Currents News Staff
Pope Francis was greeted with cheers from the crowd and a welcome from Archbishop Stanislav Volensky, the president of the Slovak bishops’ conference, as he walked into the Cathedral of St. Martin to meet with clergy and other religious leaders.
The Holy Father began his speech expressing his desire to walk with the church in Slovakia.
“The Church is not a fortress, a stronghold, a lofty castle, self-sufficient and looking out upon the world below,โ Pope Francis said.
Pope Francis encouraged freedom, creativity and dialogue to keep the church from becoming self-absorbed. He even gave the clergy some practical advice to keep their homilies to 10 minutes.
“A professor I had would say that a homily should have internal coherence: an idea, an image and an emotional effect, so that people go home with an idea, an image and something that moved their heart,โ the pontiff said.