The church I dream of goes out onto the field of battle—not to kill and maim on either side's behalf, but to bind up wounds.
Evangelii Gaudium
Imagine having a conversation about the gospel, and then bringing an account of this conversation to a group led by an experienced supervisor.
The United States and the Catholic Church share some intriguing similarities: both are global in reach, exert significant influence over hundreds of millions of people, and (perhaps most interestingly) make serious teleological claims. Such claims have not necessarily clashed, for they appeal to different social and moral aspects of humanity. At their best, they can be complementary empires of promise.
As Francis sees it, the joy of the gospel is rooted in an experience of God's love in Jesus. And this gospel gets people involved in the world's messiness.