Pope Francis celebrated the 500th anniversary of the arrival of Christianity to the Philippines Sunday, urging his hearers to preach the gospel without proselytizing.
“On this very important anniversary for God’s holy people in the Philippines, I also want to urge you to persevere in the work of evangelization – not proselytism, which is something else,” the pontiff declared during his homily at Mass in Saint Peter’s Basilica celebrating the anniversary.
“The Christian proclamation that you have received needs constantly to be brought to others,” the pope said. “The Gospel message of God’s closeness cries out to be expressed in love for our brothers and sisters.”
“God desires that no one perish,” Francis continued. “For this reason, he asks the Church to care for those who are hurting and living on the fringes of life.”
“God so loves us that he gives himself to us, and the Church has this same mission,” he said. “The Church is called not to judge but to welcome; not to make demands, but to sow seeds; not to condemn, but to bring Christ who is our salvation.”
The pope has often reiterated his belief that Christians are called to proclaim the message of salvation without resorting to a hard sell or clever argumentation.
In 2019, Francis suggested that it is more important to help people to live their faith — whatever it may be — than to convince them of the truth of Christianity.
Asked by a student how a Christian should treat people of other faiths or no faith, the pope said that “we are all the same, all children of God” and that true disciples of Jesus do not proselytize.
A Christian should never try to convince others of the truth of Christianity but should simply give a testimony of consistency and wait for others to ask about the faith, he proposed.
“You must be consistent with your faith,” he said. “It never occurred to me (and nor should it) to say to a boy or a girl: ‘You are Jewish, you are Muslim: come, be converted!’ You be consistent with your faith and that consistency is what will make you mature. We are not living in the times of the crusades.”
“The last thing I should do is to try to convince an unbeliever. Never,” he said. “The last thing I should do is speak. I should live my faith with consistency. And it will be my witness that will awaken the curiosity of the other who may then ask: ‘But why do you do this?’ And yes, then I can speak.”
“But listen, the gospel is never, ever advanced through proselytism,” he continued. “If someone says he is a disciple of Jesus and comes to you with proselytism, he is not a disciple of Jesus. Proselytism is not the way; the Church does not grow by proselytism.”
In February 2020, the pope recounted his deep disappointment on meeting a young woman who was excited about having brought two people to Christianity.
“Today I felt a certain bitterness after a meeting with young people,” he said during an encounter with his fellow Jesuits in Mozambique.
“A woman approached me with a young man and a young woman,” Francis said. “I was told they were part of a slightly fundamentalist movement. She said to me in perfect Spanish: ‘Your Holiness, I am from South Africa. This boy was a Hindu and converted to Catholicism. This girl was Anglican and converted to Catholicism.’”
“But she told me in a triumphant way, as though she was showing off a hunting trophy. I felt uncomfortable and said to her, ‘Madam, evangelization yes, proselytism no,’” he said.
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