Francis and the ‘Bread of Life’ discourse. Grave omissions and novel interpretations

Last August, Francis commented on the famous ‘Bread of Life’ discourse narrated in the sixth chapter of the Gospel of Saint John.

The rich theological substance of this passage has always nourished the faith of Eucharistic adorers and inspired a greater understanding of the immense gift that Christ left us in the Sacrament of the Altar. Moreover, the profundity of these words of Christ was the point of departure for essential doctrinal considerations regarding the Eucharist. The unanimous consideration of this pronouncement as a prefigure of the Sacrament of the Altar, generated a treasury of commentaries made by popes, saints and doctors of the Church, founded on the clear and captivating words of Jesus: ‘I am the bread of life come down from heaven.’

The Protestants, on the other hand, make all kinds of efforts to interpret the words proclaimed by our Redeemer in the synagogue of Capharnaum as a…