Sacramento-logic of Pope Francis

Abstract

The teaching of Pope Francis does not seem to provide a coherent and comprehensive discourse on the sacraments. Yet, a study of his texts leaves the reader with no doubt that the sacramental reflection is strongly present throughout his work. Though it is a presence that is often implicit, it seems to pervade and lead the Pope’s reflection in a number of various areas, becoming a keystone of the fundamental Christian truths. For that reason, we find it more appropriate to refer to a certain logic that underlies the Pope’s teaching rather than to sacramentology, which directly refers to the reflection on the sacraments of the Church. This paper aims to present the sacramental logic that is present in Pope Francis’s teaching and show the way in which he grasps the most profound nature of the sacraments and combines that understanding with the doctrine in its entirety.