Pope Francis is moving pretty fast these days and I must
admit that my admiration for him grows with every day.
Now he has come out with a 224 page “teaching document” that
he wrote titled: EVANGELII GAUDIUM or THE JOY OF THE GOSPEL as described in the
Detroit News (Nov. 27, 2013) by Nicole Winfield of the Associated Press: Pope’s
mission: Lift the poor, downsize doctrine.
I will not pretend to agree with everything Francis says in
this document especially when he condemns capitalism (my interpretation) or
trickle-down economic theories “money must serve and not rule” says Francis.
The pope chose St. Francis as his namesake for a reason; he
worked for the poor. Francis is also a Jesuit; an order that dedicates itself
to helping the less fortunate, so I understand where he is coming from.
Francis definitely and unequivocally stands on the side of
the Vatican II reforms, something the last two popes did not.
He once again decries the church’s obsession with rules and
doctrine and said (listen to this carefully) that in some cases, the church’s
old customs can be cast aside if they no longer serve to communicate the faith.
Francis obviously wants to shift the focus of the church
saying that mercy is paramount and that the faithful should be invited in and
not castigated.
This is huge and in the right direction; I just hope he
lives long enough to make his ideas stick.
No comments:
Post a Comment