Clericalism was chief target of Pope Francis' teaching

Clericalism was chief target of Pope Francis' teaching - Catholic Review

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — From the moment he took the helm of the Catholic Church’s sprawling hierarchy, Pope Francis positioned himself as a pastor close to the people he served, and he called out the behavior of priests who were distant from and thought they were superior to their flocks. The pope set the tone early for his consistent rebukes of clericalism by including it in his first apostolic exhortation, “Evangelii Gaudium,” the 2013 document t…

Clericalism was chief target of Pope Francis' teaching

Pope Francis speaks to about 50,000 altar servers, who were on a pilgrimage to Rome, in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, July 30, 2024. CNS photo/Lola Gomez From the moment he took the helm of the Catholic Church’s sprawling hierarchy, Pope Francis positioned himself as a pastor close to the people he served, and he called out the behavior of priests who were distant from and thought they were superior to their flocks. The pope set the tone ea…