He told the new Cardinals appointed two weeks ago –
and he is telling us the same – to ‘go out in search of those who are distant,
those on the outskirts.’ ‘Roll up your
sleeves’, he said and stop ‘standing by, passively watching the suffering of
the world.’
He has made a number of changes in the Curia and is
restructuring Vatican departments.
Already the number of European Cardinals has noticeably diminished. When Pope Francis was elected two years ago
they represented over 51% of the total and are now down to 45%. The imbalance has been such that it will take
time to correct but Pope Francis is working on it. European Catholics make up 24% of Catholics
worldwide while Latin America accounts for 40% and has only 14% of the College
of Cardinals.
His address to the new Cardinals was given at the
Sunday Mass when the Gospel was about Jesus healing the leper. ‘What matters for Jesus is, above all,
reaching out to save those far off, healing the wounds of the sick and
restoring everyone to God’s family’, the Pope said, ‘and this is scandalous to some people.’ Many in the Curia, of course, are not impressed
by the approach and style of the Pope and are strongly opposed to any proposals
that the Synod of Bishops should significantly alter the attitude of the Church
towards those who are currently excluded from its sacramental life. The Pope in this powerful homily said: ‘I
urge you to serve the Church in such a way that Christians – edified by our
witness – will not be tempted to turn to Jesus without turning to the outcast,
to become a closed caste with nothing authentically ecclesial about it.’ He told the Cardinals (and all of us!) to
serve and see Jesus in all those on the margins, ‘even in those who have lost
their faith, or have turned away from the faith, or say they are atheists.’ He urged them to imitate Francis of Assisi by
embracing and accepting all the different types of outcasts. ‘Truly, dear
brothers, the gospel of the marginalised is where our credibility is at stake,
is discovered and is revealed.’
Francis, ever since his election, has made it clear
what he believes – the Holy Spirit is pushing the Church to be more inclusive,
compassionate and outward looking. He
spoke for fifteen minutes – unusually long for him – on the need to ‘reintegrate’
the marginalised and to ‘respond immediately’ to those left most in need by
society. He said that there were two
ways ‘of thinking and of having faith.’ ‘We
can fear to lose the saved or we can want to save the lost. Even today it can happen that we stand at the
crossroads of these two ways of thinking.’
Fearing to lose the saved is ‘the thinking of the doctors of the law
which would remove the danger by casting out the diseased person’. Wanting to save the lost is ‘the thinking of
God, who in his mercy embraces and accepts him by reinstating him and turning
evil into good, condemnation into salvation and exclusion into proclamation.’ He went on: ‘These two ways of thinking are
present throughout the Church’s history – casting off or re-integrating.’ ‘The Church’s way, from the time of the
Council of Jerusalem, has always been the way of Jesus, the way of mercy and
reintegration.’
The Council of Jerusalem was held in the infant
Church when the Apostles decided – against much opposition – to welcome
non-Jews into the Church solely on the basis of their faith in Jesus, not
requiring that they submit to the Law of Moses.
‘Contact is the true language of communication, the same endearing
language which brought healing to the leper.
How many healings can we perform, if only we learn the language? The leper, once cured, became a messenger of
God’s love. The Gospel tells us that ‘he
went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the word.’ Francis said that the curing of the leper is
the ‘logic, the mind of Jesus and this is the way of the Church. Not only to welcome and re-integrate with
evangelical courage all those who knock at our door, but to go out and seek,
fearlessly and without prejudice, those who are distant, freely sharing what we
ourselves freely received. Total
openness to serving others is our hallmark, it alone is our title of honour.’ He said that Christ wished to ‘restore the
outcast to the community, without being hemmed in by prejudice, conformity to
the prevailing mindset or worry about becoming infected.’
