“The Church is called to come out from itself and to go to the peripheries, not only those that are geographical, but also existential: those of the mystery of sin, of suffering, of injustice; those of ignorance and of the absence of faith; those of thought; those of every form of misery,” the then-Archbishop of Buenos Aires said.
He then pointed to a passage in the Book of Revelation where Jesus says: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.”
“Obviously, the text refers to the fact that he stands outside the door and knocks to come in,” the future pope said. “But at times I think Jesus may be knocking from the inside, so we will let him out.”
It is an image that Francis has used to warn against the Church becoming (or remaining) “self-referential” and inwardly focused. He rightly believes that a Church turned in on itself and obsessed with internal problems is severely impeded from carrying out its true mission.
But there are a number of critical issues pertaining to the Household of God particularly in its Roman chambers that cannot be ignored or avoided.
They have been a cause of scandal for a great many and a wound to all. One of them is sexual abuse by Catholic priests and the inadequate way the hierarchy especially the Vatican and the popes have responded to this sinful and criminal behavior.