Pope Francis’ first apostolic exhortation set for release
November 25, 2013 - With his apostolic exhortation "Evangelii Gaudium" (The Joy of
the Gospel), which is scheduled for publication on Tuesday in the Vatican, Pope Francis
finally makes his real debut as papal author. However, copies of "Evangelii Gaudium"
were symbolically handed by Pope Francis to representatives of various sectors of
the worldwide Catholic Church during the closing Mass of the Year of Faith on Sunday
in St. Peter’s Square in Rome. Popes through the centuries have issued their most
important written messages in one of 10 classic forms, ranging from encyclical to
what is called "chirograph," a brief document on a highly limited subject. But most
of these are typically formulaic texts that do not express the distinctive voice or
charism of the man who issues them. Pope Francis has already published an encyclical,
traditionally considered the most authoritative form of papal writing. But in the
opening paragraphs of "Lumen Fidei," released in July, he explained that the text
was essentially the work of his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, to whose words Pope
Francis had merely "added a few contributions" of his own. By contrast, Pope Francis
has made clear that "Evangelii Gaudium" is very much his own work. Apostolic exhortations
are often based on deliberations of synods of bishops, and this one takes into account
the October 2012 synod on the new evangelization. But last June, Pope Francis informed
the ordinary council of the Synod of Bishops, which is normally responsible for helping
draft post-synodal apostolic exhortations, he would not be working from their draft.
Instead, the pope said, he planned to write an "exhortation on evangelization in general
and refer to the synod," in order to "take everything from the synod but put it in
a wider framework." (Source: CNS)