The Crucifixion of Charisms
Cardinal Ouellet - In a significant address at the International Convention titled "Man-Woman Image of God," His Eminence Cardinal Marc Ouellet delivered a powerful introduction in the presence of Pope Francis. The Cardinal's speech is notable for its frank and respectful appeal regarding the state of charismatic movements within the Church today.
While expressing deep gratitude for the Pope's leadership, Cardinal Ouellet also voiced a crucial concern: that the necessary and healthy response to the abuse crisis must not lead to a climate of generalized suspicion that stifles the Holy Spirit's work in new communities and movements. His words are a compelling call for balance, authentic dialogue, and a synodal approach to integrating these vital charisms into the life of the Church. We present here the full text of his insightful and timely address.
Cardinal Ouellet - Good morning, Holy Father. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to this symposium.
Beloved Pope Francis, on behalf of all those present and those following online, I greet you and thank you from my heart for being Peter in our midst and for accepting Christ's call to govern His Church. Peace to you, Holy Father, and peace to the People of God on their journey. May the grace of the Lord be our light and our strength.
A famous theologian once joked that there are two categories of canonized saints: those whom the Church asks God to canonize, and those whom the Lord sends to reform it—who are not recognized until after their own form of crucifixion. If this distinction were applicable to popes, do you know to which category you would belong?
Holy Father, it is no coincidence that I allude to your unique Petrine charism. You come from the charismatic sphere of the Church and thus experience, to a certain extent, the fate reserved for charisms, even in our own time.
The Second Vatican Council marked a true liberation in this area, and we have seen a multitude of varied charisms flourish in recent decades. However, the mindset of many, and even canon law, have not yet fully responded to this sign of the times, which has had sad consequences for vocations. The tragedy of the abuse crisis has provoked a healthy reaction within the Church, one of vigilance and a correction of course. We must rejoice in this. This means exercising severity to curb such crimes and remaining vigilant in our commitment to create safe environments for all.
However, in reacting to this tragedy, we must avoid generalizations that cast a shadow of suspicion on so many positive charismatic realities—movements, communities, and associations—that are now viewed with mistrust and subjected to excessive controls.
I appeal to Your Holiness, and to all your delegates responsible for the accompaniment of charisms, to ensure there are authentic dialogues and mechanisms for the peaceful resolution of disagreements in the application of new regulations. These are necessary to safeguard the precious gift of vocations originating in these charismatic environments. We must avoid a rigid application of the law that is detrimental to the diversity of charisms, which can sometimes cause misunderstanding, bitterness, and even scandal.
Beloved Holy Father, from the very beginning of this vocational initiative more than three years ago, you have shown your firm encouragement, even offering to participate in this symposium on the anthropology of vocations, just as you did for the one on the priesthood in February 2022. We need your Petrine, Ignatian, and Franciscan charism to guide this assembly toward missionary and synodal objectives suited to our change of epoch. Thank you for offering us your words of guidance and pastoral wisdom.
The theme, "Man and Woman, Image of God," was chosen to reflect on the anthropological foundations of life as a vocation. We hope this fosters a renewed embrace of the truths that constitute our human and baptismal identity.
As Christians, we are conscious of bearing witness to the world of a filial and fraternal grace—a grace destined for all, which we wish to share with everyone. In the spirit of the Abu Dhabi Declaration and the encyclical Fratelli Tutti, Your Holiness has made the theme of universal fraternity a path for proclaiming Jesus Christ: the only-begotten Son of the Father and, therefore, the universal brother to all, without exception.
We share this missionary approach and offer our humble testimony in environments that are often secularized and hostile. Yet this situation, far from causing us to surrender, spurs us on to express our passion for the Gospel.
Dear Holy Father, under your enlightened and courageous pastoral guidance, we gather here in a synodal spirit. We seek to be, together with you, a Church of listening and proclamation for our world that thirsts for peace.
While listening to the anthropological challenges of today, we will also listen to the Word of God. We will seek to attune our lives and our culture to the vocation of divine likeness that we receive from the Holy Spirit through the Word and the witness of Christian tradition.
We invoke the intercession of the Mother of Mercy, asking that this work of research and sharing will foster a new vocational culture—one that is attentive to charisms and committed to their integration into the synodal and missionary reform of the Church.
Thank you very much, Holy Father.