Pope Francis unveiled his blueprint for a decentralised and more pastoral Church that is focused on the needs of those within and outside it rather than preoccupied with its own prestige.
His first major document as Pope, Evangelii Gaudium (“The joy of the Gospel”), was issued today at the Vatican. Starting with a call for the Church to embrace the new evangelisation with joy, he went on to describe how the Church should engage with the world.
In it he called for a “sound decentralisation” of the way the Church is run, “a more incisive female presence in the Church” and opportunities for young Catholics to exercise greater leadership.H
He said the doors of the sacraments should not be closed for "simply any reason". “The Eucharist … is not a prize for the perfect but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak,” Francis insists.
In his wide-ranging document, which was written in plain and frank language, he urged Catholics to guard against “defeatism which turns us into … 'sourpusses’”, or a superiority to others based on "remain[ing] intransigently faithful to a particular Catholic style from the past”.
Francis also called for greater cultural diversity within the Church, which he said did not need to impose a European model on the rest of the world.
Francis pleaded with leaders of Islamic nations “to grant Christians freedom to worship and to practice their faith, in light of the freedom which followers of Islam enjoy in Western countries!”
He pointed to the importance of conscience, saying that non-believers who were faithful to their consciences can live “justified by the grace of God”, and were recipients of practical wisdom from the Holy Spirit.
He also voiced concern for the weakest members of society, highlighting the cause of the unborn, migrants, and victims of human trafficking.
Read the document in full here.
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