Monday, November 11, 2024

Memoirs and dialogue volumes: A pope and his stories

 

For the Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges, paradise is a kind of library - surrounded by books and the many worlds that readers experience through literature. 

The reigning head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, takes a similar view. For him, "literature and art are life", writes the Jesuit Antonio Spadaro in an article for the Italian newspaper "La Repubblica" about the letter published in the summer on the importance of literature in education

The Pope's letter is a ten-page essay, divided into forty-four fragments and published in eight languages, in which he reflects on what literature is, why reading is important and the relationship between poetry and religion, ultimately coming to the conclusion that poets and priests are - more or less - concerned with the same things.

Quite a few observers have described it as a declaration of love for literature

In it, the Pope criticises the "serious intellectual and spiritual impoverishment of future priests" because literature does not occupy an appropriate place in their training

Among those to whom Francis refers, in addition to the aforementioned Borges, are T. S. Eliot, Marcel Proust and the Jesuit and undoubtedly one of the greatest and most eloquent Catholic theologians of the 20th century, Karl Rahner. Francis' essay ends with a thought by the Jewish poet Paul Celan: "He who truly learns to see, approaches the invisible."

Approaching the invisible: for Francis, literature, poetry and art are a way to achieve this. 

However, the pontiff is not only eloquent, he lives it and loves literature and art. Spadaro describes Francis as a man for whom poetry and artistic expression are an integral part of his spirituality and pastoral care. He himself, Pope Francis, is not only a reader, but also a storyteller. 

This is also demonstrated by his autobiography "Spera" (German: "Hope"), which was recently announced at the Frankfurt Book Fair

It is due to be published simultaneously in 80 countries at the beginning of January next year. 

This autobiography differs from the one published in March in that it does not just consist of the recordings of several conversations. 

The pontiff began work on the new book together with Carlo Musso, the former editorial director of the non-fiction division of the oldest Milanese publishing house Sperling & Kupfer, in March 2019 and only recently completed it. 

At Pope Francis' request, publication was originally not planned until after his death, but the ecclesiastical anniversary of the Holy Year 2025 and - as the publisher's website puts it - "the needs of our time" prompted the Argentinian to make the book available as soon as possible.

Remembering good and bad things

The book "Life - My Story in History", which he wrote together with Italian television journalist Fabio Marchese Ragona and which consists of several interviews , was published in March 2024

In it, important stages of recent history are traced using the Pope's memories. These include the fall of the Berlin Wall, General Jorge Rafael Videla's coup in Argentina, the moon landing in 1969 and the 1986 Football World Cup. 

In this context, Francis recalled his Argentinian compatriot Diego Maradona, who scored the legendary goal against the English national team, which later became world-famous because Maradona described it as having been scored with the "hand of God".

Shortly afterwards, the Pope explained why he had written such a book: among other things, he had written it for young people so that they would not repeat the mistakes of the past. Because when you reach a certain age, it is important to remember the good and the bad things in your own life.

"It's an exercise in discernment that we should all do before it's too late," advises Francis. This is particularly reminiscent of the recently published book by the well-known Czech priest and religious philosopher Tomas Halik"Dream of a New Tomorrow", in which he outlines the ideal of a pope with a special missiona spiritual companion and servant of all those seeking within the Church or beyond its visible boundarieswho tries to help with his experience and his friendly wisdom.

Pope Francis already seems to exemplify this ideal to a certain extent, above all through his approach, which includes the large number of publications in which he himself appears as an author and - unlike the popes before him - provides insights into his thinking and life. 

John Paul II, on the other hand, made his mark with volumes of poetry, Benedict XVI with his three-part theological work on Jesus of Nazareth and several volumes of interviews with the journalist Peter Seewald. 

Francis has given and continues to give interviews in various media. However, the pontiff's publishing activities cover a wide range of topics: In addition to papal letters, which all popes publish as part of their "work", there are also books written by Francis - usually with co-authors - on topics such as corruption, migration, economics and faith, such as the one on the importance of mercy ("The Name of God is Mercy") in 2016 or on young people and their role in the Church and society ("God is Young") in 2018, followed in 2020 by reflections on the world after the corona pandemic ("Dare to Dream"). 

In between, volumes such as "Our Father" (2018) on the prayer of Jesus, "Ave Maria" (2019) on the mystery of the Blessed Mother and "I believe" (2020), in which the pontiff reinterprets important questions of faith.

However, Francis provides the most exciting insights in interview books such as "Life" or the interview book "El sucesor" (The Successor) with the journalist Javier Martínez-Brocal, which was initially only published in Spanish. 

In it, the Pope commented on controversial Vatican topics such as a conspiracy in the Roman Curia or the rift with his former private secretary Georg Gänswein. Particularly interesting was the information on the conclaves of 2005 and 2013, about which the head of the church was able to speak openly and without the threat of church penalties.

In the book with Martínez-Brocal, he spoke openly about the then head of the Vatican's liturgy department, Cardinal Robert Sarah, and his role in the Vatican, as well as about Gänswein's memoirs and the timing of their publication. 

The relationship with his predecessor Benedict XVI was also discussed in "El sucesor". In addition to other topics such as the end of the powerful private secretaries, the simplification of the Pope's funeral and the fuss surrounding the blessing document "Fiducia supplicans", the Pontiff also commented on a possible resignation.

A book about women

As the Pope has recently shown with his trip to Asia and the second session of the World Synod, a resignation still seems a long way off. 

Instead, the Pope continues to publish diligently - in addition to the memoirs about the early years of the 20th century announced for January with the story of his Italian roots and the adventure of his ancestors emigrating to South America, he published a book about women, "Sei unica" (German: "You are unique"), before the start of the World Synod.

In it, he gave voice to famous female writers, philosophers, artists and other female personalities such as Jane Austen, Hannah Arendt, Agatha Christie, Emily Dickinson, Frida Kahlo, Anne Frank and Virginia Woolf, for example, to emphasise that the world would be a better place in the hands of women. "It is important that your voice is heard more, that it carries more weight. Your authority must be recognised," writes the Pope.

Women will judge whether the book is convincing and authentic enough in light of the current debates surrounding women's issues

A possible extension of decisions such as the diaconate for women could throw a spanner in the works. 

But one thing is certain: the new memoirs may bring revelations and previously unpublished stories, but his appearance in public will make Francis a pope whose name will not be forgotten - above all because of his media presence and his rather unconventional communication style, which is likely to be more or less successful at times.