Pope: in the Church even today there are 'preachers' who divide
“They claim theirs is the only true Christianity is what they are linked to, often identified with certain forms of the past, and that the solution to today's crises is to return to these so as not to lose the authenticity of the faith”. “They start with stories and then end up discrediting the parish priest, the bishop. It is the path of the evil one, of these people who divide, because they do not know how to build ”.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – Just as at the time of Paul's Letter to the Galatians, there are "preachers" who claim to be the possessors of the truth. They belittle the work done by others and "forcefully affirm that true Christianity is what they are linked to, often identified with certain forms of the past, and that the solution to today's crises is to go back so as not to lose the authenticity of the faith".
This is Pope Francis' first comment on the Letter to the Galatians, the "very current" Pauline document to which Francis announced that he will dedicate a new cycle of catechesis for the general audience.
The audience took place today in the San Damaso courtyard. For almost 40 minutes, Francis passed among those present, greeting, stopping at times for an exchange of words, signing everything: books, T-shirts, flags, photographs, leaflets; receiving small gifts, such as a stole.
A group of young people held up a letter for each of them with the inscription "Shalom", drawing the attention of the Pope, who stopped with them. Two young people asked to bless their joined hands. The meeting with an elderly woman was also very prolonged.
Francis explained during his catechesis that he chose to speak about the Letter to the Galatians because "it is very important, I would say decisive, not only to get to know the Apostle better, but above all to consider some topics that he addresses in depth, revealing the Gospel.” “He also addresses some very important issues for the faith, such as those of freedom, grace and the Christian way of life, which are extremely topical because they affect so many aspects of the life of the Church today. It is very current, it seems written for our times ".
Paul, therefore, “after having founded these Churches, realizes a great danger they run for their growth in faith. In fact, some Christians who came from Judaism had infiltrated and cunningly began to sow theories contrary to the teaching of the Apostle, even going so far as to denigrate his person. It is the usual way. As you can see, it is an ancient practice to present oneself on some occasions as the only possessors of the truth and aim to belittle the work done by others even with slander. These adversaries of Paul argued that even pagans must undergo circumcision and live by the rules of the Mosaic law. They go back, to the things that the Gospel has overcome. The Galatians, therefore, would have had to renounce their cultural identity in order to submit to the rules, prescriptions and customs typical of the Jews. Not only. Those opponents argued that Paul was not a true apostle and therefore had no authority to preach the gospel. And many times we see this ":" we think of some Christian community or some diocese. They start with stories and then end up discrediting the parish priest, the bishop. It is the path of the evil one, of these people who divide, which he does not know how to build ”.
“But how can we recognize these people? For example, one of the traces of the way forward is rigidity. Faced with the message of the Gospel that makes us free, joyful, these are rigid: one must go, one must do the other ... ". For the Galatians, "having known Jesus and believed in the work of salvation accomplished with his death and resurrection was truly the beginning of a new life. A life of freedom. They had embarked on a path that allowed them to finally be free, despite their history being interwoven with many forms of violent slavery, not least the one that subjected them to the emperor of Rome. Therefore, faced with the criticisms of the new preachers, they felt lost and uncertain how to behave - who is right, Paul or these people who come to teach so many things? - and who to listen to. In short, the stakes were really great! This condition is not far from the experience that many Christians live in our day ".
"Following the teaching of the Apostle Paul in the Letter to the Galatians will do us good to understand which path to follow ".
"The one indicated by the Apostle is the liberating and ever new way of Jesus Crucified and Risen: it is the way of proclamation, which is realized through humility and fraternity. The new preachers do not know what humility is, what fraternity is. It is the way of mild and obedient trust. The new preachers do not know the meek and obedient trust. And it goes ahead i in the certainty that the Holy Spirit works in every age of the Church. Faith in the Holy Spirit who works in the Church carries us forward and will save us”.
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02/05/2018 11:55
