To mark the tenth anniversary of Pope Francis’s pontificate, here is a helpful and reader-friendly digest of ten of his most important documents. This volume offers condensed presentations of ten pivotal documents by Pope Francis, aiming faithfully to capture the central insights of the papal documents and communicate them in ordinary language. The contents include: Lumen Fidei (The Light of Faith, 2013) ? Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel, 2013) ? Misericordiae Vultus (The Face of Mercy, 2015) ? Laudato S í (On Care for Our Common Home, 2015) ? Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love, 2016) ? Gaudete et Exsultate (On the Call to Holiness in Today’s World, 2016) ? Christus Vivit (Christ Is Alive, 2019) ? Querida Amazonia (Beloved Amazon, 2020) ? Fratelli Tutti (On Fraternity and Social Friendship, 2020) ? Desiderio Desideravi (The Liturgical Formation of the People of God, 2022). "Kroeger provides a wonderful avenue for "Catholics in the pews" (and others) to access the inspiring thought and vision of Pope Francis. In his synthesis of ten documents, Kroeger has faithfully captured the main points and phrases in this shortened and accessible format. We thank him for opening up the treasure of Pope Francis for a broader audience ."-- Roger Schroeder, SVD, Louis J. Luzbetak, SVD, Professor of Mission and Culture, Catholic Theological Union in Chicago RELIGION / Christianity / Catholic RELIGION / Christian Ministry / Pastoral Resources WALKING WITH POPE FRANCIS The Official Documents in Everyday Language James H. Kroeger, MM Foreword by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle ORBIS LOGO ISBN 978-1-62698-513-1 Cover design: Pone Sheehan. James H. Kroeger, MM, is a Maryknoll priest with a doctorate in missiology from Rome. A longtime professor of mission theology at the Loyola School of Theology and East Asian Pastoral Institute in Manila, the Philippines, he has written or edited more than thirty books, including three Orbis titles: Once Upon a Time in Asia, Living Mission , and The Gift of Mission . Introduction Sister Nathalie Becquart Synodality According to Pope Francis: A Call from God, an Open Path, a Moving Thought This book is a kind of compendium of Pope Francis’s reflections on synodality. It contains all his main texts and statements on synodality since the beginning of his pontificate. These documents, of different styles, include letters or speeches addressed to all or, more specifically, to local churches (Germany, Chile . . .) or particular groups (bishops, theologians . . .) as well as excerpts from documents of the magisterium (encyclicals). It also includes speeches delivered during the various synods of bishops (Synod on the Family in 2014 and 2015, Synod on Youth in 2018, Synod on the Amazon in 2019, current Synod on Synodality) with excerpts of postsynodal exhortations (Christus Vivit, Querida Amazonia), homilies or words delivered during various meetings, general or private audiences, and interviews. All of this corpus allows us to delve into Pope Francis’s rich thought on synodality, of which he has made a central plank of his pontificate, beginning with his election and his appearance on the balcony, with his way of relating immediately to the people there in St. Peter’s Square. The choice to organize these texts in chronological order rather than by theme allows us to grasp how the harmonies of synodality unfold over time and circumstances through the events—particularly the Synods of Bishops—and the many meetings, audiences, and trips that dot the life of the Supreme Pontiff. A careful reading of all these passages on synodality, which this book has the merit of bringing together, makes us perceive that Pope Francis’s thought is a thought in motion that unfolds and xii Introduction deepens over time through successive synodal experiences. In the image of synodality, which is a dynamic vision of the church as the People of God on a journey through history, the pope’s thought is an open thought, anchored in reality and experience, a dynamic thought that is never closed because it is a thought of discernment, an embodied thought that takes reality into account. The four basic principles that underlie the approach to synodality, as stated by Pope Francis in Evangelii Gaudium, are (1) “Time is greater than space”; (2) “Unity prevails over conflict”; (3) “Realites are more important than ideas”; (4) “The whole is greater than the part.”1 The Pope of Synodality The recurrence of the theme of synodality in the official speeches and writings of Pope Francis reflects the importance of this synodal dynamic for Pope Francis, who could be described as the pope of synodality, so much so that he highlights this constitutive dimension of the church by emphasizing its roots and implications for the concrete life of the church today. For him, synodality is first of all a call from God; it i