‘A Lantern On the Way’: Pope Francis’ Signposts for Ecclesial Ethics

Abstract

Abstract Pope Francis’ way of doing ecclesial ethics is not easy to understand at first glance. It is often unconventional and does not meet the expectations of the faithful who do not wish to see changes in the church, nor does it satisfy those who want rapid change. But if we look more closely at how the Pope understands the church, his approach to ecclesial ethics seems to derive naturally from that. The following contribution aims to show how Pope Francis’ ecclesiology determines his approach to ecclesial ethics. To this end, it will (1) summarize important characteristics of his ecclesiology: the sensus fidelium and synodality; its orientation towards pastoral ministry, the focus on unity in plurality and its process-orientation. From there, it will show which cornerstones for ecclesial ethics can be derived from this ecclesial perspective, namely (2) with respect to formal characteristics and (3) with regard to its content.