The last twelve months examined the spirituality of canon law and the ten principles that led to the 1983 Code of Canon Law. Today’s post marks the beginning of another major phase of my weekly posts: themes on the theology of innovation, statistical data and pastoral planning, centralisation and pastoral effectiveness and sustainability, and the remuneration of priests. Today’s post begins the discussion on the theology of innovation.
To innovate is “to bring something new to the environment”. The purpose of innovation is to solve problems, to improve the current situation, or to present a better future. When innovation is mentioned, the economic and technological dimensions often come to the fore. Here, innovation is the process of translating an idea or an invention into a good or service that creates value, driving progress in technology, business, or society.
The purpose here is to improve efficiency, solve new problems or create new markets. Innovation differs from an invention because an invention concerns creating something new, while innovation entails applying and commercialising an invention to add value to society. As Ndubuisi Ekekwe puts it mathematically: Innovation = Invention + commercialisation.
Among the several types of innovation are process innovation, which develops and implements new or improved processes and methods within an institution to drive improvements, optimise operations, reduce costs, increase productivity, and deliver better outcomes. Innovation is disruptive if it creates new value that displaces existing market leaders (e.g., smartphones, artificial intelligence, and Netflix, which disrupted the video rental market). These secular distinctions are helpful analogies, but they require theological purification before application to ecclesial life.
No doubt, the term ‘innovation’ often provokes unease in ecclesial contexts. For some, it signals creativity and missionary renewal; for others, it connotes doctrinal change and loss of Catholic identity. However, the term has also appeared in Church documents. In his address to the Diocese of Albano, Pope John Paul II maintains that evangelisation must be their “constant priority commitment” as secularism and dechristianisation require taking “courageous action, accompanied by innovation, clear analysis and trust in the power of the Holy Spirit”. As the Pontifical Council for Culture asserts, “Popular piety is evidence of the osmosis that takes place between the innovative power of the Gospel and the deepest levels of a culture” (Towards A Pastoral Approach To Culture, 28).
The theology of innovation (in Christianity) is a theological reflection on human creativity and newness as participation in God’s ongoing creative and redemptive work, guided by the Holy Spirit, rooted in scripture and tradition, and oriented towards the mission of the Church and the salvation of souls
It treats innovation as a moral, spiritual, and God-related activity rather than merely a technical or economic one. It asks how innovative action is faithful to divine revelation and canonical norms while responding creatively to new historical, cultural, socioeconomic, and political situations that affect pastoral life and the Church’s evangelical activity. The goal of the theology of innovation corresponds to the mission and goal of the Church, namely, the holistic (temporal and spiritual) salvation of souls (John 10:10).
The theology of innovation differs subtly from innovation theology, though there is no standard distinction in magisterial sources. Innovation theology is a theology arising from human creativity, technology and progress. In contrast, the theology of innovation applies theological principles to evaluate or direct renewal or development in the Church’s life, society or practice. It examines theological principles and interprets changes within them.
My weekly post is titled ‘existential theology’, because I adopt a new existential (different from existentialism) approach to theology, which critically appropriates elements of physical sciences, technology, social sciences, arts, humanities, law, and culture for the purpose of expounding Catholic doctrine in terms appreciable to contemporary society. Jesus Christ was the first to adopt this approach to salvation because, in his teachings, miracles, and other actions, he used verbal and nonverbal expressions understandable to the society in which he lived. The theology of innovation aligns with this existential approach because it is also interdisciplinary and has the same purpose: the holistic salvation of souls.
As will be seen in the coming weeks, God is concerned with making things new, and Jesus revealed the radical newness of God’s kingdom. In fact, the founding of Christianity was transformative and, in a sense, disruptive because it has historically and continues to challenge established power structures, social hierarchies, cultural norms, and natural human behaviours by promoting radical equality, prioritising the marginalised, emphasising forgiveness, and demanding personal transformation. In some cases, it has grown to the point of displacing pre-existing religions and cultures. As the Second Vatican Council teaches, the Church does not destroy what is true and holy in cultures and religions, but “purifies, elevates, and perfects” them (Lumen Gentium, 17; Ad Gentes, 9). Hence, the Church is always “new” (2 Cor 5:17, Rev 21:5), evangelising and seeking conversion without rupturing tradition.
The gospels are dotted with proofs of Jesus’ transformative action. Jesus said: “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, Do not resist one who is evil. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also…Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matt 5:38-39, 44).
Against the prevailing custom, Jesus elevated the status of women by deciding to be born of a woman, by teaching women directly and publicly (John 4:1-42), having them as disciples and financiers (Luke 8: 1-3; 10:39), defending their rights (Luke 7:36-50; John 8:1-11), and making them the first witnesses of his resurrection (John 20:11-18). Jesus also challenged the status quo by associating with tax collectors, sinners, social outcasts (deemed unclean), and foreigners. Jesus further insisted on carrying out good works on the Sabbath rather than let people suffer because of it (Luke 13:11-17).
Innovation emerges through synodality, charisms, and pastoral experimentation, guided by ecclesial discernment. Although Jesus’ actions were sometimes transformative, his coming was not to abolish the law and the prophets but to fulfil them (Matt 5:17). St. John Newman, in “An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine,” argues that doctrines are not entirely new inventions but are implicit in the original deposit of faith, unfolding through history.
Hence, authentic innovation is development and deepening rather than rupture from tradition or reform detached from revelation and the deposit of faith. It is creative fidelity, arising from the action of the Holy Spirit who renews without negating tradition.
Authentic innovation is not driven by technocratic ideology, novelty (change for its own sake), relativism, adaptation alone (mere pragmatism), efficiency, or popularity, but by the truth of the Gospel and the promotion of the holistic salvation of souls. It is not personal creativity detached from ecclesiastical communion, and does not change doctrines or disregard canonical discipline. Instead, it discerns, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and in obedience to ecclesiastical authority, how the Gospel can be more effectively proclaimed, sacraments celebrated more fruitfully, and the ecclesial community administered more effectively in concrete pastoral situations. Obedience is not the enemy of creativity.
Hence, Pope Francis emphasises that the task of evangelisation requires one to “communicate more effectively the truth of the Gospel in a specific context, without renouncing the truth…a missionary heart…never closes itself off, never retreats into its own security, never opts for rigidity and defensiveness. It realises that it has to grow in its own understanding of the Gospel and in discerning the paths of the Spirit” (Evangelii Gaudium, 45).
He further maintains that, “The unified and complete sense of human life that the Gospel proposes is the best remedy for the ills of our cities, even though we have to realise that a uniform and rigid program of evangelisation is not suited to this complex reality” (Evangelii Gaudium, 75). Therefore, as Pope John Paul II teaches, priestly formation aims to shape pastors capable of reading the signs of the times in the light of faith, while remaining firmly rooted in the Church’s tradition (Pastores Dabo Vobis, 5; 57).
This is why the Holy Spirit is the principal agent of authentic innovation, guiding the People of God to deeper insights into divine revelation while faithfully preserving the deposit of faith.
Indeed, truth without creativity becomes sterile, but innovation without truth, as discerned by the Magisterium, becomes ideology.
Next week’s post examines innovation as participating in God’s creative work, and the following week will discuss the Holy Spirit as the principal agent of authentic innovation. The risks and limits of innovation will be discussed in the coming weeks.
K’ọdị🙋🏾♂️
