Vatican City, 22 December 2014 (VIS) –
This morning in the Clementine Hall the Holy Father held his annual
meeting with the Roman Curia to exchange Christmas greetings with the
members of its component dicasteries, councils, offices, tribunals
and commissions. “It is good to think of the Roman Curia as a small
model of the Church, that is, a body that seeks, seriously and on a
daily basis, to be more alive, healthier, more harmonious and more
united in itself and with Christ”.
“The Curia is always required to
better itself and to grow in communion, sanctity and wisdom to fully
accomplish its mission. However, like any body, it is exposed to
sickness, malfunction and infirmity. … I would like to mention some
of these illnesses that we encounter most frequently in our life in
the Curia. They are illnesses and temptations that weaken our service
to the Lord”, continued the Pontiff, who after inviting all those
present to an examination of conscience to prepare themselves for
Christmas, listed the most common Curial ailments:
The first is “the sickness of
considering oneself 'immortal', 'immune' or 'indispensable',
neglecting the necessary and habitual controls. A Curia that is not
self-critical, that does not stay up-to-date, that does not seek to
better itself, is an ailing body. … It is the sickness of the rich
fool who thinks he will live for all eternity, and of those who
transform themselves into masters and believe themselves superior to
others, rather than at their service”.
The second is “'Martha-ism', or
excessive industriousness; the sickness of those who immerse
themselves in work, inevitably neglecting 'the better part' of
sitting at Jesus' feet. Therefore, Jesus required his disciples to
rest a little, as neglecting the necessary rest leads to stress and
agitation. Rest, once one who has brought his or her mission to a
close, is a necessary duty and must be taken seriously: in spending a
little time with relatives and respecting the holidays as a time for
spiritual and physical replenishment, it is necessary to learn the
teaching of Ecclesiastes, that 'there is a time for everything'”.
Then there is “the sickness of mental
and spiritual hardening: that of those who, along the way, lose their
inner serenity, vivacity and boldness and conceal themselves behind
paper, becoming working machines rather than men of God. … It is
dangerous to lose the human sensibility necessary to be able to weep
with those who weep and to rejoice with those who rejoice! It is the
sickness of those who lose those sentiments that were present in
Jesus Christ”.
“The ailment of excessive planning
and functionalism: this is when the apostle plans everything in
detail and believes that, by perfect planning things effectively
progress, thus becoming a sort of accountant. … One falls prey to
this sickness because it is easier and more convenient to settle into
static and unchanging positions. Indeed, the Church shows herself to
be faithful to the Holy Spirit to the extent that she does not seek
to regulate or domesticate it. The Spirit is freshness, imagination
and innovation”.
The “sickness of poor coordination
develops when the communion between members is lost, and the body
loses its harmonious functionality and its temperance, becoming an
orchestra of cacophony because the members do not collaborate and do
not work with a spirit of communion or as a team”.
“Spiritual Alzheimer's disease, or
rather forgetfulness of the history of Salvation, of the personal
history with the Lord, of the 'first love': this is a progressive
decline of spiritual faculties, that over a period of time causes
serious handicaps, making one incapable of carrying out certain
activities autonomously, living in a state of absolute dependence on
one's own often imaginary views. We see this is those who have lost
their recollection of their encounter with the Lord … in those who
build walls around themselves and who increasingly transform into
slaves to the idols they have sculpted with their own hands”.
“The ailment of rivalry and
vainglory: when appearances, the colour of one's robes, insignia and
honours become the most important aim in life. … It is the disorder
that leads us to become false men and women, living a false
'mysticism' and a false 'quietism'”.
Then there is “existential
schizophrenia: the sickness of those who live a double life, fruit of
the hypocrisy typical of the mediocre and the progressive spiritual
emptiness that cannot be filled by degrees or academic honours. This
ailment particularly afflicts those who, abandoning pastoral service,
limit themselves to bureaucratic matters, thus losing contact with
reality and with real people. They create a parallel world of their
own, where they set aside everything they teach with severity to
others and live a hidden, often dissolute life”.
The sickness of “chatter, grumbling
and gossip: this is a serious illness that begins simply, often just
in the form of having a chat, and takes people over, turning them
into sowers of discord, like Satan, and in many cases cold-blooded
murderers of the reputations of their colleagues and brethren. It is
the sickness of the cowardly who, not having the courage to speak
directly to the people involved, instead speak behind their backs”.
“The sickness of deifying leaders is
typical of those who court their superiors, with the hope of
receiving their benevolence. They are victims of careerism and
opportunism, honouring people rather than God. They are people who
experience service thinking only of what they might obtain and not of
what they should give. They are mean, unhappy and inspired only by
their fatal selfishness”.
“The disease of indifference towards
others arises when each person thinks only of himself, and loses the
sincerity and warmth of personal relationships. When the most expert
does not put his knowledge to the service of less expert colleagues;
when out of jealousy … one experiences joy in seeing another person
instead of lifting him up or encouraging him”.
“The illness of the funereal face: or
rather, that of the gruff and the grim, those who believe that in
order to be serious it is necessary to paint their faces with
melancholy and severity, and to treat others – especially those
they consider inferior – with rigidity, hardness and arrogance. In
reality, theatrical severity and sterile pessimism are often symptoms
of fear and insecurity”.
“The disease of accumulation: when
the apostle seeks to fill an existential emptiness of the heart by
accumulating material goods, not out of necessity but simply to feel
secure. … Accumulation only burdens and inexorably slows down our
progress”.
“The ailment of closed circles: when
belonging to a group becomes stronger than belonging to the Body and,
in some situations, to Christ Himself. This sickness too may start
from good intentions but, as time passes, enslaves members and
becomes a 'cancer' that threatens the harmony of the Body and causes
a great deal of harm – scandals – especially to our littlest
brothers”.
Then, there is the “disease of
worldly profit and exhibitionism: when the apostle transforms his
service into power, and his power into goods to obtain worldly
profits or more power. This is the disease of those who seek
insatiably to multiply their power and are therefore capable of
slandering, defaming and discrediting others, even in newspapers and
magazines, naturally in order to brag and to show they are more
capable than others”.
After listing these ailments, Pope
Francis continued, “We are therefore required, at this Christmas
time and in all the time of our service and our existence – to live
'speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him
who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and
held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each
part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds
itself up in love'”.
“I once read that priests are like
aeroplanes: they only make the news when they crash, but there are
many that fly. Many criticise them and few pray for them”, he
concluded. “It is a very nice phrase, but also very true, as it
expresses the importance and the delicacy of our priestly service,
and how much harm just one priest who falls may cause to the whole
body of the Church”.
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