Pope Francis has just released a new document titled Evangelii Gaudium.

It is his first apostolic exhortation, and it is devoted to the theme of the new
evangelization.
Here are 9 things to know and share . . .

1) What does
It s Latin for

Evangelii Gaudium

mean?

The Joy of the Gospel.

2) What is an apostolic exhortation?

It s a papal document that, as the name suggests, exhorts people to implement a pa
rticular aspect of the Church s life and teaching.
Its purpose is not to teach new doctrine, but to suggest how Church teachings an
d practices can be profitably applied today.
Some apostolic exhortations are devoted to the pastoral challenges faced in part
icular parts of the world (Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas). Others are devot
ed to particular themes.
Previous apostolic exhortations include:
Paul VI s Evangelii Nuntiandi (on evangelization today)
John Paul II s Christifideles Laici (on the role of the laity)
John Paul II s Redemptoris Custos (on St. Joseph)
Benedict XVI s Sacramentum Caritatis (on the Eucharist)
Benedict XVI s Verbum Domini (on the Word of God)

3) How much authority does an apostolic exhortation have?

It is one of the more important papal documents more important, for example, than
a Wednesday audience or a homily.
As it is of a pastoral nature rather than a doctrinal or legal nature, though, i
t is ranked lower than an encyclical or an apostolic constitution.
As with everything official that the pope writes, it is to be taken very serious
ly.

4) What leads a pope to write an apostolic exhortation?

Frequently, apostolic exhortations are written after a meeting of the Synod of B
ishops.
The Synod of Bishops is a group that gathers selected bishops from across the wo
rld to discuss a particular subject.
At the synod, the bishops write a document making recommendations for the pope.
It is then given to him for his reflection, and he may then write an apostolic e

xhortation based on the bishops

recommendations.

Exhortations that come about in this way are called post-synodal apostolic exhorta
tions because they are written after ( post- ) a meeting of the synod.
There does not have to be such an exhortation. Sometimes they hold a meeting of
the synod of bishops, but no apostolic exhortation is released.
Also, not all apostolic exhortations are written after a synod, though. Sometime
s the pope may decide to write one on his own, without a synod being held on the
subject. This was the case with John Paul II s Redemptoris Custos.

5) Why did Pope Francis write Evangelii Gaudium?

It was written in response to the most recent meeting of the Synod of Bishops, w
hich took place in October, 2012.
It was devoted to the subject of the new evangelization, so that is the subject
of Evangelii Gaudium.
This synod took place before Pope Francis was elected in March 2013.
It sometimes happens that a synod is held and the pope who presided over it leav
es office before the exhortation is released. His successor may then choose to g
o forward with the project.
For example, the 2005 synod on the Eucharist was held under John Paul II, but he
had passed on before an exhortation was released. Benedict XVI then took the do
cument that the bishops had prepared and had an exhortation written.
(Usually, the pope does not draft the document himself, but it is drafted based
on his decisions, and he has final approval over what it says.)
Pope Francis s decision in this case is similar to his decision to release the enc
yclical Lumen Fidei, which was primarily drafted by Pope Benedict, but which he
completed.
Unlike that case, though, Pope Francis contributed much, much more to this docum
ent.
With Lumen Fidei, he did not add very much to what Pope Benedict had written. Ev
angelii Gaudium, by contrast, is much more a Francis document. It regularly emphas
izes the distinctive thought and themes of the new pope.

6) What is Pope Francis main message in Evangelii Gaudium?

As suggested by the name, the principal theme involves the need for a joyful pro
clamation of the Gospel to the entire world.
Archbishop Rino Fisichella, who presented the document at a Vatican press confer
ence, summarized its main message this way:
If we were to sum up Pope Francis s Evangelii Gaudium in a few words, we could say
that it is an Apostolic Exhortation written around the theme of Christian joy i
n order that the Church may rediscover the original source of evangelization in
the contemporary world.

Pope Francis offers this document to the Church as a map and guide to her pastor
al mission in the near future.
It is an invitation to recover a prophetic and positive vision of reality withou
t ignoring the current challenges.
Pope Francis instills courage and urges us to look ahead despite the present cri
sis, making the cross and the resurrection of Christ once again our the victory b
anner (source).

7) What particularly noteworthy things does the pope have to say in the document
?
There is a mountain of them.
The document is 51,000 words long, which means that it is the length of a novel
and takes at least 5 hours to read.
There are numerous important things that the pope says, some of which I will end
eavor to unpack in future blog posts.
However, Archbishop Fisichella offers a summary of seven main themes that it cov
ers:
The following seven points, gathered together in the five chapters of the Exhort
ation, constitute the fundamental pillars of Pope Francis vision of the new evang
elization:
1.

the reform of the Church in a missionary key,

2.

the temptations of pastoral agents,

3.
zes,

the Church understood as the totality of the People of God which evangeli

4.

the homily and its preparation,

5.

the social inclusion of the poor,

6.

peace and social dialogue,

7.

and the spiritual motivations for the Church s missionary action.

The cement which binds these

e of God which goes forth to
his revelation: The life of
Jesus Christ and in the joy

themes together is concentrated in the merciful lov

meet every person in order to manifest the heart of
every person acquires meaning in the encounter with
of sharing this experience of love with others.

YOU CAN READ THE FULL DOCUMENT HERE.

8) Can you give a specific example of something notable he says?

Sure. It s hard to pick just one!
Pro-lifers will be heartened to read what he has to say concerning unborn childr

en and abortion:
213. Among the vulnerable for whom the Church wishes to care with particular lov
e and concern are unborn children, the most defenseless and innocent among us.
Nowadays efforts are made to deny them their human dignity and to do with them w
hatever one pleases, taking their lives and passing laws preventing anyone from
standing in the way of this.
Frequently, as a way of ridiculing the Church s effort to defend their lives, atte
mpts are made to present her position as ideological, obscurantist and conservat
ive.
Yet this defense of unborn life is closely linked to the defense of each and eve
ry other human right.
It involves the conviction that a human being is always sacred and inviolable, i
n any situation and at every stage of development.
Human beings are ends in themselves and never a means of resolving other problem
s.
Once this conviction disappears, so do solid and lasting foundations for the def
ense of human rights, which would always be subject to the passing whims of the
powers that be.
Reason alone is sufficient to recognize the inviolable value of each single huma
n life, but if we also look at the issue from the standpoint of faith, every viol
ation of the personal dignity of the human being cries out in vengeance to God a
nd is an offence against the creator of the individual .
214. Precisely because this involves the internal consistency of our message abo
ut the value of the human person, the Church cannot be expected to change her po
sition on this question.
I want to be completely honest in this regard.
This is not something subject to alleged reforms or modernizations .
It is not

progressive

to try to resolve problems by eliminating a human life.

On the other hand, it is also true that we have done little to adequately accomp
any women in very difficult situations, where abortion appears as a quick soluti
on to their profound anguish, especially when the life developing within them is
the result of rape or a situation of extreme poverty.
Who can remain unmoved before such painful situations?

9) Is there an extra significance to the document?

It will take time to fully process the significance of the document, but one thi
s is immediately clear: This document is not something that Pope Francis delegat
ed to others and allowed to be written on auto-pilot. It contains far too much o
f his own thought and themes for that.
This means that Pope Francis was closely involved in the writing of this documen
t, and that shows that he cares powerfully about the theme of evangelization.

This demolishes the wrongheaded claims that Pope Francis doesn t take the task of
evangelization seriously.
On the contrary, it s one of the highest priorities of his pontificate.