He also warned against several temptations that are false visions of the missionary spirit.
He said clericalism, an excessive lay dependence on or privileging of priests, is "a temptation very present in Latin America."
"The phenomenon of clericalism explains, in great part, the lack of maturity and Christian freedom in a good part of the Latin American laity," he said.
Both laity and priests take refuge in clericalism "because it is easier," he lamented. This causes some Catholics to fail to grow in Christian life or to take refuge in ideology.
The Pope warned against turning the message of the Gospel into an "ideology," whether it is "market liberalism" or Marxism.
He said the psychology-focused tendencies of some spirituality courses and spiritual retreats reduce the encounter with Jesus Christ to "self-awareness," a "self-centered approach" that "has nothing to do with the missionary spirit." He mentioned the new age practice of the Enneagram as one example.
He criticized the "gnostic solution" of elite groups of "enlightened Catholics" who offer a "higher spirituality." He said some advocates of ordaining nuns to the priesthood or of giving communion to the divorced and remarried fall into this error.
He also warned against the "Pelagian solution" that seeks a "purely disciplinary solution" through "the restoration of outdated manners and forms which, even on the cultural level, are no longer meaningful."
Repeating his previous criticisms, he warned against reducing the Church to "the structure of an NGO" focused on quantifiable results, statistics, and a business-like organization. He said some bishops' conferences open more and more departments that do not help the mission of Church.
Concerning the inner renewal of the Church, Pope Francis stressed the need for "pastoral conversion" focused on "Jesus Christ as the bearer of God's Kingdom" and trust in the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
He posed many questions to the bishops for their own self-examination.
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He said bishops should ask whether they and their priests are working to ensure that their work is "more pastoral than administrative" and whether they serve "the People of God as a whole" rather than "the Church as an organization."
He asked the bishops to examine whether they "manipulate" or "infantilize" the laity.
"In practice, do we make the lay faithful sharers in the mission?" he asked.
He said bishops should not simply react to complex problems, but should promote opportunities to "manifest God's mercy."
The Pope concluded with an exhortation: "I beg that we take seriously our calling as servants of the holy and faithful people of God, for this is where authority is exercised and demonstrated: in the ability to serve."
Pope Francis addressed the bishops hours after celebrating Sunday Mass for millions of World Youth Day pilgrims gathered on Rio's Copacabana Beach.