Let us go forth, then, let us go forth to offer
everyone the life of Jesus Christ. Here I repeat for the entire Church what I
have often said to the priests and laity of Buenos Aires: I prefer a Church
which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets,
rather than a Church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging
to its own security. I do not want a Church concerned with being at the centre
and which then ends by being caught up in a web of obsessions and procedures.
If something should rightly disturb us and trouble our consciences, it is the fact
that so many of our brothers and sisters are living without the strength, light
and consolation born of friendship with Jesus Christ, without a community of
faith to support them, without meaning and a goal in life. More than by fear of
going astray, my hope is that we will be moved by the fear of remaining shut up
within structures which give us a false sense of security, within rules which
make us harsh judges, within habits which make us feel safe, while at our door
people are starving and Jesus does not tire of saying to us: “Give them
something to eat” (Mk 6:37).
--Pope Francis Evangelii
Gaudium #49, November 24, 2013.
