For many in the Church, Pope Francis’s time has been like a deluge, with so many videos, audios, documents, pastoral visits, homilies, and gestures. It’s possible that many Catholics have watched these years pass by like a speeding train, with surprise, astonishment, and no small amount of uncertainty, unsure of what lay ahead. They began by taking note, as if observing a collection of objects, first of the most obvious changes: the color of his vestments, his old black shoes, his friendly voice, his cordial tone, his approachable words, his smiles. And little by little, they recognized the young people around him, and not without surprise, they heard his “Make a mess…”

The fact is that after the meetings and visits, what remains are the memories of Francis washing the feet of prisoners, sharing meals with the homeless, his constant plea since his first visit to Lampedusa for the care of migrants, and his concern for our common home. Little by little, these powerful images begin to demand meaning, to be intertwined with a different way of living the faith—a dream for some, and for others, unknown.

This thirst for knowledge, for full access to his legacy, for understanding his place within the entire history of the Church, and for recognition of Pope Leo XIV is entirely understandable and must be addressed and quenched. Because each person brings with them a lived experience and a personal connection to the Church that has left its mark on their membership, or lack thereof, in our Catholic Church, on a journey that is sometimes erratic, sometimes decisive. Francis is a landmark in our culture and leaves us with as many questions as this time of change we are experiencing.

The Church allows us to envision a world with continuities and, at the same time, a new era, carried by the wind that energizes the Holy Spirit. For the Spirit always blows and changes the face of the earth. Despite the role of global powers, technocracy, climate change, and the reconfiguration of personal and social identities in the present, we know that God does not forget his creation, and this fills us with immense hope.

And we must strengthen them, so as not to fall into naiveté or folly. For this reason,  Lumen Gentium  has been teaching us lay people, for over sixty years now, to be the People of God, to recognize ourselves as leaven, to be citizens of Heaven but immersed in the world, because that is where our task lies. And today its relevance, its call, is fully valid.

As before, we must go without taking anything, but that is why we have the task of forming ourselves. Forming ourselves to be what our God of Love asks of us. That is why we need to prepare ourselves to go forth. We must know the Social Thought of the Church, recognize the principles of its Social Doctrine, recognize that our faith has a first movement, as Father Gustavo Gutiérrez said, that begins with our feet. Our faith becomes mission in the territories where needs, injustices, poverty, and pain cry out. The earth cries out, uttering cries of pain, and there our calling is inscribed.

Master’s and Diploma in the Social Thought of the Church

Responding to this call, we at CLAdeES, the Latin American Center for Social Evangelization, have undertaken the task of providing training. From and for Latin America, we have developed a Master’s degree and a Diploma in Social Thought of the Church. Although the programs are similar, one is a postgraduate university program (requiring a Bachelor’s degree) and the other is an undergraduate program, meaning that anyone with a high school diploma is eligible to enroll. Both courses are offered online through the Catholic University of Cuyo in Argentina. Both programs have been approved by the Argentine Ministry of Education and by CONEAU, the accrediting body that guarantees the quality of higher education. Those interested can find more information and contact details on our website: Cladees.org.

That we may understand and reveal ourselves as faithful servants, awake to the Father’s call and ready to give him our hands, such is our request.

María Antonieta Teodosio

(*) President of CLAdeES. Master’s in Communication

Application Form