Pope Francis Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Kristendommen er i rask endring og kommer til uttrykk på nye måter både sosialt og politisk. På få tiår er tyngdepunktet flyttet fra det globale nord til det globale sør. I Vest-Europa blir kirker nedlagt eller solgt. Samtidig fylles megakirker i kristendommens nye bastioner utenfor Europa. Kirkene i Midtøsten taper medlemmer når kristne forlater regionen, mens den ortodokse kirken i Russland knytter seg tettere til staten. Den største veksten av kristne skjer i Afrika. Men også i Kina og flere andre asiatiske land vokser antallet kristne, og i USA spiller kristen tro fortsatt en viktig rolle i politikken. Samtidig er katolisismen i Latin-Amerika under press fra en raskt voksende pinsebevegelse som forsterker forskyvningen av kristendommens tyngdepunkt fra nord til sør, så vel som fra de gamle etablerte kirkene til nye menigheter. Med hovedvekt på de mest folkerike landene på hvert kontinent viser forfatterne av «Global kristendom. En samtidshistorie» fram de siste tiårs endringer og diskuterer hvordan kristendom i dag kommer til uttrykk i nye politiske og sosiale sammenhenger.
Medforfattere: Vebjørn Horsfjord, Sven Thore Kloster og Gina Lende.

- by
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- Liberation Theology, Pentecostalism, Global Christianity, Catholic Charismatic Renewal
- by Lucas Briola
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- Liberation Theology, Catholic Social Teaching, Environmental Ethics, Ecology
- by Andrew Chesnut
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- Religion, Sociology of Religion, Latin American Studies, Anthropology

Abstract: This article addresses the ‘touch-event’ as a mediated affective encounter that pivots around a tension between intimacy and distance, seduction and sovereignty, investment and withdrawal. Through a rereading of the Pauline event of conversion to Christianity, it argues that an analysis of the evolving significance of touch-events for Catholic liturgy and a religious congregation shows the theopolitical as always already constituted within an economy of enfleshed virtues. Focusing on contemporary examples of touch-events from the life of Francis, the first pope from the Americas, as well as from fieldwork among a group of female Latin American Catholic migrants in Rome, I argue for a closer examination of touch-events in order to grasp some of their theopolitical, radical, emancipatory, and, in some contexts, subjugating effects.
Keywords: Atlantic Return, economies of virtues, incarnation, Pauline event, Pope Francis, sovereignty, theopolitics, touch-event

- by Valentina Napolitano
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- Latin American Studies, Media Studies, Political Anthropology, Sovereignty

Recent figures reveal that the Catholic Church is losing followers in Latin America at an accelerated rate. Contrary to pundits’ predictions, Pope Francis rather than proving popular and precipitating a proliferation in numbers of the faithful is losing support. What explains the shrinking Latin American flock? And what can the Catholic Church do to conciliate and captivate their congregants in Latin America anew?

- by Kate Kingsbury and +1
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- Latin America, Child Sexual Abuse, Catholic Church, Pope Francis

This article is a contribution to " working mothers " literature as well as an instance of grounding-verifying Amoris Laetitia's " working mother " data. Two separate semi-structured interviews were conducted with two Filipino working mothers-respondents who expressed caring behavior through mothering and working. The common thread of Care runs through the four salient themes: (1) care for the family as priority; (2) coping with stressors and frustrations; (3) practical attitudes toward work; and (4) being a working mother as tough yet rewarding. Discussion around these thematic areas hopes to provide some help in formulating pastoral programmes mandated by Amoris Laetitia. It thus pays special attention to Pope Francis' call for solidarity with troubled families today.

- by Ferdinand Dagmang and +1
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- Family, Gender and Work, Solidarity, Mothering

Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Pope Francis, Turkey

Presentación
“Sueño con una opción misionera capaz de transformarlo todo” (Evangelii Gaudium 27)
Desde el primer momento del pontificado de Francisco quedó claro que lo habían elegido para reformar la Iglesia. Él mismo lo dijo elípticamente en su primera aparición ante los periodistas a tres días de terminado el Cónclave. Refiriéndose a la elección del nombre contó que algunos cardenales le decían entre bromas: “«Pero tú deberías llamarte Adriano, porque Adriano VI fue el reformador, y hace falta reformar...»”.
Lo que tal vez no podía percibirse con claridad en ese momento es cómo sería la reforma que llevaría adelante el Papa Bergoglio. Varios eran los temas candentes, la transparencia financiera, el tratamiento de los casos de pederastia, el rol de la mujer en la Iglesia, la comunión a los divorciados en segunda unión, y tantas cuestiones más. Lo cierto es que Francisco sorprendió a propios y extraños. Sus primeros gestos mostraron claramente que muchas cosas iban a cambiar. En esa tarde noche del 13 de marzo, al rechazar los zapatos rojos, al mantener su austero pectoral, al inclinarse ante el pueblo para que lo bendiga, el Papa venido del fin del mundo inauguró una nueva etapa en la vida de la Iglesia. Desde ese momento es él mismo, con todo tipo de gestos y palabras, quien está llevando adelante una profunda reforma destinada a darle a la Iglesia un rostro más evangélico.
Durante estos pocos meses de pontificado, siempre buscó mostrarse como un pastor, muy cercano a las necesidades concretas de la gente. Eso le dio una comunicación directa con todos y encandiló a los medios de comunicación otrora tan críticos con la Iglesia. En la semana de la Jornada Mundial de la Juventud en Brasil, este “nuevo estilo” fue ungido por las multitudes y se difundió con fuerza por todo el planeta.

- by Enrique Ciro Bianchi
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- Pastoral Theology, Teologia, Teología, Iglesia

Suppose you are preacher who wants to speak a word to a polarized situation. Words take on meaning within a context and unfortunately yours is a situation divided between " right " and " left " (here meant very generally to signify the two poles of a divided society) with the result that your word will inevitably be subsumed into the narrative of one context or the other. This is unfortunate because the meaning of what you want to say is distorted when taken up into an alien context: if you speak you are bound to be misunderstood, whatever you say. Call this the preacher's dilemma. As a matter of fact, a third option is silence, but this too may be misunderstood, so it's probably more accurate to speak of a trilemma. However, this phrase is not so snappy and does not convey the tragic note that " dilemma " does, so I have decided to sacrifice pedantic accuracy in this instance. Perhaps I am caught up in the very dilemma about which I am writing. The preacher's dilemma was in my mind last week as I followed the papal visit to Myanmar and Bangladesh. Pope Francis had to decide whether or not to say the word Rohingya. He had previously shown solidarity with the Rohingya nine months ago in February calling them by their name, making clear that the Rohingya are " good people, " peaceful, and that they are unjustly persecuted. However, that word is taboo in Myanmar. The Muslims in Rakhine state are recognised neither by Myanmar nor Bangladesh, and so to refer to the stateless group is to wade into an ongoing political struggle, something that the Pope would wish to avoid. Moreover, local Catholic bishops advised him against antagonising the majority Buddhist society for fear of backlash, and the Pope would obviously regret that outcome, not only because of the harm done, but because he would aspire to work collegially, heeding local advice. On the other hand, not to use the word would upset Rohingya activists, and probably the Rohingya as a whole. In view of the attention of the world media the Pope possessed a megaphone like few others, so his words were at this moment were at a premium. Surely he should seize the opportunity for justice. What to do? If the Pope failed to speak truth to power (with the thundering volume of a Guardian editorial) that would appear an understandable betrayal. The author of the Politics once wrote that most men will what is noble but do what is expedient, and perhaps this was how western, liberal journalists framed the situation. No wonder, then, that Catholic commentators did not anticipate the visit with relish. It was planned when the de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi carried the hopes of a peaceful resolution, before the military crackdown had expelled 600,000 Rohingya. But now the situation had become notorious and the UN had spoken in terms of ethnic cleansing. So, the pope's dilemma was compared with that of Pius XII who was criticised for not speaking out strongly against the Nazis (albeit to protect the innocent). Still, Francis had tweeted that he had looked forward to the visit: there was no going back. What happened was that the Pope met the leaders of Myanmar, first the military (in a rescheduled visit on Monday) and later the Nobel Laureate. On the Tuesday he spoke up publically for the rights of all, and the need for decisive action, but to the dismay of activists, refrained from mentioning Rohingya or ethnic cleansing. Then he travelled to Bangladesh and on the Friday in Dhaka at an inter-faith gathering met twelve Rohingya including a twelve year old girl whose entire family had been murdered by the military. Unscripted, and in the midst of tears, Francis finally pronounced the word: the presence of God today is also

- by Chris S Friel
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- Journalism, Plato, Aristotle, War Studies
- by Fabio Cittadini
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- Theology, European Catholicism, Catholic Social Teaching, Catholic Theology

«¡Cómo me gustaría una Iglesia pobre y para los pobres!»
es una de las líneas esenciales que bien podría definir el
Pontificado de Francisco. Este enunciado significa que no
estamos ante una opción facultativa entre otras posibles,
sino ante una opción fundamental en la vida del cristiano
y de la Iglesia en su conjunto, pues la falta de solidaridad
para con el pobre «afecta directamente a nuestra relación
con Dios » (EG 187). El autor, en esta perspectiva de vida
eclesial y de discernimiento teológico, vislumbra los
contextos y las enseñanzas del Concilio Vaticano II sobre
el tema, recorre en el Magisterio Latinoamericano la
opción por los pobres como un componente fundamental
en la praxis de la Iglesia Latinoamericana y cómo es que,
a partir de la preocupación por los pobres y la lucha en
contra de la injusticia, podemos comprender la opción
teológico-pastoral del actual pontificado.

- by Rafael Luciani
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- Latin American Studies, Political Theology, Church History, América Latina
- by Matthew Eaton and +1
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- Catholic Social Teaching, Ecotheology (Environment), Roman Catholicism, Catholic Social Thought

Paus Franciscus en de Synode van Dordt zijn niet de meest voor de hand liggende gesprekspartners. Toch blijkt bij nadere beschouwing dat ze bepaalde zorgen delen over de relatie tussen genade en vrije wil, en dat ze beide zorgvuldig willen spreken over de bestemming van de mens. In deze bijdrage zal ik de exhortatie presenteren, en dan met name het deel dat ingaat op nieuwe vormen van pelagianisme. Daarbij zal ik ook toelichten welke rol de zaligsprekingen spelen in Franciscus' spreken over de heiliging van de gelovige. Ten tweede zal ik ingaan op de theologische achtergrond van de exhortatie, die we vinden in een voorbereidend document van de Congregatie voor de Geloofsleer. Op basis van beide documenten zal ik vervolgens betogen dat de term 'pelagianisme' hier ingezet wordt om zowel de kerk als de maatschappij onder kritiek te stellen en van theologisch weerwoord te voorzien. Deze trends worden besproken in een groter betoog over de be-stemming van de mens, waarbij doorgeschoten individualisme gezien wordt als een struikelblok op de weg van het leven en het geloof.

Eine " Kirchenbank auf Reisen " 1 – so etwas hat es in den letzten Jahren in Deutschland an mehreren Orten gegeben: Gemeinden oder pastorale Institutionen lassen eine Kirchenbank durch ihre Stadt oder ihre Dörfer reisen, stellen sie in den öffentlichen Raum, in die Fußgängerzone oder auf den Bahnhofsvorplatz. Meistens verbunden mit dem Angebot, sich auf die Bank zu setzen und das Gespräch zu suchen. Die Kirchenbank als Symbol einer Welt, die normalerweise hinter den Kirchentüren versteckt ist, weihrauchgeschwängert und weltabgewandt, jetzt an einem Ort, an dem man nicht mit ihr rechnet: Verfremdungseffekt und Werbegag, gleichzeitig Info-Stand, Gesprächsangebot und das Signal: Wir gehen aus uns raus, wir sind gar nicht so weltfremd, wie es manchmal aussieht. Die Kirche gehört in den öffentlichen Raum. Nicht alle Menschen werden sich von der Kirchenbank auf Reisen angesprochen fühlen, aus biografischen, ästhetischen oder aus anderen Gründen. Sie scheint mir dennoch ein mögliches Symbol dafür zu sein, wie die Kirche auf die Straße gehen kann, aus sich heraus, mit dem Mut zur Verfremdung und zur Begegnung. Je nachdem, wo diese Bank zu stehen kommt, kann sie auch ein Beispiel für " Sozialpastoral als Selbstverwirklichung der Kirche " sein, wie ich sie heute vorstellen möchte: Als eine Kirche, die aus sich herausgeht. Nach einer ersten Vergewisserung, vor allem anhand aktueller Texte von Papst Franziskus, möchte ich ein biblisches und drei aktuelle Beispiele vorstellen, in denen es auf die Straße geht – in sehr unterschiedlicher Weise. Zuletzt werde ich diese verschiedenen Aspekte systematisch zusammenfassen, um zu zeigen, dass Sozialpastoral kein Sonderfall der Pastoral und kein zusätzliches Arbeitsfeld in der Kirche ist, sondern das Grundprojekt ihrer Selbstverwirklichung.

- by Stefan Silber
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- Pastoral Theology, Pastoral Care and Counselling, Pope Francis

The 1648 Peace of Westphalia typifies the “modern” starting point of state sovereignty and humanitarian intervention within conventional historical treatments of International Relations (IR) theory. The treaties ending the Thirty Years’ War signaled the dawn of an international society after medieval Latin Christendom with new diplomatic arrangements that assigned legitimate autonomy to specific European states independent of Roman imperial and papal authorities. The ideological archetypes of Westphalia for IR theory during the twentieth century were contemporaries Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) the realist and Hugo Grotius (1583-1645) the rationalist. Each of them powerfully envisioned a modern form of international relations: Hobbes accented sovereign political independence and international anarchy between states whereas Grotius affirmed a worldwide association of states absent a global authority yet still regulated by norms of universal law to justify war and intervention. Hobbesian sovereignty and Grotian international law produce the dynamic tension and terms of modern international relations. Yet the turn to the global history of international law has challenged the conceptual parameters of the IR Westphalian narrative focused on intra-European relations between sovereign states. In particular, attention to the constitutive role of imperial expansion and colonial settlement outside Europe offers a richer scope for analyzing the development of “modern” international relations and its legal-political concepts such as the state of nature, the law of occupation, and the law of nations.

Escribo estas palabras tras haber acogido la invitación que me hicieran tiempo atrás las personas de dos comunidades muy queridas, que a su vez están profundamente implicadas. Me refiero al equipo de trabajo de la Casa San Benito, que se ocupa de ofrecer un espacio de formación, encuentro y cultivo de las artes, para niños, niñas y adolescentes, y sus familias, de la localidad de La Isla, y a la comunidad de hermanas del Monasterio Benedictino de la Asunción de Santa María, en Rengo, ambas de la Región del Libertador Bernardo O'higgins, Chile, ubicadas a pocos kilómetros de distancia una de la otra. En ambos lugares me invitaron a compartir una reflexión tras mi lectura de la encíclica Fratelli Tutti, lo que acepté con gusto. Como sabemos, esta fue dada a conocer por el papa Francisco en vísperas de la fiesta de su patrono, Francisco de Asís, el pasado 3 de octubre de 2020. Tras esos encuentros, que ocurrieron la semana del 8 de noviembre de 2020, he dejado por escrito estas reflexiones, que no tienen otro propósito más que despertar el interés por la lectura de Fratelli Tutti. Agradezco la invitación de Cuadernos Monásticos a compartirlas.

While religion is often considered a cultural element of soft
power, religious institutions are rarely studied as diplomatic
actors. The purpose of this study was to better understand
the manner in with the Catholic Church attempts to build
relationships with foreign audiences, a key function of
public diplomacy. Emphasising the role of Pope Francis as
an iconic world leader, this study employed a qualitative
textual analysis to determine what themes are selected and
emphasised in papal speeches in order to construct the
strategic narrative of the Catholic Church. Results suggest
that Pope Francis’ speeches rely most on narratives of
universal identity and values, shared responsibility, and calls
to action to present the Catholic Church more favourably in
the eyes of both Catholic and non-Catholic audiences
around the world. These findings contribute to the study of
public diplomacy, the concept of strategic narrative, and
the theoretical framework of framing.

- by BiAS Series and +1
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- New Testament, Human Rights, Refugee Studies, Post-Colonialism

Since being elected to the Chair of St. Peter on March 13, 2013, Pope Francis has given unique shape to the meaning of the new evangelization. With his emphasis on the concept of encounter, and his stunning expression of pastoral ministry in Evangelii gaudium, the present pontiff has breathed new life into the Christian vocation to evangelize. This book brings together the voices of fifteen American Catholic scholars around the theme of Pope Francis and the Event of Encounter. Inaugurating the new series, Global Perspectives on the New Evangelization, this book incorporates a variety of approaches and questions in order to amplify the theology behind the pontificate of Pope Francis and the most recent developments in the new evangelization. Among the topics treated in the book are mercy, ecology, doctrine, culture, and the life and ministry of Jorge Mario Bergoglio. The reader will be delighted with an array of perspectives that promise to give inspiration for embarking on further frontiers of the new evangelization.

- by Donald Wallenfang, OCDS, PhD
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- Christianity, Political Philosophy, Theology, Catholic Studies

The time of the coronavirus pandemic and COVID-19 disease was an opportunity to pose many questions about interpersonal relationships again. In this context, Pope Francis proposes fraternity therapy to oppose effectively and consistently ‘globalization of indifference’ and ‘globalization of brotherhood and solidarity’. The purpose of the article is to show the essence of brotherhood in the teaching of Pope Francis in the context of the teaching of the Catholic Church. The article presents the biblical roots of brotherhood, as well as its inclinations in the magisterium of the Second Vatican Council and subsequent popes. Reinterpretation of the term ‘fraternity’ in Francis’ thoughts includes: ‘mysticism of fraternity’, its interreligious and social character, global fraternity in the field of bioethics and ecology, and its connection with the ‘theory of opposites’ (Gegensatz), which Francis adopts from R. Guardini.

- by Collectanea Theologica
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- Ethics, Theology, Theological Ethics, Catholic Theology

On the eve of 2020, and the fifth anniversary of the publication of the Encyclical Letter-Laudato Si'. On the care for the common home at the Catholic University of Croatia, the scientific-professional project CRO Laudato Si' was launched. The project team was composed of scientists from different disciplines, and the project partners were the National Fraternity of the Franciscan Secular Order and the Franciscan Youth. As part of the project, scientific and practical activities were carried out. One of the main scientific activities was empirical scientific research, which was conducted, using a survey method over several months in 2020. The paper will present the results of the research, related to the role of the project in the knowledge of the encyclical Laudato Si' and the awakening of interest in the encyclical, according to the socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents. The results show that men have heard of the encyclical Laudato Si' to a somewhat greater extent than women. The largest number of respondents, who heard about the encyclical for the first time through the project, are those who belong to the youngest age group, followed by those with high school education. Arousing interest in Encyclical Letter topics is more encouraged among women, those over 65 years old, respondents with completed primary school, and those who are self-employed or retired.

- by Studia Ecologiae et Bioethicae (ISSN: 1733-1218) and +1
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- Environmental Studies, Survey Research, Croatia, Pope Francis
- by Lucas Briola
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- Bernard Lonergan, Pope Francis

Drawing on Jesuit values as well as perspectives from disciplines across the humanities and sciences, this volume is oriented toward care for the people, communities, and ecosystems that make up our common home. Caring for our planetary home means responding to the multifaceted challenges of the current historical moment. As unprecedented changes are happening around the planet, the climate emergency poses an existential threat to humankind and to all life on Earth. This is a problem of survival and sustainability, but it is also more than that. It raises questions about justice. Ecological destruction cannot be adequately understood without addressing the systemic inequalities of social systems, and likewise, those inequalities cannot be understood apart from their ecological context. Engaging with a wide range of topics, from Pope Francis to Zen Buddhism, from the Global North to the Global South, from personal practice to systemic change, Integrating Ecology and Justice in a Changing Climate provides tools for thinking through these complex issues and facilitating the emergence of healthy, convivial, contemplative, and just ways of being in the world.

- by Sam Mickey
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- Buddhism, Geography, Philosophy, Social Justice

Fruits of American Intercultural studies in abroad. Intercultural communication has evolved due to the activity of The Foreign Service Institute (FSI) in the United States, in a result of efforts to make more effective the FSI’s activity in communication with another nations or civilizations. – In parallel, actually, the church evolved its own theory and practice of intercultural communication, too, since and after the Second Vatican Council. Especially in Saint John Paul II’s activity, who was canonized in 2014 by the recent Pope Francis, who seemed to follow his great predecessor and it was evaluated by such Israeli politicians as Simon Perez. – Saint John Paul II’s entire pontificate was full of intercultural actions: praying together with the Dalai Lama in Assisi (1986), while putting a Buddha on the altar; and he was who has first visited the Jewish synagogue of Rome. -- All these led to the culmination of the interfaith communication in his address to the Muslims in the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, May 6, 2001. - He was criticized by the conservative wing of the church, but his activity was developed ahead by the posterity, when the recent pope Francis went ahead by modernisation of the church.

Nie pierwszy to raz papież przywołał gnostycyzm i pelagianizm, dwie starożytne herezje, które, jak pisze w najnowszej adhortacji, wciąż są alarmująco aktualne. Do tej diagnozy o niebezpiecznej obecności dawno już, wydawałoby się, przebrzmiałych starożytnych błędów odniosła się Kongregacja Nauki Wiary, mimo wszystko łagodząc oceny Franciszka. W artykule przedstawiono rzeczywiste zagrożenia gnostycyzmem dla życia i misji Kościoła w oparciu o wypowiedzi papieża. Tekst rozpoczyna "meterefleksja" na temat żywotności herezji, w czym można też odczytać miniapologię określania nowych nieprawidłowości nazwami starych herezji.

- by Sławomir Zatwardnicki
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- Gnosticism, Systematic Theology, Church History, Pastoral Theology
- by George Zachariah
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- Environmental Justice, Pope Francis, Laudato Si

This article frames Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si' as papal media ecology, religious communication that invites interpretations using media ecology. First, a media ecological analysis of Laudato Si' articulates concerns about the global, environmental impact of the technocratic paradigm. Second, Martin Heidegger's definition for ge-stell is examined to consider the effects of technology on existence. Third, Heidegger's methods for rejecting ge-stell are compared to Pope Francis' plans for replacing the technocratic paradigm. Pope Francis offers a superior approach because a combined top-down and bottom-up approach in a community committed to social change is more likely to enact a paradigm shift.

En esta comunicación se constata que las interpelaciones del papa Francisco al esfuerzo teológico y misionológico coinciden y confirman el trabajo de reflexión que viene realizándose desde hacia varias décadas en la misionología... more

En esta comunicación se constata que las interpelaciones del papa Francisco al esfuerzo teológico y misionológico coinciden
y confirman el trabajo de reflexión que viene realizándose desde hacia varias décadas en la misionología latinoamericana.

- by Riyako Cecilia Hikota
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- Catholicism, Catholic Church, Pope Francis

This three-part article considers the Instruction "Cor orans" (May 15, 2018), an Instruction which applies Pope Francis' Apostolic Constitution "Vultum Dei Quaerere" of July 22, 2016), which affects communities of nuns. The three parts... more

- by Eleanor Campion
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- Canon Law, Nuns, Monastic Life, Pope Francis

Article looks at the criticism of Pope Francis views of economics and capitalism made by American conservatives. Pope Francis views are based on a view of the human person that is very different from what conservative economic theory assumes. Article looks at how the Catholic social thought "vision" of human person and society differs from both neoclassical economics and Marxism.

- by Charles Clark
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- Catholic Social Teaching, Pope Francis

Pope Francis has remarked that acedia-a condition long referred to as "the noontime devil" in the Western monastic tradition-is the great sin of the modern age. As scientific advancement continues to exponentially increase against our incremental understandings of self, the distance between our material capability and our spiritual refinement has created a gap challenging Western understandings of faith, culture, suffering, and human freedom. This paper will explore these challenges in the light of Schelling's commentaries on human freedom and Kierkegaard's discourse on modernist society, specifically with an eye towards Pope Francis' re-introduction of the works of Romano Guardini to the Catholic world.

- by Shaun Kenney
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- Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, Thomism, Catholicism, Soren Kierkegaard

This publication focuses on the question of the authority of the Pope in Orthodox communities. Particular attention is paid to the visit of Pope John Paul II and Francis to Bulgaria in 2002 and 2019. The negative reactions of the conservative Orthodox Christians and priests of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church are discussed. The research is focused on the idea of the ecumenical thesis between the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches, and the generalizations are made on the basis of this thesis.

- by Blagovest Varbakoff
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- Great Schism, Ecumenism, Orthodox Church, Catholic Church

Recenzja książki: Frédéric Martel, Sodoma. Hipokryzja i władza w Watykanie, przeł. A. Dwulit, E. Derelkowska, J. Wisz, Wydawnictwo Agora, Warszawa 2019, ss. 714.... more

- by Mateusz Ihnatowicz
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- Christianity, History, Gender Studies, Sexuality

Pope Francis’s gestures of solidarity with migrants have been central to his papacy, from his repentance in the “graveyard of wrecks” of Lampedusa to his lived example returning from Lesbos with refugee families. His bridge-building theology is evident in his written reflections on migration, as well. For his theological and pastoral emphases are well suited to addressing systemic and ideological barriers to justice for immigrants: he underscores structures of injustice that treat migrants like pawns on a chessboard and joins repentance from harmful idolatries with a re-cognition of our fundamental relatedness in light of the harm borders wreak. His emphasis on social sin reflects his theology of bridge-building, in that it widens the scope of migration ethics beyond dominant “crisis management” approaches to help receiving communities recognize their complicity in pushing, pulling and punishing forced migrants. His focus on the ideological dimensions of sin and the affective dimensions of conversion highlights the inadequacy of standard human rights approaches; rather his words and example help pierce anesthetized indifference with the shock of recognition and the “gift of tears.” Finally, his bridge theology is evident in his efforts to invite those who disagree on polarizing social issues or are tempted to retreat to the realm of theoretical analysis to a praxis of encounter. This chapter explores each of these ways in which Pope Francis’ bridge theology shapes his migration ethic and summons Christians to reject apathetic complicity and inhospitality alike.

- by Kristin Heyer
- •
- Christian Ethics, Ethics of immigration policy, Pope Francis

Overlooking Lago di Orta in the foothills of the Northern Italian Alps, the Renaissance-era Sacro Monte di Orta (a UNESCO World Heritage site) is spectacle and hagiography, theme park and treatise. Sacro Monte di Orta is a sacred mountain complex that extolls the life of St. Francis of Assisi through fresco, statuary, and built environment. Descending from the vision of the 16th-century Archbishop Carlo Borromeo, the design and execution of the chapels express the Catholic Church’s desire to define, or, perhaps redefine itself for a transforming Christian diaspora. And in the struggle to provide a spiritual and geographical front against the spread of Protestantism into the Italian peninsula, the Catholic Church mustered the most powerful weapon it had: the widely popular native Italian saint, Francis of Assisi.Sacred Views of Saint Francis: The Sacro Monte di Orta examines this important pilgrimage site where Francis is embraced as a ne plus ultra saint. The book delves into a pivotal moment in the life of the Catholic Church as revealed through the artistic program of the Sacro Monte’s twenty-one chapels, providing a nuanced understanding of the role the site played in the Counter-Reformation.The Sacro Monte di Orta was, in its way, a new hagiographical text vital to post-Tridentine Italy. Sacred Views provides research and analysis of this popular, yet critically neglected Franciscan devotional site. Sacred Views is the first significant scholarly work on the Sacro Monte di Orta in English and one of the very few full-length treatments in any language. It includes a catalogue of artists, over one hundred photographs, maps, short essays on each chapel, and longer essays that examine some of the most significant chapels in greater detail.

Dalle immagini sbiadite in bianco e nero, che ritraggono Pio X e i giovani impegnati nei primi concorsi ginnastici in Vaticano, ai tweet di Papa Francesco.
Il rapporto dei Pontefici con lo sport vive un profondo cambiamento lungo l’arco di oltre un secolo, ma mantiene sempre vivi alcuni elementi di fondo: la centralità dell’uomo, il rispetto della sua dignità, la sua crescita completa, la sua educazione, il suo rapporto con gli altri.
Nel tracciare la storia di questa relazione si riesce perciò a cogliere quel valore di universalità che rende il messaggio sportivo uno strumento di promozione di valori quali la fratellanza, la solidarietà, la pace. Tutte preoccupazioni che anche lo sport ha sempre manifestato e che, in fondo, accomunano i due soggetti che, non a caso, si ritrovano concordi nell’accogliere la filosofia olimpica come codice etico dello sport.
Sono oltre 600 gli incontri tra i Pontefici e il mondo sportivo. Essi esprimono un interesse e un affetto crescente verso lo sport, ripagato dall’attenzione che lo sport stesso ha avuto verso i Pontefici. Sono davvero tante, infatti, le testimonianze di questa attenzione che riguarda non solo campioni affermati, dirigenti internazionali, squadre plurititolate, ma anche sportivi giovanissimi, come i partecipanti ai Giochi della Gioventù, i ragazzi del Centro Sportivo Italiano, i bambini delle camminate podistiche, i gruppi amatoriali. Non è mancata l’attenzione agli sportivi disabili, alle associazioni dilettantistiche, ai ragazzi che frequentano gli oratori, ai piccoli gruppi sportivi promotori di iniziative di solidarietà e di aiuto ai più bisognosi.
Questo volume raccoglie l’elenco degli incontri, una selezione di 120 discorsi e messaggi e un profilo sportivo di ciascun pontefice che ne riassume gli aspetti salienti della “pastorale sportiva” e le novità rispetto ai predecessori. L’obiettivo è quello di offrire al mondo sportivo, ma non solo, una nuova prospettiva di indagine, che copre un segmento di storia dello sport fino ad oggi poco, o comunque non completamente, esplorato.
Nel rapporto tra Pontefici e sport si legge infatti l’evoluzione dello sport nella società del XIX e del XX secolo, il suo progredire da strumento di educazione del singolo a strumento di pace e solidarietà, come le stesse Nazioni Unite hanno riconosciuto nella Dichiarazione del Millennio.
Emerge la necessità, che si fa sempre più pressante, di non perdere mai di vista un codice etico unico, universale e trasversale, che metta al centro l’uomo e la sua dignità. Un bisogno che anche il mondo dello sport reclama a gran voce.

- by Antonella Stelitano and +1
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- Pope Pius XI, Pope Pius XII, Pope Pius X, Pope John XXIII

The Popes in Caserta in the Modern and Contemporary Age

- by Antonio Salvatore Romano
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- Religion, History, Modern History, Italian (European History)