Catholic and Apostolic

Catholic and Apostolic

Pope Francis

At the General Audience Pope Francis speaks about the universal nature of the Church

Pope Francis spoke about the catholic and apostolic nature of the Church to the faithful in St Peter's Square at the General Audience on Wednesday, 17 September [2014]. He highlighted that the Church "speaks all languages" and is capable of causing "the Good News of God's salvation and love to spread to all, even to the ends of the earth". The following is a translation of the Pope's catechesis, which was given in Italian.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Good morning,

This week we shall continue to speak about the Church. When we profess our faith, we affirm that the Church is catholic and apostolic. But what effectively is the meaning of these words, of these two well-known characteristics of the Church? And what value do they have for Christian communities and for each one of us?

1. Catholic means universal. A complete and clear definition is offered by one of the Fathers of the Church of the first centuries, St Cyril of Jerusalem, when he affirmed: The Church is doubtless “called catholic, meaning universal, because it extends over all the world, from one end of the earth to the other; and because it teaches universally and completely one and all the truths which ought to come to men’s knowledge, concerning things both visible and invisible, heavenly and earthly”. (The Catechesis 18:23). A clear sign of the catholicity of the Church is that she speaks all languages, and this is the very effect of Pentecost (cf. Acts 2:1-13): the Holy Spirit, in fact, enabled the Apostles and the whole Church to cause the Good News of God’s salvation and love to spread to all, even to the ends of the earth. Thus, the Church was born catholic, that is, “symphonic” from her very origins, and can be only catholic, projected to evangelization and encounter with all. The Word of God can be read today in all languages; everyone has the Gospel in his or her own language in order to read it. And I return to this concept: it is always good to take a small Gospel with us, to carry it in a pocket, in a purse and read a passage during the day. This is good for us. The Gospel has been disseminated in all languages because the Church, the message of Jesus Christ the Redeemer, exists throughout the world. This is why the Church is catholic, because she is universal.

2. While the Church was born catholic, that is to say that she was born “outward-bound”, that she was born missionary. Had the Apostles remained in the Upper Room, without going out to disseminate the Gospel, the Church would be the Church of only that people, of that city, of that Upper Room. But they all went out into the world, from the moment of the Church’s birth, from the moment the Spirit descended upon them. And this is why the Church was born “outward-bound”, that is, missionary. This is what we express by deeming her apostolic, because an apostle is one who spreads the Good News of the Resurrection of Jesus. This term reminds us that the Church, on the foundation of the Apostles and in continuity with them — it was the Apostles who went and founded new churches, thus, they constituted new bishops throughout the world, and in continuity. Today all of us are in continuity with that group of Apostles who received the Holy Spirit and then went “out”, to preach —, the Church is sent to take this Gospel message to all men, accompanying it with the signs of the tenderness and power of God. This too derives from the event of Pentecost: it is the Holy Spirit, indeed, who overcomes all resistance, to defeat the temptation of being self-absorbed, among the chosen few, thinking that God’s blessing is for them alone. If, for example, some Christians do this and say: “We are the chosen ones, we alone”, in the end, they die. They die first spiritually, then they die bodily, because they have no life, they are not capable of generating life, other people, other peoples: they are not apostolic. And it is precisely the Spirit who guides us to meet our brothers, even those who are most distant in every sense, in order that they may share with us the gift of love, peace, joy that the Risen Lord has bequeathed us.

3. What does it mean for our communities and for each one of us to belong to a Church which is catholic and apostolic? First of all, it means taking the salvation of all mankind to heart, not feeling indifferent or alien in facing the fate of so many of our brothers and sisters, but open and sympathetic toward them. It means, moreover, having a sense of the fullness, the completeness, the harmony of the Christian life, always rejecting partisan, unilateral positions, which close us within ourselves.

Belonging to the apostolic Church means being aware that our faith is anchored in the proclamation and the witness of the very Apostles of Jesus — it is anchored there, it is a long chain which comes from there —; and for this we always feel sent, we feel delegated, in communion with the Apostles’ successors, to proclaim, with the heart filled with joy, Christ and his love, to all mankind. And here I would like to recall the heroic life of so very many missionaries, men and women who left their homeland in order to go to proclaim the Gospel in other countries, on other continents. A Brazilian Cardinal who works quite often in Amazonia, was telling me that when he goes to a place, to a village or a town in Amazonia, he always goes to the cemetery where he sees the tombs of these missionaries, priests, brothers, sisters who went to preach the Gospel: apostles. And he thinks: all of them could be canonized now, they left all in order to proclaim Jesus Christ. Let us give thanks to the Lord that our Church has so many missionaries, she has had so many missionaries, yet she needs even more! Let us thank the Lord for this. Perhaps among so many young people, teenagers who are here, someone has the will to become a missionary: go ahead! This is beautiful, to spread the Gospel of Jesus. Be brave young people!

Thus let us ask the Lord to renew in us the gift of his Spirit, that every Christian community and every baptized person may be the expression of the Holy Mother catholic and apostolic Church.

Taken from:
L'Osservatore Romano
Weekly Edition in English
19 September 2014, page 1

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