Back in March , Pope Francis told visiting bishops from Bosnia-Herzegovina that the Church “cannot stay closed within its traditions, noble though they may be.” He went on: “It must come out of its 'enclosure', firm in faith, supported by prayer and encouraged by pastors, to live and announce the new life of which it is a depository, that of Christ, Savior of all men.”
This has been the most important and consistent theme of the current pontificate: the need for the Church to look outward, toward a world in need of salvation—the call to be apostolic rather than “self-referential,” to care more about serving those in need than tending to in-house problems, to favor the work of evangelization over administration.
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