Before the arrival of Pope Francis, the main themes of discussion in the Church have had solid theological roots. But even the question concerning the pastoral care of divorced and civilly remarried Catholics, as well as for homosexual couples – both of which were the object of a heated debate at the last Synod of Bishops – are in the end based on theological foundations, and deal with the application of doctrine. Moreover, even the criticisms aimed at the pope’s plan for curial reform – the other issue at currently at stake in this pontificate – are founded on theological and juridical grounds.

Nevertheless, Pope Francis demonstrates that he is moving on completely different grounds. It is not by chance that one of his favourite quotes about ecumenism is taken from the conversation between Bl. Paul VI and the Patriarch of Costantinople, Athenagoras: “If we were to close ourselves off in a room together and leave the theologians outside, we would accomplish ecumenism in one hour.” In similar fashion, leaving theological discussions aside, Pope Francis wants to propose a model of a Church that evangelizes through attraction, and not because of the strength of its concepts.

Pope Francis’ choices in two consistories mirror this intention. Beyond choosing a few candidates with strong institutional ties, Pope Francis has selected as cardinals mainly bishops whose primary interest is not found in some or other theological position, but in pastoral practice. Pope Francis’ Church bypasses theological discussion and aims at going straight to the heart of the people.

All of these new cardinals will bring their peculiar perspectives to the consistory the Pope has convened to discuss reform of the Roman Curia. The reform seems to be stuck. The first comprehensive draft was highly criticized by Vatican dicasteries, and there is a real risk that the structure will remain as it is for the moment, in expectation of a definitive change that will not take place before the end of this year – as Pope Francis has admitted. Nevertheless, another option that one insider designates “St. Peter’s option” may be explored.

It can be explained this way. During the construction of the current Basilica of St. Peter in the 16th century, the old basilica was only gradually dismantled, step by step, while it was replaced with the new building. This is the way Pope Francis works, by establishing new structures around the currently existing structure which is then removed once the new structure is complete.

Through this lens we can better understand the process by which the Vatican at first hired expensive external commissions and then followed this step with the establishment of the Secretariat for the Economy, the Council for the Economy and the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. These bodies were born without statutes and they set out to work while waiting for their specific powers and competences to be drafted.

This is way curial reform will be carried out. According to sources, during their recent ad limina visit, the Lithuanian bishops asked Pope Francis about the reform. He replied that two super-congregations, respectively, for Justice and Charity and Laity and Family will be established. How the competences of the many minor dicasteries that will be subsumed into these new Congregations will be arranged is yet to be decided. But establishing them is a first step toward the much anticipated Curia reform.

The rationale is that the Curia structure must be reduced in size in order to be closer to people. Beyond the theological discussions that characterized the major curial reform begun under Bl. Paul VI and concluded under St. John Paul II, Pope Francis’ reform is mostly intended to be functional in order to extend the voice of the Church to “the end of the world” from which the Pope hails. For Pope Francis there is no need for structures, instead there is a need for a credible witness.

This rationale is reflected in his choices of new cardinals. Up till now, several keys to reading Pope Francis’ picks over the last two years have been suggested. It was argued that he wanted to privilege the geographical peripheries of the Church, or that he wanted to combat careerism, and that for this reason he was not awarding the red hat to bishops in dioceses that have always had a cardinal by tradition, or else that he wanted to internationalize the College of Cardinals.

All of these reasons are intriguing and even true if one glances at the cardinals’ profiles from the perspective of their assignments or their geographical locations Nevertheless, these interpretations may be misleading and may even betray Pope Francis’ spirit.

Broadly speaking, the Pope selects bishops whom he appreciates for their pastoral touch. In a recent interview, the archbishop Soane Patita Mafia of Tonga, a surprise pick among the new cardinals, emphasized that he will take with him to Rome the cry of poor of his country. He is not the only one. Cardinal-designate Francis Kriengsak Kovithanij of Bangkok, Thailand  is working to foster small Christian communities in a country where Christians are a very small minority.

Pope Francis got to know many of these new cardinals during the last Synod of Bishops. He appreciated their human touch and their pastoral sensitivity. More than what they currently do in their homeland, the impression they gave when they took the floor at the synod, the way they defended and supported mercy and closeness to people, were crucial to their selection.

Still, no theological preference seems to drive Pope Francis’ choices. Instead one finds a human touch, a peculiar instinct that guides the Pope in understanding who the prelates are with whom he feels more at ease.

Renunciation of worldliness may also imply for Pope Francis a renunciation of intellectual debate. Pope Francis wants shepherds with the smell of the sheep, and he had been clear about this since the beginning of his pontificate. Other qualities do not seem to matter that much to him; they seem to be mere add-ons that he applies to his discussion of bishops when it suits him to do so.

These new cardinals (Pope Francis has chosen some 40 to date) will have an impact in this coming week’s consistory on curial reform. Now that the Council of Cardinals has met eight times, the Pope is seeking a turning point, and in order to bring this about he is filling the College of Cardinals with a considerable number of individuals whom he believes share his vision.

Although the reform issue might be solved with the so-called “St. Peter’s option,” the struggle over the upcoming Synod seems more complicated. Once again, Pope Francis’ intention is to free the Church from an over-dependence upon doctrine in order to find a pastoral approach that will bring the Church closer to people. But how can doctrine and pastoral practice be reconciled?

This continues to be a hotly debated topic. The discussion evidences a strange convergence between the Roman Curia and some local Churches, many of which, ironically speaking, are on the peripheries. Not by chance, Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, General Secretary of the Synod of Bishops, underscored in an interview granted to the weekly magazine “La Settimana” that the strong points of the last synod of bishops were the doctrinal framework, the Gospel of the Family, and the push for young people to receive an education about love.

But these issues were included in the Synod’s final report only after the small groups (circuli minores) strongly criticized – and pushed for a substantial rewriting of – the Synod’s midterm report.

Cardinal Baldisseri’s words signalled that the Synod war has already begun, and that – in spite of the slogan “We don’t turn back” which accompanied the presentation of the next Synod’s guidelines – the majority of bishops does not endorse a pastoral practice that is completely detached from doctrine.

And Pope Francis would probably not support it either. The Pope is always very orthodox in his declarations. This fact has been demonstrated several times. The Pope backed the Slovakian bishops in their commitment to promote a referendum to defend the traditional family in their country. He invited Filipinos to be wary of the ideological colonization of the family. He expressed a strongly negative judgment over gender theory, which he also defined as ‘demonic’ during a meeting with Austrian bishop in an ad limina visit. Taken together these moments indicate that Pope Francis is anything but progressive.

So, who is the real Pope Francis? The one who supports liberal bishops and priests, or the one who speaks in an orthodox way? The answer may be more obvious than expected.

Simply put, for Pope Francis pastoral practice is more important than any given theological debate because the latter, in the end, may be no more than a worldly exercise. Perhaps his famous declaration about preferring a “poor Church for the poor” may also be read this way: a Church light in structure with limited philosophical debates and a great deal of pastoral love.

But this is not new. Benedict XVI spoke in almost the same terms about the need to escape worldliness and to move beyond the self-referentiality of ecclesial structures. And he underscored the value of mercy as is evidenced in the homily he delivered at the Mass for the inauguration of his petrine ministry. Time and again Pope Benedict preached about a Church that should not be constructed on ideas, but engaged in a lively evangelization effort.

Nevertheless, between these two popes a paradigm change is taking place. Pope Benedict was convinced that a solid theological background was needed so that the Church’s pastoral practice would be correct. In fact, the search for truth was pivotal in his pontificate. Pope Francis, on the other hand, sets aside any given theological problem in order to seek immediate, personal contact with people.

Bishop Eduardo Horacio Garcia, who was Cardinal Bergoglio’s auxiliary bishop in Buenos Aires,  recounted shortly after Pope Francis’ election that “at the end of the Jubilee Year, for which Cardinal Bergoglio had called a missionary year, we priests of the archdiocese asked Cardinal Bergoglio to call a synod in order to discuss how to harvest the fruits of our mission and draft guidelines. But he responded that a synod was good only for producing useless documents, while the only thing we need to do is to continue our missionary efforts and to remain in a state of permanent mission.”

These words perhaps explain better than anything else the inner sense of this pontificate. Pope Francis is putting everyone in a state of permanent synod in order to understand each bishop’s perspectives. But the direction of his reforms will proceed from a pastoral approach, and nothing else. Perhaps this is the real change of paradigm.

While it is yet to be understood what «Spirit of Francis» means, it is becoming evident that Pope Francis’ Church is taking shape. The first year-and-a-half of his pontificate may be considered transitional, made up of jumps forward and steps back, foretold revolutions later redefined, provocations and informal demotions.

Jesuits usually take one year or a bit more for transitions, once they take on a new assignment with management responsibilities. During the transition, they speak with everybody, to figure out what direction to take.

On the other hand, Pope Francis has already said that he did not have a specific design for the Church when he was elected, and there is no reason to doubt it. But clearly, Pope Francis had some very precise ideas, which he is putting into practice now. One of these ideas was that of bringing back the so-called «Spirit of the Council, » i.e. the intellectual vivacity of the Second Vatican Council which he experienced as a young priest in Argentina. Another idea was giving the pastoral activity of the Church more impetus, as the Pope is convinced that this is the only way the Church will be able to address the needs of the greatest number of people possible – and hence, the concern for the Church’s image. And another idea was that of giving more power to local bishops, even on hot topics like rendering final judgments on cases of doctrine or morality.

These ideas had somewhat become reality as the Pope kept speaking about and exercising the «outward-looking Church». Pope Francis chooses with care the peripheries to go to, from those which may have a stronger impact on public opinion. The Pope must lead by example, and must be visible – this is Pope Francis’ intention. Furthermore, these ideas have become a reality in the form of “consultative” bodiesin government, despite much criticism. These include several external commissions to discuss the functioning of the Vatican, as if the work already carried out in this regard within the Vatican walls were not legitimate; the appointment of a Council of Cardinals to conceive a Curia reform without including someone with juridical background able to help drafting the documents; and finally, the establishment of a parallel Curia, made of a series of new bodies yet without statutes, which are still discussing their structures and responsibilities.

These decisions have brought about the big reform of the Vatican economy, the establishment of a Vatican committee for media, and the establishment of a Pontifical Commission for the protection of Minors.

The committee on the media will meet in Rome September 22-24, to define how it will work and which issues it will deal with. The Commission for the Protection of Minors will meet October 3-4, with the purpose expanding its membership to include representationfromall the continents (Africa, Asia and South America are still missing) and to draft its statutes. In doing so, it will have to balance its responsibilities against those of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, particularly of the office on “Delicta Graviora” (the most grave crimes) to be set up in the disciplinary section of the Congregation. Responsible for this section will be the archbishop José Mollaghan, who will work from Buenos Aires (Argentina).

The proliferation of offices in the context of a reform intended to streamline the Curia would aim at giving Pope Francis space to fill these offices with those who are not in line with his thought and his idea of the Church. Some observers have started to talk about a “de-ratzingeritzation” process. It is now time to make decisions.

Cardinal Raymond Burke – it is almost taken for granted – will be appointed head of the Order of Malta, an honorific post. Burke would leave the Signatura tribunal to someone closer to Pope Francis’ thinking. The announcement of the transfer should be given during the synod of bishops, in which Cardinal Burke will be one of the most active participants. Cardinal Burke defends the tradition of the Church, and he is one of the cardinals who contributed to the book “Remaining in Truth,” which clearly opposes the theses on family and access to communion for divorced remarried that Cardinal Walter Kasper lectured about during the last consistory.

That this battle is on-going is evidentin the strong stance taken by Cardinal Kasper himself. Responding to the critics, he underscored that the final target is not him and his positions, but Pope Francis himself, who even praised Cardinal Kasper’s words at the consistory by referring to them as “theology on one’s knees.”

There are other key posts that may remain vacant, as that of “Vatican foreign minister.” After eight years, Archbishop Dominique Mamberti should leave his post of Secretary for Relations with the States. Archbishop Emlile Tscherrig, papal nuncio to Argentina, may take Mamberti’s post. Tscherrig is a good friend of Pope Francis, and also helped in organizing the Pope’s lunch with the Argentine President Cristina Kirchner last Saturday. Other rumors point to Bryan Wells, Assessor of the Secretary of State, who is highly regarded and would also be one of the candidates to take Mamberti’s post as leader of the Vatican foreign policy.

Each rumor must in any case be assessed carefully, since they are a way not only to promote, but also to “burn” some names.

For what concerns episcopal picks, Pope Francis has mostly followed his predecessor’s line, though he has personally intervened in some occasions closeto his heart. He did not do the same with new cardinals picks. He wants new cardinals whose profiles can serve as examples of an outward-looking Church, and he is being provocative in selecting those who will get the new red berretta at the next consistory, to be held probably in February.

Step by step, Pope Francis is shaping his team. But we shouldn’t be fooled: Pope Francis does not care that much about posts and the pedigree of his interlocutors. What he values is the advice of the few people that he really trusts. He will hold many consultations and discussions, but at the end he will make his own decisions.

It will be so with the Council of Cardinals. Father Lombardi stressed that the Council makes proposals, it does not take decisions. Pope Francis, Lombardi added, may there after extend the consultations about a Curia dicastery to a wider circle with all the heads of Vatican dicasteries, during one of the periodic meetings that he has wanted general secretary of the synod of bishops Cardinal Baldisseri–and not the Secretary of State, as was usual–to conduct.

The synod will be the first real testfor Pope Francis. The appointments he wants to make public during the synod will finally show what kind of Church does Pope Francis have in mind. Will it be a Church modeled on the Jesuits’ governing bodies, with four different Secretariats to help to support the Pope govern?

Certainly, the marching order will be collegiality, on which the Pope and the media are insisting a lot. This push for collegiality would also lead us tothink about a restoration of something preceding Benedict XVI.

After announcing his resignation, Benedict XVI met with the Roman clergy and spoke off-the-cuff about the Second Vatican Council. That lecture has made history, since it raised for the first time the issue of a council of the media and a real council. That lecture was indeed a real program for the Church of the future. Benedict XVI also spoke about episcopal collegiality, described the limits of the definition of collegiality and underscored that these limits could be overcome with an option for communion. And communion is at the center of the introduction of the Pastor Bonus, the apostolic constitution that regulates the responsibilities and functions of the Curia offices.

But while the spirit of Francis is filledwith collegiality, it is also clear that ultimately the Cardinals have not followed Benedict XVI’s vision. Rather, they have opted for topics that were discussed before Benedict’s pontificate.

Everything will be clarified with the upcoming appointments and with the outcomes of the synod of bishops. Pope Francis is called to make decisions, and these decisions will show what kind of Church he has in mind.

 Benedict XVI went to Africa to deliver the post-synodal exhortation. Two years ago, the special synod for Africa that took place in Rome was very little covered by the media.  But it was «good work» – the pope then said – since it was able to mediate sufficiently between the political and spiritual dimensions. «And for me – the Pope said – this is also a reason for thanks because it makes the post-synodal document easier to draft». The penultimate act of that synod were the 57 final propositions delivered by the assembly of African bishops. The propositions touched on many topics including «greater ecclesial communion at all levels, encouraging cooperation within the Church», as well as an appeal to all those who are at war in Africa: «Stop the hostilities and be reconciled!» Another theme that was frequently discussed was the environment. Observing that there was «an irresponsible degradation and senseless destruction of the earth, which is ‘our mother’» the Synod Fathers noted  that «some businesses, governments and multinational and trans-national companies engage in business that pollute the environment, destroy flora and fauna, thus causing unprecedented erosion and desertification of large areas of arable land… in complicity with those who exercise political and economic leadership in Africa». The bishops also raised their voices on the issues that impact women. They rejected abortion and  so-called reproductive health rights of women, calling instead for the defense of the family and of human life.

All of these topics had been issued by the Pope during his short trip to Benin. «Africa is a continent of hope», Benedict XVI claimed. Hope is the key-word to understand the trip to Benin. As a key-speech was the one held in the Presidential Palace, on November, 19th. After the speech, the Pope moved to Ouidah, 43 kilometres far from the capital of Benin Cotonou from where – at the beginning of the 18th Century – every year 20 thousand slaves taken from all the Western Africa left to the Usa. In Ouidah, Benedict XVI finally deliver the post-synodal exhortation, Africae Munus, African Commitment. The commitment that Benedict XVI delivers to Africa is an important one. From Africa, he warns all the leaders of the world  against political corruption, scandals, instrumentalizing the name of God to justify violence and the individualism that generates despair.

Pope appeals to all political and economic leaders of African countries and the rest of the world to not to manipulate their people and not to deprive their  peoples of hope. «Do not cut them off from their future by mutilating their present! Adopt a courageous ethical approach to your responsibilities and, if you are believers, ask God to grant you wisdom!», the Pope said.

The background of African countries is filled with the Arab Spring and the recent - and Church sponsored – independence of the South Sudan. Neverthless the worries for the future of the Christians after the Arab Spring – especially in Egypt and Libya – the Pope favorably see to the claim of the people. During these last months – he said –  «many peoples have manifested their desire for liberty, their need for material security, and their wish to live in harmony according to their different ethnic groups and religions. Indeed, a new state has been born on your continent. Many conflicts have originated in man’s blindness, in his will to power and in political and economic interests which mock the dignity of people and of nature. Human beings aspire to liberty; then to live in dignity; they want good schools and food for their children, dignified hospitals to take care of the sick; they want to be respected; they demand transparent governance which does not confuse private and public interests; and above all they desire peace and justice».

Benin is an examplar country. Cardinal Bernardin Gantin is considered one of the father of the country – to him is dedicated the airport of Cotonou. And Catholicism had great part in the development of Benin, The former Archbishop of Cotonou, Isidore de Sousa, received special permission from the John Paul II to act as the effective leader of the country in the early 1990s, leading it through a transition from Marxism to democracy. Relationships between the Catholic Church and the State of Benin are wonderful, missionaries and Christian institutions make an appreciated job in the country. The 42,8 per cent of population of Benin is Christian, and the 27,1 per cent of these is Catholic. The rest is made up of faithful of other Confessions, mainly originated by the Lutheran reform. The 24,4 per cent of population is Muslim, and the rest of population belongs to ancient African creeds.

And all the representatives of those religions were sitting in front of Benedict XVI, together with the representatives of government and institution on November, 19th. The Pope contrasts the hope to the paradigm of the expert – who imposes his conclusions and proposes, at the end of the day, few useful solutions – and to the temptation to analyze the realities of Africa like a curious ethnologist or like someone who sees the vast resources only in terms of energy, minerals, agriculture and humanity («reductionist and disrespectful points of view which lead to the unhelpful “objectification” of Africa and her inhabitants»).

Hope is the key to understand two African realities. The first one deals with the sociopolitical and economical situation. The Pope says: «Human beings aspire to liberty; then to live in dignity; they want good schools and food for their children, dignified hospitals to take care of the sick; they want to be respected; they demand transparent governance which does not confuse private and public interests; and above all they desire peace and justice. At this time, there are too many scandals and injustices, too much corruption and greed, too many errors and lies, too much violence which leads to misery and to death ». It is not a ill that affect just Africa: it affects all the world. And people want to understand, they do not want to be manipulated. No policy is absolutely right and no economical policy is neutral. But both policy and economy – the Pope admonishes – has to be done for the common good.

That is why Benedict repeatedly cried out in defense of the poor. During an open-air Mass on sunday in a soccer stadium in Benin’s capital, before some 40,000 wildly enthusiastic, dancing and singing locals, he said «Jesus wanted to identify himself with the poor» and the poor deserve respect because «through them, God shows us the way to Heaven». And in the Africae Munus Benedict called the church to act as a «sentinel», denouncing situations of injustice. The pontiff also took yet another swipe at neo-con ideologies. In his opening speech of the trip, he warned Africans that an «unconditional surrender to the laws of the market and of finance» is among the pathologies of modernity they would do well to avoid.

The second reality deals with the interreligious dialogue. How many wars had been fought in the name of God? «True interreligious dialogue – the Pope said – rejects humanly self-centered truth, because the one and only truth is in God. God is Truth. Hence, no religion, and no culture may justify appeal or recourse to intolerance and violence. Aggression is an outmoded relational form which appeals to superficial and ignoble instincts. To use the revealed word, the Sacred Scriptures or the name of God to justify our interests, our easy and convenient policies or our violence, is a very grave fault».

The challenge for Africa – outlined in the post-synodal exhortation – is to free Africa from his ills. First of all, Aids, to face by providing «everyone with access to treatments and medicines, taking account of uncertain situations! The Church, indeed, has been pleading for a long time for high quality medical treatment to be made available at minimum cost to all concern ». And then, illiteracy that «represents one of the principal obstacles to development. It is a scourge on a par with that of the pandemics. True, it does not kill directly, but it contributes actively to the marginalization of the person – which is a form of social death – and it blocks access to knowledge». More: «Africa’s memory is painfully scarred as a result of fratricidal conflicts between ethnic groups, the slave trade and colonization. Today too, the continent has to cope with rivalries and with new forms of enslavement and colonization». And also the intolerable treatment to which so many children in Africa are subjected: child soldiers, child prisoners, children forced into labour, children ill-treated on account of physical or mental handicap, children said to be witches or warlocks, children said to be serpents, children sold as sex slaves, traumatized children without any future prospects.

Was it a sort of Benedict XVI’s opening to theology of liberation? There is – obviously – some more in depth reason. Leaving Benin, the Pope asked: «Why should an African country not show the rest of the world the path to be taken towards living an authentic fraternity in justice, based on the greatness of the family and of labour? May Africans be able to experience reconciliation in peace and justice!» In a few years, Africa can become the most Catholic continent in the world. The Pope bets on the awakening of Africa, because it is in that awakening that resides the awakening of the Church. The Church that must push for Truth, Reconciliation, Dialogue, Care for Human Being. And Africa – with its Truth and Reconciliation commissions, with its experience of interreligious dialogue because of the cohabitation of several creeds, with his traditional care for human being – can indicate the path to follow to all the world. Africa is a continent of hope. Even for Christianity. Now more than ever.