Pope Francis wants a Church with wide-open doors

Let there be no armoured doors in the Church, but wide-open doors. This is the appeal launched by Pope Francis on Wednesday, 18 November 2015, during the general audience in Saint Peter’s Square.

In his catechesis, the Holy Father asked the faithful to take advantage of the Holy Year to «cross the threshold of God’s Mercy». And while at the borders of several European countries barbed wire is being erected to counter the arrival of migrants, the Supreme Pontiff dwelt on the symbolism of doors.

«The door tells us many things about our homes, but also about the Church». It is from this observation that the Pope leads us to reflection and questions each one of us about our capacity for welcome. «The management of thresholds, of passages, of the borders of “doors” has become crucial»; doors, Francis emphasized, «which must certainly protect, but which must not repel».

There are today too many places in the world «where armoured doors have become normal». The Holy Father exhorts us not to yield to this compartmentalization «in the life of families, of society, of the city and still less in the life of the Church», «that would be terrible! he insists. An inhospitable Church or a family closed in on itself humiliate the Gospel and harden the world».

«No door must be armoured in the Church!» «The house of God is a shelter, not a prison» and its door is indeed Jesus, the Pope recalls. «We must pass through this door without fear and listen to the voice of Jesus: if we hear the sound of his voice we are saved». Yet, the Pontiff laments, «too many people have lost trust, have not the courage to knock at the door of our Christian heart, at the doors of our Church». A Church that must be a sign of the welcome of a God who never closes the door. It is in this state of mind that we must prepare ourselves for the Jubilee of Mercy, by opening our heart to the Lord’s forgiveness and to all those who will knock at our door.

Moreover, on the occasion of World Children’s Day, two days later, on 20 November 2015, the Pope recalled that «protecting children» is a «duty» and that their good must come before all else, «so that they are not subjected to slavery or to ill-treatment, and to any form of exploitation».

The Pontiff hopes that the international community may watch attentively over the living conditions of children, «especially where they are exposed to recruitment by armed groups» and that it may also «help families to guarantee to every child the right to education».

Source:news.va