26/11/13 12:32 from WSJ.com: World News Pope Francis laid out his first major mission manifesto since becoming the head of the Catholic Church, calling for the Church to renew its focus on the poor and launching an attack against global capitalism

» In Major Document, Pope Francis Presents His Vision
26/11/13 12:32 from NYT > International
In the pope’s first significant piece of written work, Francis called on Christians to create a more compassionate church that champions the poor.

Vincenzo Pinto/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

In Road Map, Pope Urges Battle for Poor

By ELISABETTA POVOLEDO 11:32 AM ET

Pope Francis on Tuesday presented a vision for his papacy, urging Catholics to create a more compassionate church in an increasingly secular and money-oriented society.

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November 26, 2013

In Major Document, Pope Francis Presents His Vision

By ELISABETTA POVOLEDO

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis presented the vision for his papacy on Tuesday, calling on Catholics to battle what he called the “globalization of indifference” to create a more compassionate church that champions the poor as it works to achieve social justice in an increasingly secular and money-oriented society.

Called “Evangelii Gaudium,” (the Joy of the Gospel), the document offers the Roman Catholic Church a road map of sorts for navigating the complexities of the modern world, with the Gospel as a compass for what the pope called “a new phase of evangelization, one marked by enthusiasm and vitality.”

The document, a papal pronouncement known as an apostolic exhortation, was the first major written work Francis has created since he was chosen eight months ago to lead the 2,000-year-old church.

It challenges the church to “abandon the complacent attitude that says: ‘We have always done it this way,'” to find novel, “bold and creative” ways to speak to the faithfuland to make the church more meaningful.

The 84-page document is essentially a compendium of what Pope Francis has said in dozens of speeches and sermons since he became pope in March. “It is the fruit of personal reflection,” the Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said at a news conference. “There is coherence between the words of the documents and the actions of the pope.”

An apostolic exhortation does not define Church doctrine, and the document makes clear that some issues – like abortion, or the ordination of women – are not up for discussion.

But there is an acknowledgment too, that the world has changed, and that the church must change with it. It is time, Pope Francis said, for “still broader opportunities for a more incisive female presence in the Church,” in particular “in the various other settings where important decisions are made.”

The local church must have greater say in decision-making, and the renewal of the church can only gain strength if it begins from the bottom up, the pope said.

Bishops and priests on the ground have a better sense of the needs of the faithful, as well as their frustrations, and parishes should become a critical part of the church’s evangelization and outreach. A parish should be a point of “contact with the homes and the lives of its people,” and not a “useless structure out of touch with people or a self-absorbed cluster made up of a chosen few,” he wrote.

» Pope Criticizes Economic Inequality
26/11/13 12:32 from WSJ.com: World News
Pope Francis laid out his first major mission manifesto since becoming the head of the Catholic Church, calling for the Church to renew its focus on the poor and launching an attack against global capitalism.

Using unusually blunt language, he sharply criticized the market economy. "Just as the commandment 'Thou shalt not kill' sets a clear limit in order to safeguard the value of human life, today we also have to say 'thou shalt not' to an economy of exclusion and inequality, wrote the pontiff in the 224-page document known as the Apostolic Exhortation.

"Such an economy kills," wrote Pope Francis, denouncing the current economic system as "unjust at its roots" and one "which defend the absolute autonomy of the marketplace and financial speculation." Such a system, he warns, can give birth to a new "tyranny," which "unilaterally and relentlessly imposes its own laws and rules.".

» Pope Francis denounces 'trickle-down' economic theories in critique of inequality - Washington Post
26/11/13 16:20 from Top Stories - Google News
Telegraph.co.uk Pope Francis denounces 'trickle-down' economic theories in critique of inequality Washington Post Pope Francis on Tuesday sharply criticized growing economic inequality and unfettered markets in a lengthy paper ou...

» Pope wants big Church changes
26/11/13 12:52 from CNN.com - World
Pope Francis calls for renewal, major changes in the Roman Catholic Church -- from the top down.

» Pope attacks 'tyranny' of markets in manifesto for papacy - Reuters
26/11/13 11:34 from Top Stories - Google News
Washington Post Pope attacks 'tyranny' of markets in manifesto for papacy Reuters VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis attacked unfettered capitalism as "a new tyranny" and beseeched global leaders to fight poverty and...

» Pope Francis attacks 'tyranny' of markets - Hindustan Times
26/11/13 12:11 from Top Stories - Google News
Montreal Gazette Pope Francis attacks 'tyranny' of markets Hindustan Times Pope Francis called for renewal of the Roman Catholic Church and attacked unfettered capitalism as "a new tyranny", urging global leaders to fig...