Pope Francis embraced openness and encouraged it during his speech at the three-week summit known as the synod. During the final day of the summit, the Pope elaborated on how the church should be welcoming to all people in need, despite their orientation and their background.
During the mass, held at St. Peter's Basilica, the Pope targeted the narrow-minded ideals that the church elders held and lectured them on the biblical story of Bartimaeus, a blind man, who Jesus had met during his journey, according to The Washington Post.
"None of the disciples stopped, as Jesus did," Francis said.
He continued, "if Bartimaeus was blind, they were deaf. His problem was not their problem. This can be a danger for us. In the face of constant problems, it is better to move on, instead of letting ourselves be bothered. In this way, just like the disciples, we are with Jesus but we do not think like him."
"We can speak about him, work for him, but still live far from his heart which is focused on those who are wounded," the Pope said. "This is the temptation of the spirituality of mirage."
He also added, "A faith that does not know how to grow roots into the lives of people stays barren. And instead of an oasis, it creates more deserts."
He additionally said that the near 1.2 billion member church should be open to change, side with the poor and rid itself of conservative notions. The conservative Voice of the Family group said that the meeting had given them a conflict of trust between the Church leaders and the believers over the opening to divorcees, Reuters reported.
The final document regarding various issues that the Church is facing and needs to address was a culmination of a two-year process initiated by Pope Francis in order to make the church a "field hospital for wounded souls" rather than an exclusive club for the perfect.
The progressive statements of the Pope reflected the need of change that was greatly needed with regard to the current scene of the world. Other issues that the meeting included were how the church should provide better marriage preparation and how to fix families ravaged by migration, poverty and war in order to preserve faith, according to CTV News.
