► “This encyclical, which has passed under the radar, has a future”
Father Laurent Stalla-Bourdillon,theologian and director of the Service for Information Professionals of the Diocese of Paris
Receiving an encyclical takes time. In 2015, Praised yes was part of the very specific framework of COP21 in Paris, which gave it a very strong response. However, for He loved us there was no waiting. And, unlike Brothers all, which included elements such as the question of migrants or the unity of the human family allowing entry into the document, the pope’s new encyclical on the Sacred Heart appears as an unidentified object, almost unfathomable for the French media landscape . The text seems to go under the radar, which also reflects a certain disinterest of media opinion with regard to the life of the Church. The latter should also question itself on this point. To make matters worse, the encyclical was released a few days before the end of the Synod, blurring the echo of its publication.
Furthermore, He loved us could have been disconcerting. The Pope’s last two encyclicals were very social. Pope Francis has been perceived almost more as a political leader than as a religious leader. In public opinion, people are much more interested in their social and political positions than in the spiritual considerations on which their thinking is based. With He loved us some may be surprised, even disappointed. However, by developing a meditation on human love, he summons the most important social bond. He ends with the heart of the heart: the place of love. It is very profound and it is consistent with what he has been saying since the beginning of his pontificate.
I do not believe that we can say that this encyclical is intended only for Catholics. If we take the time to read it, Pope Francis provides solutions to confront the crises of our time. In my opinion, He loved us forms a trilogy after Praised yeset Brothers all. The Pope spoke of the environmental body, unique to humanity, highlighted by ecological suffering; then of the social body, damaged by war and divisions; and now of the carnal body, where he speaks of the interiority of man. If man does not harness the power of the love that dwells within him, he will not find solutions to the suffering expressed in the first two encyclicals.
If the message of the text, calling to awaken hearts, has not yet been received, I am convinced that this encyclical has a future. The Pope emphasizes that the world can change from the heart. Love is an antidote to a world that is growing cold and numb. It is therefore up to us to appropriate this text and explain what the pope meant.
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► “There is a sort of erosion of the interest aroused by the pope”
Jean-Louis de La Vaissière,former AFP journalist, accredited to the Vatican from 2011 to 2016, author of several works on the papacy (1)
It is not surprising that this encyclical has generated so little media coverage. Over time, Pope Francis, even if he remains popular in France, is only of interest if he talks about hot topics, controversial for the Church, such as Abbot Pierre, the blessing of homosexual couples or ordination. women… Questions related to his health, to his possible resignation are also of interest, but the rest, not much. After eleven years of pontificate, there is an erosion of attention towards him. This has been the case in France since the big moment in Marseille, in September 2023, where its message was not well received by all of society, particularly on immigration.
This struck me during his trip to Asia in September. There was a lot of news in France at the same time, and this very moving trip received little media coverage. This was also the case for Belgium, apart from its comments on abortion, which shocked.
The media and French society are also largely indifferent to very religious subjects, such as the Sacred Heart. Francis’ previous encyclicals, Praised yes, talking about the environment, and All Brothers, of solidarity, had aroused great interest, by touching on sensitive subjects for the general public. In their time, the great encyclicals of John Paul II were widely followed, thanks to his charisma and his strong words. Just like those of Benedict XVI, even if they exceeded quite a few people in their theological height.
With this text on the Sacred Heart, Francis delivers a very religious encyclical, with a scent of the ancient, of popular piety, which is somewhat despised, in France, by the mainstream media. This is one of the paradoxes of this pope who loves today’s world, but also draws on tradition. We have not tried to see the depth of the mystery expressed there, namely that the contemporary world has lost its center. Speaking of the heart, Francis calls for a return to the essential, to affection, to connections… It is a message that goes against the grain of all the pseudo-values advocated today – speed, efficiency, profitability.
This pope is cultured, keen on French theologians, nourished by the rich European mystical culture. But these references are no longer shared.
I also see in this disinterest something deeper: the pope has disappointed, because he does not follow the canons of progressivism that we imagined of him. It is true that his message is paradoxical, sometimes very daring, sometimes more conservative. His very vigorous remarks against abortion, in Belgium and on the return plane, shocking the French who overwhelmingly support the inclusion of abortion in the Constitution, may have contributed to the reaction of the media: this pope would be another planet, we had bet too much on him who, like his predecessors, is only a man from the past.
(1) Francis in the storm. A Church between shadows and lights, Savior, 2017.
