Embracing the missionary call of Pope Francis to reach the peripheries

My dear sisters and brothers in Christ,

If anyone had told me when I was ordained a priest on June 1, 1978, that 32 years later I would be ordained a bishop, I would have assured them it would never happen. Never mind my feelings of inadequacy (I had a hard enough time feeling ready to serve as a priest), I was a member of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists), and I believed that my calling was to be a missionary. What I didn’t realize then was that all of us, including bishops, are called to be missionary disciples of Jesus Christ our Redeemer. And in fact, the Church needs bishops who are keenly aware of their role as missionaries.

Since before he was elected pope more than 11 years ago, Pope Francis has been urging the Church, which is all of us, to “get out of ourselves and go toward the periphery.” In other words, the Holy Father challenges all of us—bishops, priests, deacons, Consecrated Religious, and lay faithful—to acknowledge our respective roles as missionary disciples who proclaim the Gospel to the ends of the earth, including the “peripheries.”

Where do we find the periphery? I addressed this question in a recent newsletter (March 15, 2024). Here is what I wrote then:

Pope Francis is referring to those areas that contain people who are social outcasts, on the “margins” of social acceptability, as being “the periphery.” He admonishes us to step outside of our comfort zones (another of Pope Francis’s frequent expressions) and to open our hearts to others, especially those who have been rejected by society.

In the Gospels, Samaritans are clearly “on the periphery” of Jewish society. So are lepers and those caught in sins such as adultery.

As we read in St. Matthew’s Gospel, “While he was at table in his [Levi’s/Matthew’s] house, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat with Jesus and his disciples. The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ He heard this and said, ‘Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners” ’ ” (Mt 9: 10–13).

Continue reading Cardinal Joseph Tobin’s latest newsletter.