“The theologian who is satisfied with his complete and conclusive thought is mediocre”. This is according to Pope Francis who recalled, in his Apostolic Constitution “Veritatis Gaudium”, that theology, like philosophy, “is done with an open mind and on one’s knees”: “The good theologian and philosopher – Pope Francis explained – has an open, that is, an incomplete, thought, always open to the maius of God and of the truth, always in development”. For Pope Francis, there are four “fundamental criteria for a renewal and revival of the contribution of ecclesiastical studies to a Church of missionary outreach”. The first is “contemplation” of the mystery, which implies the need to “experience the Church as a ‘mystique’ of living together”, that is to say, to allow “our hearts and minds to heed the cry of the earth’s poor, and to give concrete expression to the social dimension of evangelization, which is an integral part of the Church’s mission”. The second guiding criterion is “wide-ranging dialogue”: “Not as a mere tactical approach – the Pope explained -, but as an intrinsic requirement for experiencing in community the joy of the Truth and appreciating more fully its meaning and practical implications” through a “culture of encounter” based on a reciprocal exchange between different cultures. Hence the need to “review” also “academic curricula”. The third criterion is “offering, through the various programmes proposed by ecclesiastical studies, a variety of disciplines”, not just “within the system of ecclesiastical studies: by ensuring cohesion together with flexibility, and organicity together with dynamism”; but also “in relation to the fragmented and often disintegrated panorama of contemporary university studies and to the pluralism – uncertain, conflicting and relativistic – of current beliefs and cultural options”.