Pope Francis has often used his annual December address, held in the Vatican’s gilded Hall of Benediction, to offer his frank perspective on the state of the Roman Curia.
In 2014, he famously diagnosed 15 spiritual “diseases” afflicting the Curia, including careerism and idolizing superiors. In 2020, the pope used the word “crisis” 44 times in his speech and called the Church to renewal.
In his 2022 Christmas greetings, Pope Francis returned to the theme of “conversion” again and again, including in reference to the recent 60th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council.
“What was the Council if not a great moment of conversion for the entire Church? As Saint John XXIII observed: ‘The Gospel does not change; it is we who begin to understand it more fully.’ The conversion that the Council sparked was an effort to understand the Gospel more fully and to make it relevant, living and effective in our time,” he said.
Pope Francis added that “the error of trying to crystallize the message of Jesus in a single, perennially valid form” is contrary to conversion.
“True heresy consists not only in preaching another gospel (cf. Gal 1:9), as Saint Paul told us, but also in ceasing to translate its message into today’s language and ways of thinking, which is precisely what the Apostle of the Gentiles did,” he said.
“To preserve means to keep alive and not to imprison the message of Christ.”
The pope also highlighted the plight of “war-torn Ukraine” and the many ongoing conflicts in different parts of the world.
“Anguished as we are by the spread of wars and violence, we can and must make our own contribution to peace by striving to uproot from our hearts all hatred and resentment towards the brothers and sisters with whom we live,” he said.
Following his custom, Pope Francis gave Vatican officials books as a gift, including “The Life of Jesus,” written by Andrea Tornielli, the editorial director for the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication.
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The pope’s speech to the Roman Curia and his following Christmas greetings to employees of Vatican City State were the last audiences on his public schedule before he is scheduled to preside over “Midnight Mass” at 7:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve in St. Peter’s Basilica.
“God became a Child, and that Child, once grown, let himself be nailed on a cross. There is nothing weaker than one who is crucified, yet that weakness became the demonstration of God’s supreme power. In forgiveness, God’s power is always at work. May gratitude, conversion, and peace thus be the gifts of this Christmas,” Pope Francis said.
Courtney Mares is a Rome Correspondent for Catholic News Agency. A graduate of Harvard University, she has reported from news bureaus on three continents and was awarded the Gardner Fellowship for her work with North Korean refugees.
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