final document which called for a “common discernment” by the Church and a more substantial role for women.
Speaking during the Angelus after the Mass, the Pope told a crowd in St Peter’s Square that the synod gathering was “more than a document” but showcased a “style” for the Church and a “way of being and working together, young and old.”
During his homily on Sunday, Francis said the “synod” is a journey of faith, and today’s Gospel passage on the healing of the blind man Bartimaeus confirm three elements of it: listening, “to be a neighbour” and bearing witness.
Too often, the Pope said, people bring their own “recipes” and “labels” into the Church by turning faith into a doctrinal system or social activism.
“How often, instead of this liberating message of salvation, have we brought ourselves, our own ‘recipes’ and ‘labels’ into the Church!” Francis told a packed basilica of bishops and young people who had attended the 3-28 October Synod.
“How often, instead of making the Lord’s words our own, have we peddled our own ideas as his word! How often do people feel the weight of our institutions more than the friendly presence of Jesus! In these cases, we act more like an NGO, a state-controlled agency, and not the community of the saved who dwell in the joy of the Lord.”
So many children and young people, the Pope explained, are looking for the message of “life” and “light in their lives” but instead are met with empty promises and “few people who really care.” Francis said the Church’s response must be to present an authentic faith that connects with people.
“We cannot choose between doctrine and activism,” he said. “We are called to carry out God’s work in God’s own way: in closeness, by cleaving to him, in communion with one another, alongside our brothers and sisters. Closeness: that is the secret to communicating the heart of the faith, and not a secondary aspect.
The Pope added: “When faith is concerned purely with doctrinal formulae, it risks speaking only to the head without touching the heart. And when it is concerned with activity alone, it risks turning into mere moralising and social work.”
Francis also used his homily to ask forgiveness from young people for the times “we have not listened to you,” and “instead of opening our hearts, we have filled your ears.”
The admission of failings was echoed in the letter from the synod fathers to young people, released at the end of Mass on Sunday.
“Our weaknesses should not deter you,” they wrote. “Our frailties and sins must not be an obstacle for your trust. The Church is your mother; she does not abandon you; she is ready to accompany you on new roads, on higher paths where the winds of the spirit blow stronger - sweeping away the mists of indifference, superficiality and discouragement.”
It concluded: “The Church and the world urgently need your enthusiasm. Be sure to make the most fragile people, the poor and those wounded by life your traveling companions. You are the present; be a brighter future.”
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