Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Pope Francis raises the Book of the Gospels in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican April 13 (CNS photo/Paul Haring).

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In an increasingly complex world of unprecedented scientific and technological challenges, theologians must communicate what is essential about life and help Christians proclaim God’s merciful, saving grace, Pope Francis told a group of Italian theologians.

The theologians’ task requires being “faithful and anchored” to the teachings of the Second Vatican Council and continuing the council's focus on the church “letting itself be enriched by the perennial newness of Christ’s Gospel,” he said.

Speaking Dec. 29 at the Vatican to members of the Italian Theological Association, which was celebrating its 50th anniversary, the pope said theologians and other church workers must always refer back to Vatican II where the church recognized its responsibility to “proclaim the Gospel in a new way.”

At Vatican II, the pope said, the church recognized its responsibility to “proclaim the Gospel in a new way.”

Such a task is done not by changing the message, but by communicating the perennial message with “faithful creativity” to a world experiencing rapid transformations, he said.

These changes and challenges require that the church, and theologians in particular, believe that the Gospel “can continue to touch the women and men of today” and work to clearly show people what lies at the heart of the Gospel.

This theological effort of showing what is essential is “indispensable” in a highly complex world of unprecedented scientific and technological advancement, and in a culture where “distorted views of the very heart of the Gospel” can sneak in and spread, he said.

“There needs to be a theology that helps all Christians proclaim and show, most of all, the salvific face of God, the merciful God, especially given the presence of some unprecedented challenges that involve humanity today, such as: the environmental crisis; the development of neuroscience or technology that can alter human beings; ever greater social inequalities or the migration of whole peoples; and relativism in theory and practice.”

He said theology must develop from the work of women and men working together and supporting each other as a community, not as rivals; working to serve the universal church and all particular churches; and to “reimagine the church so that it may conform to the Gospel that it must proclaim.”

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
Luis Gutierrez
7 years 6 months ago

The ecological crisis, rooted in the patriarchal culture that corrupts the communion of man and woman, and therefore also the harmony between humanity and nature, may be an opportunity to guide theological reflection away from religious patriarchy. The following are some personal reflections: http://pelicanweb.org/CCC.TOB.html

Lisa Weber
7 years 6 months ago

I am glad that Pope Francis keeps attention on Vatican II. So many people seem to want to return to a time before Vatican II.

The latest from america

Pope Leo XIV urged new archbishops to help him foster unity in a church rich in diversity. Eight of those new archbishops are from the United States, and they spoke to Catholic News Service about how they can help promote fraternity in today’s polarized world.
This week on “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley chat with Christopher White about his new book, ‘Pope Leo XVI: Inside the Conclave and the Dawn of a New Papacy.’
JesuiticalJune 30, 2025
Kerry Weber, incoming president of the Catholic Media Association, and executive editor of America Magazine, speaks June 26, 2025, during the Catholic Media Conference in Phoenix. (OSV News photo/Bob Roller)
Kerry Weber is an executive editor for America. On May 20, 2025, the Catholic Media Association announced that she was elected president,
Grace LenahanJune 30, 2025
"The whole church needs fraternity, which must be present in all of our relationships, whether between lay people and priests, priests and bishops, bishops and the pope," he said during his homily at Mass on the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul June 29.