“Religious life ought to promote growth in the Church by way of attraction. The Church must be attractive. Wake up the world! Be witnesses of a different way of doing things, of acting, of living! It is possible to live differently in this world,” Pope Francis said in conversation with the Union of Superiors General of Men 29 November 2014 in the Vatican. Italian Jesuit journal, La Civiltà Cattolica is publishing an article on the dialogue between the Catholic Church’s first Jesuit Pope and the Union of Superiors General of Men.
“It is possible to live differently in this world. We are speaking of an eschatological outlook, of the values of the Kingdom incarnated here, on this earth. It is a question of leaving everything to follow the Lord. No, I do not want to say “radical”. Evangelical radicality is not only for religious: it is demanded of all. But religious follow the Lord in a special way, in a prophetic way. It is this witness that I expect of you. Religious should be men and women who are able to wake the world up,” Pope Francis said. “Life is complicated,” Pope Francis recalled. “It consists of grace and sin.” “He who does not sin is not human. We all make mistakes and we need to recognise our weakness. A religious who recognises himself as weak and a sinner does not negate the witness that he is called to give, rather he reinforces it and this is good for everyone. What I expect of you therefore is to give witness. I want this special witness from religious.”
The 15-page article (available in English at the La Civiltà Cattolica website) documents the views of Pope Francis on religious life.
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