Pope Francis

Pope Francis on the Church

by John R. Connolly
January, 2022

Pope Francis’ view of the church is rooted in the two ecclesiological constitutions of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) Gaudium et Spes, the Constitution on the Church in the Modern World and Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church. His reception of Vatican II’s notion of the church is not just a dogmatic acceptance, but also embraces a spiritual and evangelical mission to reform the church based upon the teachings of the council. Pope Francis’ ecclesiology has to be understood as a restoration of the ecclesiology of Vatican II and in contrast with the papacies of John Paul II and Benedict XVI which opposed and obstructed many of the reforms of the council.

Both John Paul II and Benedict XVI preached and fostered an ecclesiology that emphasized the institutional church and the absolute and exclusive authority of the pope and the magisterium of the church. Both downplayed, to say the least, the themes of the ecclesiology of the Second Vatican Council and recreated a twentieth century version of the church of the First Vatican Council, (1870). Both popes shared a vision that emphasized the institutional church as a hierarchical, monarchical, and infallible society, a perfect society. In this model of the Church, revelation was viewed as being exclusively contained in the teaching authority of the pope and the Roman Curia. The infallibility of the pope and the magisterium were extended to include all areas of church teaching. Faith was viewed primarily as an intellectual assent which required absolute obedience and loyalty to the teachings of the pope and the magisterium.

In his book, The Liminal Papacy of Pope Francis, Massimo Faggioli list five main elements of Pope Francis’ view of the church. The Catholic Church is 1. “a church that goes forth to reach those in irregular situations;” 2, “a church that is not afraid to address issues that for some have been settled forever just a few years before;” 3. “a church that is aware and honest about the tensions between the law and the gospel;” 4. “a church that recognizes the need for a renewed collegial and synodal dimension”; and 5. “a church that faces the complexity of its global dimension, where the issue of unity in diversity takes a different shape than it has in the recent past.” (18-19).

In Evangelii Gaudium, The Joy of the Gospel, Pope Francis selects the “polyhedron, “which reflects the convergence of all its parts, each of which preserves its distinctiveness,” as his model for the Church (Evangelii Gaudium, EG, no. 236). In this view of the Church there is a place for the poor and their culture and for people who are considered dubious on account of their so-called errors (EG, no. 236). The Church “is the convergence of peoples who, within the universal order, maintain their own individuality; it is the sum total of persons within a society which pursue the common good, which truly has a place for everyone.’ (EG, no. 236). The Church is not just one or two of its parts, the pope and the magisterium, it embraces and includes all of its people. Francis’ polyhedron is the union of all the different subparts. (Faggioli, Catholicism and Citizenship, 135). Massimo Faggioli states that the model of the polyhedron, an essential element in Francis’ ecclesiology, is “based on a mystic vision of the people, on discernment as an antidote to ideology, and on the idea of change, in the church as well, as a process dealing with conflicts, contradictions, tensions, and temptation.” (Catholicism and Citizenship, 135).

The parameters of Francis’ polyhedron model of ecclesiology can be made more specific and concrete through an examination of some of the elements of his personalist vision of the church. As the agent of evangelization, the Church is “first and foremost a people advancing on its pilgrim way toward God.” (EG, no. 111). It is more than just an “organic and hierarchical institution.” (EG, no. 111). Salvation is the primary mission of the Church. The Church is sent by Jesus Christ as “the sacrament of the salvation offered by God.” (EG, no. 112). Its main principle is the primacy of grace. (EG, no. 112). The salvation that God has brought through Christ, and which is joyfully proclaimed by the church, is for everyone. (EG, no. 113). Pope Francis states, “God has found a way to unite himself to every human being in every age. He has chosen to call them together as a people and not as isolated individuals.” (EG, no. 113). The people whom God has called and chosen are the church. “Jesus did not tell the apostles to form an exclusive and elite group.” (EG, no. 113).

The poor have a special place in Francis’ vision of the Church and should be included in the church’s mission of evangelization. “God’s heart has a special place for the poor.” (EG, no.197). To this Francis adds, “May we never abandon them.” (EG, no. 48). Francis strongly affirms that the church must adopt and make a commitment to the “preferential option for the poor.” Francis describes the church’s option for the poor as a “special form of primacy in the exercise of Christian charity, to which the whole tradition of the Church bears witness.” (EG, no. 198). Without the preferential option for the poor, the proclamation of the Gospel “risks being misunderstood or submerged by the ocean of words which daily engulfs us in today’s society of mass communications.” (EG, no. 199). Listening to the “cry of the poor” is an intrinsic aspect of the commitment of faith. In the words of Francis, “Each individual Christian and every community is called to be an instrument of God for the liberation and promotion of the poor, and for enabling them to be fully a part of society. This demands that we be docile and attentive to the cry of the poor and come to their aid.” (EG, no. 187). The commitment to the poor also includes working in the world to eliminate the structural causes of poverty. (EG, no.188). Francis connects the Church’s commitment to the poor with the Christian virtue of mercy. According to Francis we hear the cry of the poor when we show mercy toward others and are deeply moved by their sufferings. (EG, no. 193).

In Evangelii Gaudium Francis discusses “spiritual worldliness,” an attitude that he views as an obstacle to the implementation of his polyhedron personalist vision of the Church. Francis states that the Christian must say no to “spiritual worldliness,” which is an attitude that, while hiding behind the appearance of piety and love for the Church, is really “seeking not the Lord’s glory but human glory and personal well-being.” (EG, no. 93). It is the attitude for which Jesus reprimanded the Pharisees who were seeking glory from one another, rather than the glory that comes from God. (EG, no. 93). “Spiritual worldliness” is a subtle way of seeking one’s “own interests, not those of Jesus Christ,” Phil.2:21. (EG, no. 93). It is found in those believers who have “an ostentatious preoccupation for the liturgy, for doctrine and for the Church’s prestige, but without any concern that the Gospel have a real impact on God’s faithful people and the concrete needs of the present time.” (EG, no. 95). The life of the Church is turned into a museum piece and becomes the property of a select few. (EG, no. 95). In this attitude the principal beneficiary is not “God’s people but the Church as an institution.” (EG, no. 95).

Here is a sample of Francis further remarks on “spiritual worldliness.”

1. The mark of Christ, incarnate is not present: close and elite groups are formed. (EG, no. 95).
2. No effort is made to seek out those who are distant or the immense multitude who thirst for
    Christ. (EG, no. 95).
3. This attitude feeds the vainglory of those who are content to have a modicum of power. (EG,
    no.96).
4. They discredit those who raise questions. They constantly point out the mistakes of others.
    (EG, no. 97).
5. Instead of belonging to the whole Church, they belong to this or that group which thinks itself
    different or special. (EG, no. 98).
6. “Spiritual worldliness” leads to divisions within the Church. (EG, no. 98).
7. The response to “spiritual worldliness’ is love. (EG. no. 99).
8. “Spiritual worldliness” can only be “healed by breathing in the pure air of the Holy Spirit who
    frees us from self-centeredness cloaked in an outward religiosity bereft of God. Let us not
    allow ourselves to be robbed of the Gospel.” (EG, no. 97).