On February 24 and 25, the Porto Campus of the Catholic University hosted the course “The current crisis of Christianity and the future shape of the Church,” led by Fr. José Frazão, SJ. The initiative, which took place between 6:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., was promoted in partnership with the School of Arts and UDIP - Unit for Integral Development of the Person with Brotéria.

Fr. José Frazão proposed an in-depth reading of the current crisis of Christianity, understood as the end of an era still marked by traces of the Gregorian-Tridentine form and its resistance to modernity. At the same time, he highlighted the fragile but promising signs emerging from the Second Vatican Council, challenging participants to discern the directions in which Christianity could evolve to express, in a renewed way, the power of the Gospel in the contemporary world.
Throughout the sessions, the formation program focused especially on the categories of strength, form, and style, inviting participants to think of the Church as a reality in transformation and to reflect on new languages, practices, and modes of presence that can respond to the demands of our time. We need new languages, spaces, and practices that make the Gospel truly livable: languages that are more relational than doctrinal, spaces that are closer to people's real lives, practices that arise from encounter and not just from repeating what we have always done.
 
For Carmo Themudo, UDIP Coordinator, this course “made me realize that the crisis of Christianity we are experiencing today is not just a problem to be solved, but an opportunity to rediscover the essence of the Gospel. The questions raised—about how we think, celebrate, and live Christianity—helped me recognize that many of our practices no longer speak to the sensibilities of our time. I felt that today we are called to greater truth and lightness in the way we are in the Church. Three ideas remain with me: simplicity—which gives us back our freedom; closeness—which brings us closer to the wounds of the world; and discernment—which prevents us from remaining stuck in the past or in nostalgia. This course showed me that the future form of the Church is not predetermined, but also depends on the courage of each of us to live a lifestyle that reflects the discreet and transformative power of the Gospel.”

With the participation of faculty, students, staff, and members of the wider UCP community, the course provided a space for reflection, dialogue, and critical questioning about the future of the Christian faith in a pluralistic and rapidly changing society.