Rome Newsroom, 05 November, 2024 / 8:50 pm (ACI Africa).
Pope Francis warned against “Coca-Cola spirituality” at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome on Tuesday, where minutes earlier the rector had highlighted the witness of imprisoned-then-exiled Nicaraguan Bishop Rolando Álvarez as an example of authentic Christian courage.
Speaking at the university’s Dies Academicus celebration, the pope told faculty and students to avoid becoming “disciples of Coca-Cola spirituality,” using the metaphor to warn against superficial approaches to faith formation.
“Have you asked yourselves where you are going and why you are doing the things you are doing?” the pope challenged his audience on Nov. 4.
“It is necessary to know where one is going without losing sight of the horizon that unites each one’s path with the current and ultimate end.”
Jesuit Father Mark A. Lewis, rector of the Gregorian University, opened the event by noting that Álvarez, who studied at the university, “preaches the Gospel with courage and remains in solidarity with his priests, his flock, and all those who are deprived of their human rights.”