b'POPE FRANCISS DISTINCT AGENDA EXPRESSED THROUGH IMAGES OF THE CHURCHPope Francis frequently reaffirms traditional church teachings, including those of all recent popes. He has a distinct agenda, however, when it comes to matters of tone and emphasis. Vatican II offered a fresh approach to understanding the church with a renewed emphasis on the local community and the role of the bishop in the diocese. Later, Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI judged that the pace of change after the council had been too rapid and that pressures for more rapid and radical changes regarding authority, the role of women, and sexual morality should be resisted. They put a counterbalancing stress on centralization and uniformity within the church universal. In Evangelii gaudium, Pope Francis explicitly expresses his preference for decentralization in matters of papal authority. When it comes to the organization of the Catholic Church in relation to evangelization, he stresses not only the diocese but even more so the parish. He describes the parish as a community of communities, a sanctuary where the thirsty come to drink in the midst of their journey, and a centre of constant missionary outreach (EG 28). He praises also basic communities and small communities, movements, and forms of association, although he urges them not to lose contact with the rich reality of the local parish (EG 29). Pope Francis ultimately tries to find the proper balance between the local and global when it comes to centers of power within the Catholic Church (EG 234). He wants the basic structures of the church as well as church officials to be open to change in order to serve the needs of the people.When it comes to images and phrases used to generalize about the church, Pope Francis displays his own ecclesial preferences. Lumen gentium (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church) viewed the church as a mystery that could be best grasped through the use of images and symbols drawn from Scripture. After 20 AspireVolume 1//Winter 2020 Subscribe today! smp.org/aspire'