Outgoing church, an open construction site

Ten years of Pope Francis’ pontificate I’m not time for a budget. Rather, after ten years, we need to look ahead. We are not in a final stage. In fact, some “seeds” of the pontificate have yet to ripen. First of all, the one immediately thrown in 2013 with thethe gospel of joy: a Church that goes out onto the road, which dialogues with everyone and communicates the Gospel. An ancient dream, which dates back to the Council, to theHis own church of Paul VI: that “of those who feel – wrote Pope Montini – that they can no longer separate their own salvation from the search for that of others, of those who continually study to put the message, of which they are the custodian, into the circulation of human discourse” .

Instead, in the last two decades, a tendency towards “separateness” has grown, which means withdrawal, traditionalism, self-referentiality. This is perhaps due to the breaking down, typical of global society, of the sense of the ecclesial “we”, which the Council had strengthened by speaking of the people of God, communion and community. In part, a subjectivism has prevailed, which explains the detachment from historical reality, the non-people with the Church. This also stemmed from the disappointment of an evangelization which has been much discussed, but which has not borne fruit. The Church has talked a lot about it, but its participation and relevance in social and people’s life have diminished.

In reality, we need to better understand the world in which Francis’ Church lives. We have talked a lot about secularization. We have seen fewer worshipers in church. We measured religious practice. We deduced a steady decline. Yes, perhaps there is a decline, but the reality of society has changed a lot, towards the faith and the Church. There is no hostile world, as it was before or after the Council. And then religious demand cannot be measured only with the practice of Sunday Mass. There is a broader, discontinuous but profound interest in the Church and her message. There is a world of believers, even if they are not practicing, difficult to quantify but real. This requires an in-depth dialogue, without proselytizing attitudes, and with great availability. Who are the actors in this dialogue with a clergy, diminished in number, therefore very busy in liturgical and institutional life? In the future, there is a real appointment with the proposal of thethe gospel of joywhich needs to be discussed. Synodality must concern the future of the Church and concrete choices (which seem to be taken at an “other” level).

Discussing the future is a sign of hope in a time marked by war in Ukraine and many, too many, elsewhere. Which leads to pessimism, not to take risks, to withdraw. Francis fought and is fighting against war. Brothers all it is a message against war: it is the proposal to fill the voids of the global world and to overcome tensions with fraternity. Deglobalization is the future, after a rapid globalization process, which has been entirely centered on the markets and the economy and has given rise to strong identity reactions, such as the clash of civilizations and religions and the various fundamentalisms. The Church is, in her own way and has always been, a global reality, which harmonizes the universal and local dimensions. A world that de-globalizes itself rediscovers walls and borders, showing itself as little participant in the history of others. The Church does not live an unreal cosmopolitanism, but proposes a universal fraternity, rooted in communities and peoples.

In ten years of pontificate, a wealth of experiences and visions has matured with which to face firmly this complex and hard-fought 21st century, without the naivete of yesterday, but also without that closed and aggressive pessimism that is gaining too many hearts and too many policies. Even in the fault lines of a divided world, in closures to the spirit or the other, even in clashes, the Church – “expert in humanity”, as Paul VI said – feels a thirst for God and a desire to be brothers and sisters. This world prays, perhaps more than yesterday: it can be seen in many corners of life, in encounters with people. Then there is an urgency for peace, to be sustained and lived. This is not the time for the pessimism of decline, but for the struggle and hope to open hearts and free the world from fear of the future. In the eyes of many, Pope Francis is the companion and teacher with whom to face the challenges of the third decade of this 21st century.