VISION OF THE CHURCH OF THE FUTURE

Abstract

The Argentine Pope Francis, the first Jesuit elected Pope, received his
intellectual and spiritual training during the time of the 2nd Vatican
Council. Deeply influenced by his cultural environment and the critical
political situation of his nation he turned to become more and more a
strongly pastoral-minded personality. Therefore, his vision of the
Church is, first of all, formed by the basic idea of the Council
concentrated on the People of God, and, secondly, by his experiences
with his own “people”, which led to the development of the ”Theology
of the People.” Thus the “people” of God is the subject of the
evangelizing Church. The “people” cannot even err in its entirety.
Considering the universal Church, she should be decentralized, and
collegiality and synodality should be strengthened. The principle of
subsidiarity should be applied inside the Church as well as in the
society in general. Above all, the Church should follow again the
example of Jesus Christ and not behave like a master, but as a servant.
As a book-title of the Pope suggests: The true power is the service. In a
time when so many people are suffering, the Church must be a Good
Samaritan Church engaged in the process of healing and helping thosein distress and need. She must be a Church of the poor, helping them
and even learning from them.