Pope: A more missionary Curia must bear witness to communion in a divided world

Pope Leo XIV meets his closest collaborators for the exchange of traditional Christmas greetings. The Pope recalls his ‘beloved predecessor’ Francis and his encouragement to be a Church that is ‘welcoming to all,’ urging them consider the ‘major ecclesial, pastoral, and social challenges’ and to become a sign of peace for a world marked by conflict.

By Salvatore Cernuzio

Mission and communion were two of the key themes of Pope Leo’s address during the traditional exchange of Christmas greetings of the Roman Curia: mission, so that the work of the Roman Curia may be increasingly directed outward, at the service of the particular Churches, with “institutions, offices, and tasks” designed to face the major ecclesial, pastoral and social challenges, and not merely to ensure ordinary administration;” and communion, by avoiding “rigidity” or “ideology” on issues such as faith, liturgy, and morality, by cultivating authentic relationships, and by becoming a prophetic sign of peace in a world marked by fractures, divisions, and an aggressiveness often fueled by the web and politics.

Remembering Pope Francis

The applause of his closest collaborators accompanied the Pope’s entrance into the Hall of Benedictions, a symbolic place connecting the Apostolic Palace with the world through its opening onto the Loggia of Benedictions. Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals, delivered his greeting to Pope Leo XIV, who in turn began his address with the memory of his “beloved predecessor, Pope Francis.” With “prophetic voice, pastoral style and rich magisterium,” Francis marked the path of the Church in recent years, “encouraging us above all to place God’s mercy at the center, to give renewed impetus to evangelization, and to be a joyful Church, welcoming to all and attentive to the poorest.”

From the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii gaudium, Pope Leo drew inspiration to remind the Roman Curia of two fundamental aspects of the Church’s life: mission and communion.

The Pope’s meeting with the Roman Curia for the Christmas greetings (@VATICAN MEDIA)

The missionary nature of the Church

“By her very nature, the Church is outward-looking, turned toward the world, missionary,” the Pope affirmed, as shown by the fact that “God himself first set out toward us and, in Christ, came in search of us.”

“The first great “exodus,” then, is God’s own — his going forth from himself to meet us. The mystery of Christmas proclaims precisely this: the Son’s mission consists in his coming into the world.”

This mission becomes a “criterion of discernment” for the journey of faith, for ecclesial practices, and also for service in the Roman Curia, Leo XIV emphasized: “Structures must not weigh down or slow the progress of the Gospel or hinder the dynamism of evangelization; instead, we must ‘make them more mission-oriented’” This spirit must therefore animate curial work, aimed at fostering “pastoral solicitude in service to the particular Churches and their pastors.”

“We need an ever more missionary Roman Curia, in which institutions, offices and tasks are conceived in light of today’s major ecclesial, pastoral and social challenges, and not merely to ensure ordinary administration.”

The specters of division

The mission of the Church is closely linked to communion, the Pope stressed. Communion based on mutual love and reciprocal solidarity is a task that is extremely urgent both internally and externally, he noted. Internally, because “communion in the Church always remains a challenge that calls us to conversion.”

“At times, beneath an apparent calm, forces of division may be at play. We can fall into the temptation of swinging between two opposite extremes: uniformity that fails to value differences, or the exacerbation of differences and viewpoints instead of seeking communion.”

United despite differences

“Thus, in interpersonal relationships, in internal office dynamics, or in addressing questions of faith, liturgy, morality and more besides, there is a risk of falling into rigidity or ideology, with their consequent conflicts,” the Pope warned. Yet “we are brothers and sisters” and, “though many and diverse, we are one: In Illo uno unum“, he said, citing the motto chosen for his pontificate.

The invitation to the Curia is therefore to build this communion, which takes shape “in a synodal Church where all cooperate in the same mission, each according to his or her charism and role. This communion is built not so much through words and documents as through concrete gestures and attitudes that ought to appear in our daily lives, including in our work.”

“At times this bitterness finds its way among us as well, when, after many years of service in the Curia, we observe with disappointment that certain dynamics – linked to the exercise of power, the desire to prevail, or the pursuit of personal interests – are slow to change. We then ask ourselves: is it possible to be friends in the Roman Curia? To have relationships of genuine fraternal friendship?”

(@VATICAN MEDIA)

Being a prophetic sign of peace

“Amid daily toil, it is a grace to find trustworthy friends, where masks fall away, no one is used or sidelined, genuine support is offered, and each person’s worth and competence are respected, preventing resentment and dissatisfaction,” the Pope noted. It is therefore “a personal conversion” that he asks members of the Roman Curia to pursue, so that it may also become a sign outwardly, “in a world wounded by discord, violence and conflict, where we also witness a growth in aggression and anger, often exploited by both the digital sphere and politics.”

“The Lord’s birth brings the gift of peace and invites us to become its prophetic sign in a human and cultural context that is too fragmented.”

Not tending one’s own plot

“The work of the Curia and of the Church in general must also be conceived within this broader horizon,” Pope Leo affirmed. “We are not mere gardeners tending our own plot, but disciples and witnesses of the Kingdom of God, called in Christ to be leaven of universal fraternity among different peoples, religions and cultures.

“This happens if we ourselves live as brothers and sisters and allow the light of communion to shine in the world,” the Pope added.

Nicaea and the Council

In closing, the Pope made reference to the Jubilee now nearing its conclusion. The Holy Year has been dedicated to the theme of hope, during which two important events were celebrated: “The Council of Nicaea, which brings us back to the roots of our faith, and the Second Vatican Council, which, by fixing its gaze on Christ, strengthened the Church and sent her forth to engage the modern world, remaining attentive to the joys, hopes, griefs and anxieties of the people of our time.”

To these commemorations, Leo XIV also adds the remembrance of Evangelii nuntiandi, the Apostolic Exhortation of Paul VI on evangelization in the modern world, promulgated fifty years ago on the feast of the Immaculate Conception. The document teaches that “the first means of evangelization is the witness of an authentically Christian life, given over to God in a communion that nothing should destroy and at the same time given to one’s neighbor with limitless zeal.”

“Let us remember this also in our curial service: the work of each is important for the whole, and the witness of a Christian life, expressed in communion, is the first and greatest service we can offer,” Pope Leo said.

“May the Lord bring us his light and grant peace to the world.”

The gift of a book by Brother Lawrence

As is traditional, the Pope gives a book at the end of the audience. From Leo XIV it is The Practice of the Presence of God, the volume by the Carmelite friar Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, recently published by the Vatican Publishing House, which the Pontiff, on his return flight from Beirut, indicated as the means for understanding his “spirituality” in depth.