Pope urges ordinary Catholics to be ‘saints next door’
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis is calling for ordinary Catholics to live holy lives in whatever they do, stressing that the “saints next door” are more pleasing to God than religious elites who insist on perfect adherence to rules and doctrine.
In a new document released Monday, Francis said defending the poor and migrants is “equally sacred” to defending the unborn — a not-soveiled critique of the conservative right in the U.S. for whom opposition to abortion trumps the Gospel mandate to love and welcome the stranger.
And he warned that the vitriol that is sometimes spewed online — including by Catholic media — needs to stop since it violates God’s commandment not to bear false witness, lie or “ruthlessly vilify others.”
The document, “Rejoice and Be Glad,” is the third apostolic exhortation of Francis’ papacy, after the first two riled conservatives by condemning capitalism and suggesting divorced and civilly remarried Catholics can receive Communion.
It was signed by Francis on
March 19, the fifth anniversary of his pontificate, and perhaps fittingly reaffirmed the centrality to his papacy of the “Beatitudes,” the eight biblical blessings extolling the meek, the poor and the merciful.
In the text, Francis said he had no intention of defining holiness or setting out the various ways to be made a saint. Rather, he said he wanted to re-propose the church’s universal call to holiness that can be found next door, “the middle class of holiness” of a husband who loves his wife, a mother who patiently teaches her child, an employee who works with integrity.