Pope Francis State of the Church Address - "Return to the essentials"

Each year the Pope gives two addresses which are read with close attention by Vatican watchers. The first is the address to the Roman Curia before Christmas (the papal "State of the Church" address) and the second is the papal address to the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See in January (the papal "State of the World" address).

Last year Pope Francis address to the Roman Curia was seen in many quarters as a scathing critique of the maladies which afflict the churches central administration; this time around the Pope (while battling a flu that kept him seated) chose to focus on "antibiotics" to fight the illnesses which, he said, remained "evident" in the ranks through 2015.

Pope Francis also urged the Roman Curia to “return to the essentials” and follow a path of gratitude, conversion, renewal, penance and reconciliation as indicated by the Year of Mercy.

Rocco's analysis and the text of the Pope's address are available here which can be summed up as focusing  on the fact that "The reform will move forward with determination, clarity and firm resolve, since Ecclesia semper reformanda [the church ever renews herself]."

John L Allen's coverage at Crux is here and here.

Vatican Radio coverage here.

 

Then when he had finished meeting with the curia, Pope Francis had an audience with the workers of the Vatican and their families.