Pope Francis released his first Apostolic Exhortation today,
Evangelii Gaudium - "The Joy of the Gospel". (
Read 21 of the most important quotes here.) The document covers a wide range of topics, including economic injustice, new electronic media, the missionary nature the Church, the preeminence of Jesus in evangelization, how to give a good homily, and, of course, the importance of joy in evangelization.
We asked our Aleteia Experts to comment on the document, and here's what we got:
Paul Griffiths,
Warren Professor of Catholic Theology at Duke University Divinity School
"The Pope's Apostolic Exhortation,
Evangelii Gaudium, released on the Feast of Christ the King (24 November), is of a piece with the tone and substance of his papacy so far. It is warm, enthusiastic, and welcoming; it focuses on the central truth of Christianity, which is the redemptive gift of love to the world; it is urgent in its plea that Catholics become better representatives of that gift; and it is clear in its advocacy of the position that the deepest problems facing the church and the world today are poverty, inequality, and suffering. I hope that the Catholic Church in the US will take what he has written to heart. His words are inspiring and heartwarming to me: they help me to recall the meaning of my baptism."
Eugene Gan,
Professor of Interactive Media, Communications, and Fine Art at Franciscan University of Steubenville
"Our Holy Father is not naive about the world around him. To the contrary, he is very aware of the nuances of communicating with others today. Multiple times in Evangelii Gaudium, he speaks of the influence of the media, from concern about negative media influences on the sacredness of marriage (para. 62), to encouraging that pastoral workers avoid "a sort of inferiority complex which leads them to relativize or conceal their Christian identity and convictions" (para. 79), to how the liturgical homily is a "distinctive genre", not to be treated as "a form of entertainment like those presented by the media" (para. 138).
"He is well aware that the message we preach can easily be taken out of context by the mainstream media, and as a result, the meaning of our messages is reduced to "secondary aspects". As important as these secondary aspects may be, they may not "convey the heart of Christ's message". Listen to the Holy Father's counsel: "We need to be realistic and not assume that our audience understands the full background to what we are saying, or is capable of relating what we say to the very heart of the Gospel which gives it meaning, beauty and attractiveness" (para. 34). Even from just these remarks, clearly, Our Holy Father cannot be classified as either "conservative" or "liberal" as some groups try to do. He is Catholic. Period. And he knows that it takes effort, skill, study, and above all love to communicate the Good News."
Msgr. Charles M. Mangan,
Director of the Office of the Marian Apostolate Diocese of Sioux Falls, the Vicar for Consecrated Life, and the Canonical Adviser to the Most Reverend Paul J. Swain, D.D., the Bishop of Sioux Falls
"The insight of Pope Francis into the presence of Our Lady (284) is valuable. Mary's prayer with the disciples in anticipation of the Descent of the Holy Spirit 'made possible the missionary outburst which took place at Pentecost.' Then, the Holy Father boldly declares that without the Mother of God, "we could never truly understand the spirit of the new evangelization.
Allan Wright,
Academic Dean of Evangelization for the Diocese of Paterson, NJ
someday....someday...lol
