SHU Presents Bergoglio Lecture Series with Church Leaders

Timely discussions highlighted recent happenings in the Catholic Church

Sacred Heart University’s Center for Catholic Studies presented its Bergoglio lectures during the spring semester. The lecture series, which bears Pope Francis’s original surname, is also part of The Human Journey Colloquia Series and showcases leaders who represent Pope Francis’ work in the Catholic intellectual tradition.

Archbishop Bernardito Auza

Archbishop Bernardito Auza presented a lecture Feb. 28 titled, “Pope Francis and the World Migration Crisis.” He shared Pope Francis’s stance on migration and his own experiences as a migrant.

Auza described some of the many reasons individuals migrate—opportunity, environmental factors and politics. Some move voluntarily while others are forced. He and some of his siblings chose to migrate to pursue opportunities. His parents resisted for many years but eventually relocated voluntarily to the United States to join their children.

Auza explained that Pope Francis has said no matter the reason, there are universal principles when it comes to venturing to a new land. He states that migration is a natural response to an individual’s needs, whether they involve a crisis, desire, greater opportunity, a search for freedom or a better life in general. He believes that no matter the reason, everyone is entitled to emigrate and immigrate and to fight for their right to stay in their chosen land, and they are justified in fighting for fundamental rights and basic services.

Auza also pointed out that Pope Francis has also shared how voluntary migration benefits everyone. For example, migrants perform needed jobs: many are employed on farms and in hospitals, health-care centers and retirement homes.

In a video message recorded in 2017, Pope Francis stated that individuals must “welcome, protect, promote and integrate migrants.”

Cardinal Wilton Gregory

Cardinal Wilton Gregory, archbishop of Washington, gave a lecture March 13 titled, “The Enduring Legacy of Gaudium et Spes on Pope Francis’s Writings.” He discussed the pope’s encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, and how it responds to the 1965 document, Gaudium et Spes—one of the four constitutions produced during the Second Vatican Council.

The Vatican II council convened from 1962-1965, a time of major cultural, political and social change in the world. The council realized the significance of contemporary issues, and so when writing Gaudium et Spes, it addressed current issues along with the Church’s mission to engage with and serve humanity.

The most significant takeaway from Gaudium et Spes is that the Church recognizes the value of all individuals and will fight for their rights. It says people should promote human rights, work toward social justice, act in solidarity with all people and advocate for all individuals’ common good.

Gregory explained how Pope Francis expanded on these ideas in 2020 with Fratelli Tutti, in which he calls for social friendship and dialogue. Pope Francis says that regardless of people’s backgrounds, they possess inherent worth and deserve respect. “He advocates for a more participatory and inclusive Church, where all members contribute their gifts and perspectives to a discernment of God’s will,” said Gregory.

Gregory stated that the way to create this inclusivity in the Church is through synodality, according to Pope Francis. Synodality is a way of acting as a Church and being together as people of God. It recognizes that all Church members have a role to play in completing the Church’s mission. Pope Francis has seen fractures in the Church community and believes that synodality is the method to overcome these divisions, Gregory said.

After his lecture, Gregory suggested that people read the pope’s writings, participate in the bumpy, slow process of synodality and address the global changes that humanity faces.

Cardinal Blase Cupich

Cardinal Blase Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, spoke April 24. His lecture, titled, “Conversations in the Spirit: Reflections on the Pre-Synod Meditations Offered by Father Timothy Radcliffe,” shared three insights Radcliffe offered Church officials during a pre-synod retreat.

First, Radcliffe suggested everyone walk together courageously with Eucharistic hope. For many, the retreat was the first time the Church invited them to speak of their faith, hope and insight. Each Church official attended the retreat with different hopes and expectations, so it was important that they listen to each other. Some went hoping for big reforms, others feared too much change, and yet others doubted anything important would change. Explaining Radcliff’s metaphor, the cardinal stated that Eucharistic hope looks at renewal in the Church like making bread—bringing the center to the margins and the margins to the center.

“As Catholics, we have to listen to one another,” Cupich said. Listening with open minds ensures that people are respected and can be inspired, he added.

Secondly, Radcliffe urged others to look to Jesus for lessons on friendship. Jesus did not set limits. Rather, he also befriended those whose viewpoints and experiences differed from his own.

Cupich said that Radcliffe’s words inspired him to examine how he himself makes friends, and he began to ask himself if he was setting limits on whom he befriended. He realized having friends with different perspectives helps spark conversation and allows people to seek truth and resolution. He said people should not be afraid of where a conversation will go.

Radcliffe’s third insight focused on recognizing and accepting that each person speaks with authority and should be honored. According to Cupich, Radcliffe told those gathered at the retreat that no matter their position in the Church, they must proceed from a common understanding that authority is multiple and mutually advancing.

To establish mutually advancing authority, each person at the retreat shared how they wanted to be addressed. All the participants chose to be addressed by their first name instead of their titles, showing that they were all on an even playing field in their conversations.

Michelle Loris, director of SHU’s Center for Catholic Studies said, “The center is so honored to host these leaders in the Church who demonstrate the preservation and the important ongoing development of the Catholic intellectual tradition as is evident in Pope Francis’ work in the world today.”

Header photo: pictured from top left, clockwise, are Cardinal Wilton Gregory, Archbishop Bernardito Auza and Cardinal Blase Cupich.