Another harsh criticism from the Pope to the leaders of the Church: they are “like predatory wolves” who do not listen to others

In the end-of-year meeting with the Curia in Rome, the prelates of the central government of the Catholic Church, gathered in the Hall of Blessings in the Vatican, the Pope once again showed his distrust towards them and made them reproaches, as usual. This time he told them that they risk being “like ravenous wolves” who don’t listen to others.

In the last few years he made worse accusations to the members of the Roman Curia, in the criticisms he makes of the behavior of the ecclesial hierarchy.

During the visit to the pontiff, in the traditional Christmas greeting speech, Francis recommended improving the functioning of the Roman Curia by following these three words: “Listen, discern and walk”.

Jorge Bergoglio suggested to his monsignors to “listen on their knees”, because sometimes, he lamented, “when we communicate with each other we run the risk of being like predatory wolves”.

“We immediately try to devour the words of the other without truly listening to him and we immediately pour out our impressions and our judgments on him”, continued the Argentine pontiff.

«Even in the Curia it is necessary to learn the art of listening», he indicated. “Above all, before the roles we cover, we need to rediscover the value of relationships and try to strip them of formalisms to animate them with an evangelical spirit through mutual listening,” she advised.

“Let’s listen!” he asked her. “We try to understand what our brother says, to grasp his needs and, in some way, the life that hides behind those words, without judging.”

The Pope also recommended the members of the Curia “to be more docile”, to know how to “choose orientations and make decisions not according to worldly criteria or simply by applying rules, but according to the Gospel”.

Another piece of reproachful advice: “Be weaker”, he asked us to avoid “the temptation to remain paralyzed in our fences and in our fears”.

Divisions in the Church

The Pope asked the members of the Curia to avoid “fears, rigidity and the repetition of patterns that generate immobility, which have the apparent advantage of not creating problems”.

This attitude “leads us to wander lazily in our labyrinths, damaging the service we are called to offer to the Church and to the whole world”.

Bergoglio told them that we must avoid “the fixity of ideology, which often, under the appearance of good intentions, separates us from reality and does not prevent us from walking.” And he continued: «When we find ourselves trapped in the nets of bureaucracy and try to navigate through it, let’s remember to look up, to start again with God, to let ourselves be enlightened by his word, to always find the courage to start over from the beginning of “We emerge from the labyrinths”. only from above.”

Francis also spoke about the divisions in the Church and stated that “sixty years after the Council we continue to debate the division between progressives and conservatives” in the Church.

Bergoglio observed that in his opinion the central difference is between “in love and accustomed”. “This is the difference. And only those who love walk,” he said. The Pope concluded by urging the Curia “not to lose the sense of humor because it is also health”.