Pope Francis: a Curia that is outdated, sclerotic or indifferent to others is an ailing body
Vatican City, 22 December 2014 (VIS) –
This morning in the Clementine Hall the Holy Father held his annual
meeting with the Roman Curia to exchange Christmas greetings with the
members of its component dicasteries, councils, offices, tribunals and
commissions. “It is good to think of the Roman Curia as a small model of
the Church, that is, a body that seeks, seriously and on a daily basis,
to be more alive, healthier, more harmonious and more united in itself
and with Christ”.
“The Curia is always
required to better itself and to grow in communion, sanctity and wisdom
to fully accomplish its mission. However, like any body, it is exposed
to sickness, malfunction and infirmity. … I would like to mention some
of these illnesses that we encounter most frequently in our life in the
Curia. They are illnesses and temptations that weaken our service to the
Lord”, continued the Pontiff, who after inviting all those present to
an examination of conscience to prepare themselves for Christmas, listed
the most common Curial ailments:
The
first is “the sickness of considering oneself 'immortal', 'immune' or
'indispensable', neglecting the necessary and habitual controls. A Curia
that is not self-critical, that does not stay up-to-date, that does not
seek to better itself, is an ailing body. … It is the sickness of the
rich fool who thinks he will live for all eternity, and of those who
transform themselves into masters and believe themselves superior to
others, rather than at their service”.
The
second is “'Martha-ism', or excessive industriousness; the sickness of
those who immerse themselves in work, inevitably neglecting 'the better
part' of sitting at Jesus' feet. Therefore, Jesus required his disciples
to rest a little, as neglecting the necessary rest leads to stress and
agitation. Rest, once one who has brought his or her mission to a close,
is a necessary duty and must be taken seriously: in spending a little
time with relatives and respecting the holidays as a time for spiritual
and physical replenishment, it is necessary to learn the teaching of
Ecclesiastes, that 'there is a time for everything'”.
Then
there is “the sickness of mental and spiritual hardening: that of those
who, along the way, lose their inner serenity, vivacity and boldness
and conceal themselves behind paper, becoming working machines rather
than men of God. … It is dangerous to lose the human sensibility
necessary to be able to weep with those who weep and to rejoice with
those who rejoice! It is the sickness of those who lose those sentiments
that were present in Jesus Christ”.
“The
ailment of excessive planning and functionalism: this is when the
apostle plans everything in detail and believes that, by perfect
planning things effectively progress, thus becoming a sort of
accountant. … One falls prey to this sickness because it is easier and
more convenient to settle into static and unchanging positions. Indeed,
the Church shows herself to be faithful to the Holy Spirit to the extent
that she does not seek to regulate or domesticate it. The Spirit is
freshness, imagination and innovation”.
The
“sickness of poor coordination develops when the communion between
members is lost, and the body loses its harmonious functionality and its
temperance, becoming an orchestra of cacophony because the members do
not collaborate and do not work with a spirit of communion or as a
team”.
“Spiritual Alzheimer's disease,
or rather forgetfulness of the history of Salvation, of the personal
history with the Lord, of the 'first love': this is a progressive
decline of spiritual faculties, that over a period of time causes
serious handicaps, making one incapable of carrying out certain
activities autonomously, living in a state of absolute dependence on
one's own often imaginary views. We see this is those who have lost
their recollection of their encounter with the Lord … in those who build
walls around themselves and who increasingly transform into slaves to
the idols they have sculpted with their own hands”.
“The
ailment of rivalry and vainglory: when appearances, the colour of one's
robes, insignia and honours become the most important aim in life. … It
is the disorder that leads us to become false men and women, living a
false 'mysticism' and a false 'quietism'”.
Then
there is “existential schizophrenia: the sickness of those who live a
double life, fruit of the hypocrisy typical of the mediocre and the
progressive spiritual emptiness that cannot be filled by degrees or
academic honours. This ailment particularly afflicts those who,
abandoning pastoral service, limit themselves to bureaucratic matters,
thus losing contact with reality and with real people. They create a
parallel world of their own, where they set aside everything they teach
with severity to others and live a hidden, often dissolute life”.
The
sickness of “chatter, grumbling and gossip: this is a serious illness
that begins simply, often just in the form of having a chat, and takes
people over, turning them into sowers of discord, like Satan, and in
many cases cold-blooded murderers of the reputations of their colleagues
and brethren. It is the sickness of the cowardly who, not having the
courage to speak directly to the people involved, instead speak behind
their backs”.
“The sickness of
deifying leaders is typical of those who court their superiors, with the
hope of receiving their benevolence. They are victims of careerism and
opportunism, honouring people rather than God. They are people who
experience service thinking only of what they might obtain and not of
what they should give. They are mean, unhappy and inspired only by their
fatal selfishness”.
“The disease of
indifference towards others arises when each person thinks only of
himself, and loses the sincerity and warmth of personal relationships.
When the most expert does not put his knowledge to the service of less
expert colleagues; when out of jealousy … one experiences joy in seeing
another person instead of lifting him up or encouraging him”.
“The
illness of the funereal face: or rather, that of the gruff and the
grim, those who believe that in order to be serious it is necessary to
paint their faces with melancholy and severity, and to treat others –
especially those they consider inferior – with rigidity, hardness and
arrogance. In reality, theatrical severity and sterile pessimism are
often symptoms of fear and insecurity”.
“The
disease of accumulation: when the apostle seeks to fill an existential
emptiness of the heart by accumulating material goods, not out of
necessity but simply to feel secure. … Accumulation only burdens and
inexorably slows down our progress”.
“The
ailment of closed circles: when belonging to a group becomes stronger
than belonging to the Body and, in some situations, to Christ Himself.
This sickness too may start from good intentions but, as time passes,
enslaves members and becomes a 'cancer' that threatens the harmony of
the Body and causes a great deal of harm – scandals – especially to our
littlest brothers”.
Then, there is the
“disease of worldly profit and exhibitionism: when the apostle
transforms his service into power, and his power into goods to obtain
worldly profits or more power. This is the disease of those who seek
insatiably to multiply their power and are therefore capable of
slandering, defaming and discrediting others, even in newspapers and
magazines, naturally in order to brag and to show they are more capable
than others”.
After listing these
ailments, Pope Francis continued, “We are therefore required, at this
Christmas time and in all the time of our service and our existence – to
live 'speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into
him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and
held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part
is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in
love'”.
“I once read that priests are
like aeroplanes: they only make the news when they crash, but there are
many that fly. Many criticise them and few pray for them”, he concluded.
“It is a very nice phrase, but also very true, as it expresses the
importance and the delicacy of our priestly service, and how much harm
just one priest who falls may cause to the whole body of the Church”.
No comments:
Post a Comment