Pope Francis asked this Wednesday that the Church get out of “sterile discussions”, that it be able to “welcome everyone” and that it work for those in need, by leading a mass in the Vatican together with the archbishops from around the world appointed in the last year.
“What can we do together, as a Church, so that the world in which we live is more humane, more just, more supportive, more open to God and to brotherhood among men?” asked the pontiff during the celebration at the Basilica of Saint Peter.
For the Pope, as he said in front of the new archbishops appointed in the last year, “It is evident that we should not close ourselves off in our ecclesial circles and remain trapped in certain sterile discussions, but rather help each other to be yeast in the world’s dough”.
“There are no first and second class Christians,” he warned in that framework.
“Together we can and must establish gestures of care for human life, for the protection of creation, for the dignity of work, for the problems of families, for the situation of the elderly and the abandoned, rejected and despised”the Pope convened in this framework.
For Jorge Bergoglio, “in short, to be a Church that promotes a culture of care, compassion for the weak and the fight against all forms of degradation, including that of our cities and the places we frequent, so that the joy of the Gospel shine in the life of each one: this is our good fight”.
In his homily, the Pope called for “a Church that rises, that does not close in on itself, but is capable of looking beyond, of leaving its own prisons to meet the world.”
On the day that the Solemnity of Saint Peter and Saint Paul is celebrated in the Vatican, Francis called for “a Church for all”, that is “a Church without chains and without walls, in which everyone can feel welcomed and accompanied, in which cultivates the art of listening, of dialogue, of participation, under the sole authority of the Holy Spirit”.
“A free and humble Church, that gets up quickly, that does not procrastinate, that does not accumulate delays in the face of the challenges of the present, that does not stop at sacred precincts, but allows itself to be animated by the passion of announcing the Gospel and the desire to reach everyone and welcome everyone”he emphasized.
