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Pope Francis places priority on evangelization

Elizabeth A. Elliott | Catholic Herald Staff Writer

Archbishop Christophe Pierre (left), apostolic nuncio to the United States, speaks to John Carr, director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University, and Kenneth Hackett, former U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See, about the first four years of Pope Francis’ papacy March 27. Elizabeth A. Elliott | Catholic Herald

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Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United
States, addressed more than 300 people at Georgetown University March 27 about
the first four years of Pope Francis’ papacy.

John Carr, director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought
and Public Life at Georgetown University, moderated the event. He asked Archbishop
Pierre how to make a case for the priorities the pope seems to have for peace, the
poor and creation.

Archbishop Pierre said the pope’s first priority is to
evangelize. He doesn’t work like a typical political leader, the archbishop
said.

“The pope is the leader of the Catholic Church and wants the church
to be faithful to its mission to evangelize,” he said. “He’s always asking us to
be faithful to the Gospel, give priority to the poor and respect life in all
dimensions.”

Carr asked what qualities the pope looks for in a bishop.
Archbishop Pierre joked that the identity of the figure of a bishop should be
perfect but the pope wants pastors who are first men of God and have the main
quality of being pastoral.

Archbishop Pierre’s talk was followed by a panel discussion,
which included Kim Daniels, appointed by Pope Francis to the Vatican’s Secretariat
for Communications in 2016; Maria Teresa Gaston, managing director of the
Foundations of Christian Leadership Program at the Duke Divinity School; and Kenneth
Hackett, who served as U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See from 2013 until January
2017. He previously served as CEO and president of Catholic Relief Services.

Daniels gave a numbers assessment of the Francis Factor, sharing
that 87 percent of U.S. Catholics have a favorable opinion of Pope Francis. For
those with no religious affiliation, that figure was 71 percent. It started out
at 39 percent.

“Pope Francis is reaching people who otherwise aren’t engaging
with the church,” she said. The pope is bringing Catholic teaching into the
most important public conversations by bringing attention to the poor and their
suffering, but also bringing them into the conversation.

When Carr asked the panel what needs work, Gaston said she wants
to understand the economic models that reflect the Gospel.

When people ask Hackett about the impact of the Holy Father’s
visit to the United States, he tells them, it made Catholics in the United
States and others feel good about their religion.

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