Abstract
This is an important book with learned chapters from a highly distinguished panel of authors whose contributions are of a uniformly high standard. It is the first major study on Pope Francis’s Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium—The Joy of the Gospel, seen as the key to discerning the present pope’s ecclesial and papal vision. Its goal, as the editor states at the outset, ‘is to explore how Papa Francesco is transforming the church, considering at greater length some of his key priorities for both church and world’ (p. 10).
David Hollenbach’s Foreword sets the tone for the rest when he writes: ‘Francis’s central message is always one of hope. This volume echoes Francis’s truly pastoral message—a message that shows that the Good News can make a difference. Both Francis’s words in Evangeli Gaudium and the discussions in the volume can help energize church life, enabling the Christian community to make a stronger contribution to a more just and peaceful society’ (p. xvi). But it is Gerard Mannion’s excellent introduction that details the most important objective of this research volume, emanating from a symposium at Georgetown University under the auspices of the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs. As he writes: ‘Pope Francis, as many of our contributors also demonstrate, has resolutely set out to bring to full fruition the vision of the Second Vatican Council’ (p. 7). It is to Francis then, as the volume ably demonstrates, that the baton of ressourcement has passed and with it the long-awaited reform of the Catholic Church.
The volume is divided into three parts. Part I seeks to articulate Pope Francis’s ecclesiology. In Dennis M. Doyle’s insightful essay, ‘Francis’s New Vision for the Church as expressed in Evangelii Gaudium,’ we are presented with a resurgent focus on people of God under Francis, as compared with an emphasis on body of Christ in previous two papacies. Indeed, Evangelii Gaudium is presented in sharp contrast to Pope Benedict’s controversial CDF document ‘Some Aspects of the Church Understood as Communion.’ Francis is viewed as prophetic, as he shifts to a new phase in the reception of Vatican II by means of a ‘push toward decentralization,’ all ‘within the context of consultative and participatory processes.’ Rising above the seemingly insurmountable divisions of ‘continuity’ and ‘discontinuity,’ Doyle articulates a balanced assessment of the present pontificate. ‘Weaving together and embracing the trajectory of Vatican II in a way that is both old and new, Pope Francis offers us his synthesis. He is calling forth each Catholic to share their own synthesis, a synthesis of their treasure, of the joy of the gospel, as we work together to address the urgent social problems of our times’ (p. 37).
In a similar vein, Massimo Faggioli views the encyclical as ‘an Act of Reception of Vatican II,’ by a ‘postconciliar pope with an unproblematic relationship with Vatican II’ (p. 50). With the care of a deeply perceptive historian, he describes Pope Francis’s conciliar vision of the church as ‘a missionary ecclesiology faithful to the message of Vatican II.’ In a helpful comment, Faggioli views the absence of liturgy in Evangelii Gaudium as an attempt by Francis ‘to de-escalate the intra-Catholic debate on the liturgy.’ Liturgy must not be associated with exclusive views of the church or with power struggles but rather, as this incisive contribution to the volume so respectfully indicates, as ‘evangelizing’ (p. 48). Judith Gruber’s essay with its dual focus on evangelization and pastoral theology rightly accentuates the view of the church’s mission as service of the world but with a riposte to the pope. ‘If Francis truly wants to advocate for an evangelizing church, he has to apply his harsh criticism of economic capitalism also to dogmatic capitalism—and then, the provocation that Evangelii Gaudium poses to the world can fully unfold’ (p. 74). Sandra Mazzolini’s essay with its focus on neglected elements of Vatican II, including ‘the status of episcopal conferences and the Ecclesia pauperum, and the use of some significant neologisms’ (p. 74) disregarded in the intervening period, is worthy of careful study by all bishops and pastors of the church, as well as those in seminary faculties of formation.
Gerard Mannion’s contribution, a challenging and optimistic study of Francis’s fundamental ecclesiology as set out in Evangelii Gaudium, brings Section I of the book to a close. Evangelii Gaudium is seen as ‘the clearest and most detailed indication to date of Pope Francis’s agenda for the church … It is not just a new way of being church but a new way of being pope’ (p. 93). This essay sees Francis’s vision of the church as a ‘revolution founded on the joy of the gospel’ that offers ‘root and branch structural reform across the church.’ Mannion states unambiguously that ‘it is difficult for anyone working in fields such as ecclesiology to teach any conclusion other than the simple fact that, on so many of the most important issues there is very little substantive continuity with the ecclesial agenda of his predecessor’ (p. 95). Francis is presented as a champion of collegiality and liberation, embracing the ‘ecclesiological legacy of Vatican II.’ Indeed the core priority is to be a ‘poor church for the poor, leading by example’ (p. 97) while in the spheres of inter-faith and faith–world dialogue, Francis’s impact is seen as transformative. Mannion concludes that ‘this pope is embracing a wider more collaborative and participatory understanding of the church and forms of authority’ (p. 122).
Part II of the work furnishes four fine essays on the social vision of the church in Evangelii Gaudium. In his essay, the Georgetown theologian William Werpehowski acknowledges that Evangelii Gaudium is not a social document. Nonetheless, social questions do feature in the document, the most important being justice. Maureen O’Connell’s perceptive essay with its advocacy for mercy is required reading for all who follow the mandate of the gospel. As she writes: ‘Francis compels white Catholics to go to the uncomfortable periphery. … For this kind of evangelizing work, for the courage to take on the smell of the sheep, we must pray for mercy’ (p. 161). Maryanne Loughry brings the document under consideration into sharp focus through the practitioner’s lens and calls for action. Mary Doak’s chapter offers a timely and challenging analysis of ‘global capitalism’ seen as ‘counterevangelization’ (p. 181). Her essay is an important contribution to modern society with its focus on human solidarity over against individualism and competitiveness.
Part III of the volume considers ‘Church and World in the Twenty-First Century: The Dialogical Vision of Evangelii Gaudium.’ Drew Christiansen advocates ‘cultural diversity as a road to peace’ and delineates Pope Francis as peacemaker and, once again, as ‘truly committed to implementing Vatican II with its concepts and commitments’ (p. 219). The closing chapter of this volume, John Borelli’s ‘The Dialogue of Fraternity: Evangelii Gaudium and the Renewal of Ecumenical and Interreligious Dialogue,’ is of profound importance for the new phase of the reception of Vatican II and should be essential reading for all students of theology and ministerial students. It brings us to the heart of the vision of the council and of the modern popes. ‘The apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium is the seminal text of the papacy of Jorge Mario Bergoglio … and remains the major text for understanding the mind of the Argentinian Pope Francis’ (p. 229).
This is a finely edited and beautifully produced volume, with a helpful index, and is worthy of wide readership. One may perhaps ask for more, notably on the impact of Francis’s papal agenda in South America, Asia, Africa, and China.