Presented by the Cardinal Archbishop of Vienna- Simple like a ‘Good Evening’
The evening of 13 March 2013, the first words of the newly-elected
Pope Francis to the people gathered in St Peter’s Square and throughout the
world were: “Buona sera” — “Good evening”.
The language and style of Pope
Francis’ new text are as simple as this greeting. The Exhortation is not quite
as brief as this simple salutation, but is similarly close to reality. In these
200 pages Pope Francis speaks about “love in the family”, and does so in such a
concrete and simple way, with words that warm the heart like that good evening
of 13 March 2013. This is his style, and it is his hope that aspects of life
are spoken about in the most concrete way possible, especially with regard to
the family, one of the most elementary realities of life.
It must be said that the documents of the Church often do not
belong to one of the most accessible literary genres. This text of the Pope’s
is readable, and those who are not dissuaded by its length will find joy in its
concreteness and realism. Pope Francis speaks about families with a clarity
that is not easy to find in the magisterial documents of the Church.