Gregory Beabout is Romano Guardini Chair in Catholic Thought and Culture and Professor in the Department of Philosophy at St. Louis University.
Rather than emphasizing the church as a sacramental reality imbued with the presence of God, or a conception of the church as a pilgrim people, Pope Francis voiced a preference for the church as a field hospital with a battlefield task: Heal the wounds! Start from the ground up. Encounter those on the margins. Accompany those who feel left out.
Date posted: 2025-05-03