The legacy of Martini in the Church of Pope Francis

“The first anniversary of the death of Carlo Maria Martini falls on August 31st: twelve months that have renewed the history of the Church in a totally unforeseeable way”. These are the opening words of Fr Giacomo Costa’s editorial in the August-September issue of the review Aggiornamenti sociali.

Fr Costa first takes note of the significant signs of the ‘repositioning of the Church’ attributable to Bergoglio in these months as Pontiff. In this the Pope is helped by his ecclesial perspective, which naturally is not eurocentric. Fr Costa then interprets Martini’s legacy as a patrimony of the universal Church, one that is “able to help us read the signs of the times in this phase of the life of the Church”.

The legacy in question can be equated with what one could call the ‘Martini method’, which consists in two fundamental lines of approach that are closely intertwined. These are dialogue with the Word as a condition for making sense of the events we live through, and dialogue with consciences as the royal road in the search for truth and in respect for the dignity of others.

Read the editorial of Giacomo Costa SJ in Aggiornamenti Sociali.