The "evangelical revolution" of Francis' magisterium
Milan (AsiaNews) - A year ago, on 19 March 2013, Jorge Mario Bergoglio began his papal ministry. A year later, Pope Francis continues to inspire people, even non-Christians, with so many hopes for peace, justice, joy in life, as well as human and economic prosperity for all.
Such interest is inexplicable since Francis has no economic, political, military, scientific or technical power to influence the course of worldly affairs. Only a supernatural reason can explain it.
Through his person, actions and words, the Argentinian pope offers everyone the Gospel and the Beatitudes of Jesus, a true revolution compared to the inhumanity of the world in which we live, especially in our post-Christian West, which seems to have eliminated God from the horizon of man and society.
For two thousand years, the Christian Churches have proclaimed the Good News that mankind's Saviour was born. In the past, this "initial proclamation" caused an earthquake that benefitted the nations of the world, which is something that continues to happen today in smaller lands and nations, missions and younger Churches. However, proclaiming the Beatitudes is no longer so moving for we have heard it so many times! Yet, in every age, the Gospel is always new. Thus, why has Francis been welcomed almost unanimously without objections or rejections?
In the recent past, John XXIII and John Paul II were popular popes who touched the hearts of people. With Francis, there is something different. He gets down to the level of ordinary people, and speaks from the heart. His speeches are about everyday life and everyone understands him. It is almost as if he is saying, 'you already know what the Church says, and what the Christian doctrine and morality say. Let us now see how we actually live or could live this ancient tradition.'
Pope Francis has stepped down from the papal pulpit and given up the old luxury and splendour. He is "sinner", one of us who walks the walk with the same temptations as everyone else. He is transparent, without secrets. Indeed, he has opened up every nook and cranny in the Vatican in order to begin the purification of the Church precisely from the centre.
When he talks, he always challenges those who listen. He does not argue, but reviews everyday life. When he comments the Gospel in Santa Marta, he explains what Jesus said, and then applies the Gospel right away to everyday life and people.
Take for example his speech on 14 February 2014 in St Peter's Square before tens of thousands of engaged couples from around the world. An old-fashioned preacher would have explained the nature of the engagement, or the rules to observe, citing passages from the Gospels and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Pope Francis instead got some couples to ask three questions and he answered them by making factual statements and providing examples.
Why should the marriage last forever? How can a couple experience together the wedding and its preparation? Everyone asks these are questions and, for this reason, everyone listens. In answering, Francis provided facts, cited proverbs and cracked jokes that everyone will remember.
No Pope has ever spoken so directly and so plainly to those listening to him. He looks at reality from the point of view of the people, not from that of the Church's ancient doctrine. Of course, he explains the Doctrine, but applies it to contemporary human situations.
After all is said and done, what is Pope Francis' revolution about? Nothing more than the following: he wants to bring the people of our time back to God, to Jesus Christ, to the Gospel. In him, there is no break with previous popes nor with the Christian tradition, which however, like the manuals of Christian morality, the Codes of Canon Law, the rules of the liturgy, ecumenical councils and papal encyclicals are released to adapt, and "update" (to cite Pope John XXIII) Catholic doctrine and morality for the people of every age.
Revealed truth does not change. It is interpreted and applied differently in accordance with each historical era and the evolution of each nation. Jesus said to his Apostles, "I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth," and "he will take from what is mine and declare it to you" (John, 16:12-15).
Jesus Christ is God's last revelation, but, as humans, we can never fully understand his mind and will. This is why in the two thousand years of Christianity, the Spirit revealed and explained many things from the Gospel about God's Word as authenticated by the Church.
This is the great "Tradition of the Church." Like God's written Word, the Old and the New Testaments, it is a source of revelation. Little by little, the Church has come to understand the Gospel more deeply and changed over the centuries in many ways; for example, it has changed its views about non-Christian religions (Nostra Aetate in Vatican II), the notion of religious freedom (Dignitatis humanae), the collegiality of bishops and pope (Lumen Gentium, Chapter III), the Mass in local languages (Sacrosanctum Concilium, n. 36), etc.
This is what Pope Francis is doing. For instance, by convening the Synod on the Family and getting the Churches around the world to answer certain questions, he is not changing the type of marriage presented in the Gospel, but is renewing and "updating" the pastoral and legal rules by which people experience it in today's world.
Many still wonder about the nature of the evangelical revolution of which Pope Francis is the first missionary and model. Yet, this should be easy to understand: all of us who are baptised should follow and imitate Jesus Christ even more, finding enthusiasm and joy in being His witnesses, light of the world and salt of the earth.
Whether we are cardinals, bishops, priests, nuns, or lay people, none of us can avoid the "life review" proposed by the Gospel. For each of us, it is important to start the Church's evangelical revolution at home, with ourselves. We must return to Christ so that, with the help of the Holy Spirit, the world in which we live can become more humane and less inhuman.
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25/03/2015
