Pastoral Aspects of Pope Francis’ Four Rules

Abstract

Pope Francis in exhortation Evangelii gaudium names four rules managing the development of community life and peacebuilding. He names them as evangelical criteria as well. He formulates them in the following way: the first rule – time exceeds space; the second one – unity predominates over conflict; the third one – reality is more important than idea; the fourth one – whole exceeds part. Pastoral look at these rules opens new horizons for theological analyses which may be translated into practical solutions, so essential for modern evangelization of the world.