From time to time, Vatican officials are accused of living in a bubble, detached from the complex and sometimes harsh realities facing ordinary people. However accurate that may be in individual cases, it’s certainly not the story of Brazilian Archbishop Joao Braz de Aviz, 64, appointed in January as the new prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.
In a recent interview with the prestigious Italian journal 30 Giorni, Braz, who’s very close to the Focolare movement and its spirituality of unity, spoke about his upbringing as well as the challenges he faces as the Vatican’s point man for religious life. The interview was conducted by veteran journalist Gianni Valente.
With striking candor, Braz refers to a breakdown in trust between the Vatican and many religious orders because of “some positions taken previously.” The reference is to his predecessor, Slovenian Cardinal Franc Rode, who repeatedly decried a “crisis” in religious life following the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), related in part to what Rode regarded as excessively liberalizing currents in some communities.
Without denying that there are problems, Braz said, his main aim is to “rebuild trust” by approaching issues in a new way – “without preemptive condemnations,” he said, “and by listening to people’s concerns.”
Read a translation of the interview with Archbishop Joao Braz de Aviz, the Vatican’s point man for religious life
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- Image: Catholic Herald