Participation as an Instrument of Ecological and Social Transformation: Pope Francis’s Innovative Approach

Abstract

What value has Pope Francis assigned to the repeated appeal for opening spaces of “participation” so that individuals and communities can be active agents in the indispensable change required of the world and the Church? Drawing on more than 120 documents from his pontificate, this article examines how the term “participation” (already present in his predecessors) has been redefined by Francis, associating it with terms related to political and social transformation, citizenship, and harmony between humankind and nature. In the past, the concept was tied to static views of subsidiarity as a principle governing the division of tasks and the articulation of powers that regulate the “world of Caesar,” as well as the relationship of autonomy with natural society and its organizations. In Francis’s usage, the core cluster of meanings that links the term to everyone’s right—above all the most vulnerable—to be recognized for their capacity for direct intervention in identifying the most suitable solutions for enhancing dignity and improving the human and spiritual condition is enriched with new nuances. It engages the need to resist techno-bureaucratic approaches and exclusionary identity populisms, and to build new methodologies that make the active involvement of Christians in transforming the Church itself and its functioning more compelling. By analyzing the recently concluded Synod on “communion, participation, mission,” the study shows that participation has been central to Francis’s message and reforming action, centered on the fraternal and merciful figure of the Good Samaritan.