Evangelii Gaudium Research Articles

Uncertainty and the Economy of Exclusion: Insights from Post‐Keynesian Institutionalism

AbstractCritics of Pope Francis’s Evangelii gaudium argue that recent economic growth and reductions in inequality are evidence that his notion of the “economy of exclusion” is misguided. However, Francis alludes to another type of exclusion—increased uncertainty generated by technological change that affects citizens even in developed nations. Drawing from Post‐Keynesian institutionalist theory, this article argues that this condition is common in capitalism, and that grassroots reforms are needed to ensure shared prosperity.

RUMO À PLENITUDE

Este artigo faz uma análise e reflexões sobre conversão pastoral a partir dos documentos de Santo Domingo, Aparecida e da Exortação apostólica Evangelii Gaudium. Analisa a partir dos três documentos da Igreja o paradigma da conversão pastoral que possui maior relevância e credibilidade para sua atuação no mundo contemporâneo, especificamente na região amazônica. Primeiramente o artigo busca definir o conceito de conversão pastoral; em seguida aponta a conversão como transformação missionária da Igreja segundo a Evangelii Gaudium e, por último fundamenta a conversão pastoral como uma necessidade para o contexto atual do mundo.

HOMILI MELAMPAUI SEGALA BENTUK KATEKESE (Evangelii Gaudium, art 135-159)

Today Christians has faced various challengge that plunge many christian into consumerism, terrible sadness, hedonism and covetous. As the result many christian become selfish, irritable, and egoist. For that reason, Pope Francis urged many preachers should work hard in proclaiming the gospel especially through homilies because homilies beyond all form of catechesis. This paper aims to explore Pope Francis' theological ideas about concerning homily. In a way of exploring the theological conception regarding homily, the writer treats the apostolic exhortation of evangelii Gaudium article number 135-159.

What has eschatology to do with the gospel? An analysis of papal documents on mission ad gentes

A theology of mission includes consideration of the reasons for the missionary endeavor. An important source for this area of theology is the set of eight papal documents beginning with Pope Benedict XV’s Maximum illud with the most recent being Pope Francis’s Evangelii gaudium. Beginning with Jesus’ proclamation of the gospel, the mission ad gentes has been carried out with the conviction that on its reception depended a hearer’s eternal destiny. Such a rationale based on eschatological beliefs has continued into our day, although during the past century there has been some serious questioning of this view. In this article I analyze the seven papal documents on mission for the frequency with which they mention eschatological and non-eschatological reasons for missionary work. Noteworthy trends emerge from this analysis which raise questions about the continuing vigor of the church’s mission ad gentes.

“It Cannot Be Emphasized Enough How Everything Is Interconnected”: Ecological Wisdom, Cross-Cultural Insight, and Pope Francis’ Social Teaching

When understood as anthropogenic phenomena, contemporary social and ecological crises can be framed as moral issues, arising from human action and neglect of duties to marginalized human and ecological neighbours. In so much as the roots of these problematic outcomes lie in worldview, ecological wisdom can help in fostering spaces for integrated ethical responses to associated challenges like global climate change, social injustice, and ecological delegation. The present article highlights select instances of thinkers who express convergences between social and ecological concern by exploring cross-cultural perspectives on ecological wisdom. Then, with the aid of a green theo-ecoethical viewpoint informed by those perspectives, it maps relevant teachings of Pope Francis that are expressed in two of his most important exercises of his magisterial office: Evangelii Gaudium and Laudato Si’. As brought into view through dialogue with contemporary articulations of ecological wisdom, inclusive of overlapping Indigenous and academic insights, this approach helps discern a noteworthy measure of rhetorical support for socio-ecological flourishing found in the teaching of Pope Francis.

Graha Maria Annai Velangkanni sebagai Bentuk Pewartaan Injil secara Inkulturatif di Medan

Marian Shrine of Annai Velangkanni, which is located in Sakura III Street Medan-North Sumatera, actually is a Catholic-church with Hindu-Moghul architecture. Many people visit this shrine because of its uniqueness, the ornaments and symbols, and the service of Fr. James Bharataputra, SJ. This building becomes a precious asset for the Archdiocese of Medan. The aim of this article is to prove the effectiveness of Marian Shrine of Annai Velangkanni for inculturated evangelization. How can the idea of the founder be understood by the visitors? How can evangelization, inculturation, and devotion be developed in the Archdiocese of Medan? These questions will be answered by a field-research. We use mixed method: qualitative and quantitative namely with depth interviews and questioner. In the light of Evangelii Gaudium , we would support, criticize, and suggest pastoral movements to develop Maria Shrine of Annai Velangkanni. The inculturation can be found in this shrine and become an effective evangelization. The management should be a system which involves many parts to give a better service and increase the inculturation with local cultures (Batak).

Mission amidst Ideologies: Ideology and Hegemony in The Cape Town Commitment, Together towards Life, Evangelii Gaudium, and Mission of the Orthodox Church in Today’s World

Abstract Although the present era has by some scholars been referred to as a post-ideological one, based on the argument that the so-called ‘grand narratives’ have by now become largely untrustworthy and suspicious, evidence suggests that ideology continues to play an important role in today’s world. This paper will therefore seek to revisit the post-ideology thesis using Timothy Gorringe’s distinction between ideology and hegemony. Gorringe defines ideology as an articulated system of meanings, values, and beliefs; to him, it is meaning in service of power. In contrast, hegemony for Gorringe is a taken for granted order of signs and practices whose power lies in what it silences. Employing this hermeneutic framework, the present paper will then explore what four recent major documents on mission and evangelism (The Cape Town Commitment, Together towards Life, Evangelii Gaudium and Mission of the Orthodox Church in Today’s World, respectively) have to say on the theme of ideology. Finally, an attempt will be pursued to identify what implications the discovered results might have for Christian mission as part of missio Dei today, with a particular focus on the central and eastern European context. A constructive missiological suggestion will be made that rather than providing its own ‘grand narrative,’ Christian mission is first and foremost about living out faith, love, and hope in the everyday, while also countering various types of ideology and hegemony.

Nawrócenie pastoralne i duszpasterstwo misyjne parafii w Polsce

In his apostolic exhortation Evangelii gaudium Pope Francis has stated realistically that the call to review and renew our parishes has not yet sufficed to bring them nearer to people, to make them environments of living communion and participation, and to make them completely mission-oriented (EG 28). Answering this papal call directed to the whole Church and concerning the pastoral conversion and missionary ministry, the author of this article attempts to take a look at the renewal of the Catholic parishes in Poland in the context of the direction indicated by Pope Francis, which involves abandonment of the complacent attitude that says: “We have always done it this way” (EG 33). The considerations carried out here consist of four parts. After presenting the theological vision of a Catholic parish (1), the authors moves on to emphasising the essence of the pastoral conversion (2), the culmination of which should be the missionary ministry (3). Visualising the teaching of Pope Francis became the point of giving consideration to the subject matter of setting the trends of working in the Polish parishes (4).

The Ecumenism of the Polyhedron: A New Ecclesiology?

The Ecumenism of the Polyhedron: A New Ecclesiology? Raniero Cantalamessa ofmcapp Translated by Marsha Daigle Williamson Keywords ecclesiology, ecumenism, polyedron, Pope Francis, Pentecostals, unity and diversity in the church I. From the Church as a Pyramid to the Church as a Circle The image of a polyhedron, a three-dimensional body with many angles and surfaces such as a prism, was used by Pope Francis for the first time in Evangelii gaudium in a general ecclesiological sense to describe the Church as a whole.1 He used it in the address he gave at the Pentecostal Church of Reconciliation in Caserta—but this time in terms of the ecumenical dialogue among the various Christian churches. It is worth listening to its central part again: We are in the epoch of globalization, and we think about what globalization is and what unity would be in the Church: perhaps a sphere, where all points are equidistant from the centre, all equal? No! This is uniformity. And the Holy Spirit doesn’t create uniformity! What shape can we find? Let us consider a prism: the prism is [a] unity, but all its parts are different; each has its own peculiarity, its [charism]. This is unity in diversity. It is on this path that we Christians do what we call by the theological name of ecumenism: we seek to ensure that this diversity may be more harmonized by the Holy Spirit and become unity.2 [End Page 442] Are we before a “new ecclesiology” as we read in the title with a question mark assigned for my presentation? Yes, provided that we give the adjective “new” the meaning it has when it is applied to the truths of revelation and faith. “New,” in this case, does not mean what has not existed before either in an explicit way or in implicit way. “New” here means the latest development of something that is consistent with what has already been revealed and that makes its implications explicit—something, then, that is added to the old without negating it. It is what Cardinal John Henry Newman discovered through great effort on his own and has set forth in his classic work, An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine. I will try to explain the developments that have occurred in Catholic ecclesiology in light of the successive geometric symbols used to describe the mystery of the Church. The starting point is the pyramid-Church, as many have characterized ecclesiology before Vatican II. The pyramidal vision consists in seeing the Church primarily as a hierarchy, that is, as a set of ministries and authorities arranged in ascending order from the people at the base to the Roman Pontiff at the top and moving up through priests, bishops, and the Roman Curia. From the image of a pyramid, we moved to that of a circle or, as Pope Francis prefers to call it, a sphere. That transition was not instantaneous or painless. During and especially after the council, the discussion focused on the contrast between the concept of the Church-as-institution and the Church-as-people-of-God, that is, between hierarchy and koinonia, between that which differentiates and that which unites everyone in the Church. In Novo millennio ineunte, John Paul II reflected on and, in a certain sense, resolved this contrast, writing: This is the other important area in which there has to be commitment and planning on the part of the universal Church and the particular Churches: the domain of communion (koinonia), which embodies and reveals the very essence of the mystery of the Church. . . . It is in building this communion of love that the Church appears as “sacrament”, as the “sign and instrument of intimate union with God and of the unity of the human race” [quoting Lumen gentium 1].3 [End Page 443] These words constitute the endpoint of the ecclesiological renewal that was initiated almost two centuries earlier by Johann Adam Möhler with his work Unity in the Church; it was developed by Cardinal Newman and resulted in the ecclesiology of Vatican II. Its conclusion is that the Church is essentially a communion founded on love. Two concepts can help us...

Religiosidad popular en las Conferencias Episcopales Latinoamericanas y en el Magisterio de Francisco

In this article I will give a description of Latin American popular religiosity, highlighting its approach in the Magisterium of the Church and in the Episcopal Conferences from Medellin to Aparecida. I will work off of the Magisterium of Pope Francis, especially from the guidelines that appear in Evangelii Gaudium on the topic. The same theological line of Cardinal Bergoglio, who was the Chairman of the Committee for the Drafting of the Final Document of Aparecida, is observed in his Magisterium based on the theology of the people. The Marian shrine of Aparecida marks a theological line, which we can perceive as the time of Mary. That place is a sign to highlight and remove from the anonymity of the Marian popular faith that has quietly grown and continues to spread, evangelizing itself in a very creative way. The Pope has captured this silent action in the hearts of the people who love and follow the Mother of God beyond the eclesial structures and the ecclesial institution. It is a challenge that sets the church in motion, breaking paradigms and opening doors, so that the Spirit may become flesh in the most unprotected and weakest that only have the Savior’s Mother as hope. Let us think of the thousands of faithful who come to the shrines asking for health, peace, work, food... on a continent that remains imprisoned in structures that produce more disadvantaged every day.

Pope Francis' Global Spirituality: Mercy as Foundation for an Integral Theology

Pope Francis' Global Spirituality:Mercy as Foundation for an Integral Theology Jean-Pierre Fortin (bio) "There can be no renewal of our relationship with nature without a renewal of humanity itself."1 "Without mercy, without God's forgiveness, the world would not exist; it could not exist."2 Pope Francis In a recent article, Paul Younger provides the following synopsis of Pope Francis' latest encyclical letter: Chapter one reviews the multifaceted challenges of anthropogenic environmental degradation … The second chapter proposes a theological framework for analyzing the issues, drawing predominantly on biblical, patristic, conciliar and papal sources … The third chapter examines the disordered tendencies in individuals and society that give rise to ecological degradation. Chapter four explores many facets of what an integral ecology might look like, with environmental, economic, social, and cultural dimensions … The final two chapters set out some parameters for action, both at the level of policy-making and at the level of individual lifestyles.3 While accurate, this summary may incite readers of Laudato Si' (On Care for Our Common Home) to think that spiritual theology and formation only pertain to the final practical section of the encyclical and, therefore, have no determining influence on the structure and contents of its previous parts. Such an assumption, however, is seriously challenged by the fact that Pope Francis opens Laudato Si' with an explicit reference to the life and teaching of Saint Francis of Assisi. The words of the bishop of Rome are quite revealing: "I believe that Saint Francis is the example par excellence of care for the vulnerable and of an integral ecology lived out joyfully and authentically … He was a mystic and a pilgrim who lived in simplicity and in wonderful harmony with God, with others, with nature, and with himself … To him each and every creature was a sister united to him by bonds of affection."4 In these few sentences, Pope Francis states what he conceives to be an ecological vision able [End Page 64] to foster a sustainable interaction of humankind with the whole of creation and enable humankind to offer a creative response to the current ecological crisis. Moreover, he retrieves this vision from the heart of Christian tradition, finding it fully embodied eight hundred years ago in the person and life of Saint Francis. The successful overcoming of the prevailing attitude, which incites human beings to act as "masters, consumers, ruthless exploiters" of nature can be overcome only in and by the renewal of a profound sense of awe and wonder before the amazing gift of creation. Pope Francis argues that the renewed awareness of our creatureliness will incite us to live and act as brothers and sisters of all creatures, that is, to display restraint and respect toward others, and this precisely because natural beings are endowed with the dignity of creature of God. I. integral ecology as ecological spirituality The following reflection will attempt to demonstrate that Pope Francis' theology of creation profoundly alters the traditional understanding and practice of ecological theology. What Pope Francis proposes is an integral theology embodied in and lived out as a global spirituality centered on the reality and effective power of divine mercy, poured out in the Eucharist. This brief exposition of the spiritual theology undergirding Laudato Si' will demand the retrieval of the "missionary option" operative in Evangelii Gaudium (Joy of the Gospel) and of the understanding of Christian faith and discipleship articulated in Lumen Fidei (The Light of Faith). Pedro Walpole rightfully emphasized the central importance of spiritual formation in and for the Pope's proposed solution to the current ecological crisis. He thus argues that authentic engagement with the text of Laudato Si' should lead its readers to "grow spiritually so as to express [their] concern, act with environmental justice and seek reconciliation with the pain of the land."5 Genuine concern for the environment stems from the realization that nature, and the earth in particular, are creations of God in and to which we are profoundly integrated and related. Concern for the environment supposes a communion with nature whereby humankind acknowledges and reforms its disrespectful, destructive behavior towards its fellow creatures. The challenge set before the whole human community...

Portuguese

Postmodernity is both a challenge and an opportunity for evangelization due to the overrating of individuality -a legacy of modernity- and the return of religiosity -as immanent religiosity. The magisterium of Pope Francis is a meaningful path to answer to our postmodern reality in the ways suggested by the Second Vatican Council. More precisely, the apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (EG) clearly sets out some principles that entail a new pastoral position of the Church in our time. Bearing this in mind, the purpose of the article is to present some possible pastoral changes as a result of the evangelizer and missionary motifs of EG, which aims at establishing a new pastoral activity for the Church in accordance with contemporaneity. For this purpose, the theological and pastoral ideas regarding this issue are considered and some commentators of the thought of Pope Francis are brought forward, who translate his ideas to contemporary pastoral realities. This analysis points out some pastoral changes, that is, personal and ecclesial attitudes and positions that provide new meanings to former pastoral practices, which are meaningless to the postmodern subject. Such changes are not only simple adaptations, determined by historical and social circumstances, but also the assertion of the richness of the Gospel and Christian teachings, which are meaningful to every man and woman in every place and time.

Papal Contributions to the Development of the Church's Missionary Spirit: From Ad Gentes to Evangelii Gaudium, Part I

Papal Contributions to the Development of the Church's Missionary Spirit: From Ad Gentes to Evangelii Gaudium, Part I

O testemunho da Graça no contexto da comemoração da Reforma: perspectivas práticas do diálogo católico-luterano

O presente artigo, no horizonte dos 500 anos da Reforma, pensa perspectivas práticas do ecumenismo, em especial a partir do diálogo católico-luterano, mas também a partir de outras ressonâncias eclesiais, como a tradição reformada. Desta forma, apresenta-se o documento Do Conflito à Comunhão (DCAC) em sua constituição teórica, identificando-se a graça como moldura teológica do texto. A partir disso, elabora-se uma recepção católica e protestante, também como forma de contribuição e alargamento da noção de gratuidade expressa no DCAC. Com isso, a Exortação Apostólica Evangelii Gaudium (EG) e aspectos da teologia de Barth são pensados no horizonte da graça. Como resultado, percebe-se a gratuidade como ponto de partida para a construção de uma ética comum diante de uma possível nova era ecumênica.

Poverty and Economic Justice in Pope Francis

This article discusses Pope Francis’s teaching on poverty and economic justice with reference to his Evangelii gaudium and Laudato si’. This teaching is developed through three emphases of the pope: (1) a compassionate church, moved by the suffering and injustice in the world; (2) a church whose mission is to accompany humanity with the leaven of the Gospel in order to bring about a radical conversion of hearts and worldly systems and institutions; and (3) a transformative missional praxis that brings about integral salvation through solidarity with the poor and marginalized, and a prophetic commitment to human and cosmic flourishing.

Leitourgia: The Missing Link in Evangelii Gaudium

Some especially insightful and challenging passages in Evangelii Gaudium are those on the importance of a personal encounter with Jesus, the evangelizing power of popular piety, person to person witness, and the need for the power of the Holy Spirit. However, in order to do full justice to the mission of the Church, the document requires more on the priestly aspect of this mission. This element is substantially absent, in part, because of Francis’s veneration of Evangelii Nuntiandi. However, this absent element can be obtained from the missiology of Lumen Gentium, John Paul II, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Based on an analysis of the meaning of leitourgia in the New Testament, this article concludes that this missing element can serve as a link between Pope Francis’s kerygma and diakonia, enabling a harmony which has been missing, to greater or lesser degrees, from the Church’s mission in the 20th and 21st centuries.

Evangelii Gaudium

Renewal and reformation are indispensable for the growth of person or an institution. Every Christian as an individual and as a member of the church community is in need of renewal to proclaim boldly the gospel of Christ and bear witness through their lives. Secularization and depravity of moral values poses serious challenges to the faith life of a Christian. Moreover, the rise in fundamentalism, jingoism, consumerism, social and political inequity, and environmental degradation are breeding a state of hopelessness, angst, and ennui in the society. Christians and the church need spiritual renewal and transformation to be the salt of the earth and the light to the nations. The Holy Spirit is the principal agent of all genuine spiritual renewal and evangelization. Pope Francis, in his Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, invites all Christians and the church itself to seek renewal in the Holy Spirit by having a personal encounter with Jesus Christ and grow in his discipleship. In this paper, I shall examine the concrete steps the church and Christians need to take for genuine renewal in the Holy Spirit to do the work of evangelization, in the light of the teachings of Evangelii Gaudium. The main source for this paper is Evangelii Gaudium and other church documents.

“With New Eyes”: Toward Advancing the Commitment of the World Council of Churches to Justice and Peace in Africa

AbstractIn commemorating 70 years of the existence of the World Council of Churches (WCC), especially its global commitment to promoting justice and peace, there is need to enhance its work especially in Africa. While acknowledging and appraising the WCC’s efforts, this article suggests that the challenging case of Africa requires we seek and deploy fresh insights. This essay identifies poor ecumenical relations among churches in Africa as a key obstacle to the WCC’s effort. However, it argues that the principles of dialogue espoused by Pope Francis in Evangelii Gaudium could serve as powerful resources for the WCC in reimagining an ecumenical Africa that is committed to justice and peace.

“[…] from Our Own Comfort Zone […] to […] All the ‘Peripheries’” (EG 20). A Franciscan Keyword of Pope Francis and its Significance for Christian Worship

In Evangelii gaudium (No. 20), Pope Francis writes: “In our day Jesus’ command to ‘go and make disciples’ echoes in the changing scenarios and ever new challenges to the Church’s mission of evangelization […]. Each Christian and every community must discern the path that the Lord points out, but all of us are asked to obey his call to go forth from our own comfort zone in order to reach all the ‘peripheries’ in need of the light of the Gospel.” Here and in other passages the Pope makes clear that he understands the Church and its mission in a very Franciscan way. Consider how St. Francis of Assisi kept company with the poor, and bear in mind texts like his “Instructions for brothers who want to go on the missions”. Celebration in worship is an important element of such an evangelization: it opens a way to the experience of the One who really sends the Good News to all believers! This article argues that Francis prefers two options to promote a Franciscan worship practice in that sense: for him it is “imperative to evangelize cultures in order to inculturate the Gospel” (EG 69). Firstly, worshipping should be connected with “authentic ‘popular piety” as the “starting point” of Evangelization (ibid. and EG 70), and secondly the translation of official liturgical texts should follow a threefold fidelity: to the Bible, to the Church’s tradition, and to any given people’s own language (cf. Motu Proprio Magnum Principium). The Pope’s strategy here follows de facto ideas of St. Francis, such as when the Poverello enlivened the mystery of the Incarnation by arranging a manger in Greccio (1223). One conclusion from this is that the Church has to develop ideas “in restoring a mystical adherence to the faith in a pluralistic religious landscape” (EG 70).

Pope Francis and Respect for Diversity: A Mapping Employing a Green Theo‐Ecoethical Lens

AbstractThis article maps a selection of Pope Francis’ social teaching, which supports respect for diversity. It undertakes this task with the aid of a green theo‐ecoethical lens. That hermeneutical lens is first introduced to the reader via an explanation of its constituent parts. It is then employed to help situate respect for diversity as a Christian ethical principle. With those foundations in place subsequent sections employ the lens to colligate Francis’ teachings which, dialogically, both inform and come into focus through a green theo‐ecoethical perspective concerned with respect for diversity. Here, three sections unfold the Pope’s treatment of themes relevant to respect for diversity in a green theo‐ecoethical light. Specifically, these sections focus on contributions emerging from (1) Francis’ public ministry in general, (2) his first substantive piece of Catholic Social Teaching, Evangelii Gaudium, and (3) perhaps the most anticipated papal encyclical of all time, Laudato Si’. The article's conclusion helps situate the contextual cogency of insights emerging from this multi‐dimensional mapping for what Francis names as our common home, a planet which encompasses an Earth community in a dire need of increased levels of socio‐ecological flourishing.