40. The Church is herself a missionary disciple; she needs to grow in her interpretation of the revealed word and in her understanding of truth.
It is the task of exegetes and theologians to help “the judgment of the Church to mature.” The other sciences also help to accomplish this, each in its own way. With reference to the social sciences, for example, John Paul II said that the Church values their research.*
Within the Church countless issues are being studied and reflected upon with great freedom. Differing currents of thought ... if open to being reconciled by the Spirit in respect and love, can enable the Church to grow....
For those who long for a monolithic body of doctrine guarded by all and leaving no room for nuance, this might appear as undesirable and leading to confusion. But in fact such variety serves to bring out and develop different facets of the inexhaustible riches of the Gospel.Gospel Links to Ponder: Romans 12:3-10 Click here to find this biblical reading: http://www.usccb.org/bible/romans/12
After word: We all sin. What happens to the Body of Christ when we reject the witness of one or more body parts? What happens to the Body of Christ when we refuse to use our gifts for the Church, out of fear of our using them imperfectly? Let us not judge others OR ourselves overmuch. But let us seek to grow in faith together with the entire Body of Christ and the gifts God has given us by being active in our faith communities.
*Motu Proprio Socialium Scientiarum (1 January 1994): AAS 86 (1994), 209
Paragraph numbers are provided to help you find the quotes for further study and to place these ideas in their original context, should you wish to do so. To read the text in full, click here:http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium.html#II.%E2%80%82Mary,_mother_of_evangelization
