Pope Francis gave a long and profound speech before the participants of the Second International Forum of Catholic Action.
In his native Spanish, he spoke for an hour about their charisma, style, projects and protagonists. He said that like the whole Church, Catholic Action must avoid the temptation of remaining silent, and instead evangelize with audacity.
POPE FRANCIS
'There's a phrase that should never be used: 'It's always been done that way.' That phrase, let me tell you, is bad. We must always be changing because time changes. The only thing that does not change is what's essential. What doesn't change is the announcement of Jesus Christ, missionary attitude, prayer, the need to pray, the need to be formed, and the need to sacrifice. That does not change. You have to find the way, how to do it, but it does not change. But the 'always done this way' phrase did so much damage in the Church, and continues to do so much damage to the Church.'
He said that it's necessary for them to leave their comfort zone, and avoid the temptation of wanting to control everything, or try to achieve a useless perfectionism that only stops evangelization. Pope Francis recalled the passage from the New Testament, where Jesus commands 72 disciples to preach.
POPE FRANCIS
'Yes, they had an experience with Jesus. They knew the essence of the Christian message, they knew the Beatitudes and they went with what little that they had at that moment, and even the demons surrendered. The force of preaching, of testimony, with whatever you have in that moment, is necessary for that moment.â?
He also insisted on the importance of caring for the elderly and the youth, and warned against the danger of clericalism.
During the meeting, there were alternating moments between joy and sadness. There were times when the children were the protagonists, and others more somber, as when Pope Francis kissed an English version of the New Testament, that was found on one of the barges with refugees destined for Europe.
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