Abstract

In the past eight years, since the election of Francis as the first Latin American pontiff in history, the Church has experienced new manners of being and acting. Even though she has also been in a constant state of aggiornamento, Francis’ vision has contributed greatly to this concept of being a perfect image of the ideal Church of Christ (cf. Ecclesiam Suam 10) and a better servant of humanity. The objective of this study is to present an outline of Francis’ main ecclesiological concepts, in the awareness that this endeavour can never be completely exhaustive. For this reason, the article is divided into two main sections. In this first one, the bedrocks of his ecclesiological thoughts are studied. These include his Jesuit vocation, the CELAM conferences and vision, and the Argentine theology of the people. In the second section, his main ecclesiological themes are analysed: the people of God, a poor Church for the poor, ecumenism, reform, and an ecological Church.

Highlights

  • In the past eight years, since the election of Francis as the first Latin American pontiff in history, the Church has experienced new manners of being and acting

  • The objective of this study is to present an outline of Francis’ main ecclesiological concepts, in the awareness that this endeavour can never be completely exhaustive

  • Having a Latin American pope after more than 1000 years of European pontificates and the first Jesuit pope in history implies that the Church is being marked with a particular kind of newness, which has not been experienced for many years

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Summary

CELAM Conferences

The CELAM conference of Medellin (1968) was a crucial experience in Latin America since it gave an important thrust to the evangelising mission for the Church in this continent by introducing Vatican II to this continental Church with an attitude of compromise, in favour of liberation of the poor. Aparecida [DA] (2007) is the CELAM conference which mostly influenced Bergoglio, due to his active involvement in the redaction of its final document. This conference gave a new motivation to the Latin American Church for it to be in a permanent state of mission, strongly favourable to pastoral conversion by means of retrieving the sense of discipleship with Jesus Christ in order to be able to communicate this life of Christ with others (DA 368). We may affirm that Francis’ idea of the Church reform and missionary concept of the Church which goes forth find their roots in Vatican Council II but in a special way in the Latin American manner of appropriating the council’s teaching in Medellin, in Puebla, and in Aparecida.[17]

The Theology of the People
An Outline of Francis’ Ecclesiological Themes
Reform of the Heart
Reform of Structures
T he Missionary Transformation of the Church
A n Ecological Church
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