{"id":27855,"date":"2013-11-26T09:50:50","date_gmt":"2013-11-26T14:50:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/?p=27855"},"modified":"2016-09-30T15:59:38","modified_gmt":"2016-09-30T19:59:38","slug":"i-too-must-think-about-a-conversion-of-the-papacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2013\/11\/i-too-must-think-about-a-conversion-of-the-papacy\/","title":{"rendered":"“I, too, must think about a conversion of the papacy…”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

One more striking excerpt from \u201cThe Joy of the Gospel\u201d: \u00a0 \u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

32. Since I am called to put into practice what I ask of others, I too must think about a conversion of the papacy. It is my duty, as the Bishop of Rome, to be open to suggestions which can help make the exercise of my ministry more faithful to the meaning which Jesus Christ wished to give it and to the present needs of evangelization. Pope John Paul II asked for help in finding \u201ca way of exercising the primacy which, while in no way renouncing what is essential to its mission, is nonetheless open to a new situation\u201d.[35]\u00a0We have made little progress in this regard. The papacy and the central structures of the universal Church also need to hear the call to pastoral conversion. The Second Vatican Council stated that, like the ancient patriarchal Churches, episcopal conferences are in a position \u201cto contribute in many and fruitful ways to the concrete realization of the collegial spirit\u201d.[36]\u00a0Yet this desire has not been fully realized, since a juridical status of episcopal conferences which would see them as subjects of specific attributions, including genuine doctrinal authority, has not yet been sufficiently elaborated.[37]\u00a0Excessive centralization, rather than proving helpful, complicates the Church\u2019s life and her missionary outreach.<\/p>\n

33. Pastoral ministry in a missionary key seeks to abandon the complacent attitude that says: \u201cWe have always done it this way\u201d. I invite everyone to be bold and creative in this task of rethinking the goals, structures, style and methods of evangelization in their respective communities. A proposal of goals without an adequate communal search for the means of achieving them will inevitably prove illusory. I encourage everyone to apply the guidelines found in this document generously and courageously, without inhibitions or fear. The important thing is to not walk alone, but to rely on each other as brothers and sisters, and especially under the leadership of the bishops, in a wise and realistic pastoral discernment.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Read it all.<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0It will astonish, challenge, inspire and illuminate. It\u2019s deeply personal and unfailingly optimistic, fully living up to its title.<\/p>\n

I think it could almost serve as the Mission Statement of the Franciscan papacy. \u00a0If you want to know where Francis wants to take the Church, look no further.<\/p>\n

Some other voices:<\/p>\n