Overview

A commonly held impression is that Pope Francis is a compassionate shepherd and determined leader but that he lacks the intellectual depth of his recent predecessors. Massimo Borghesi’s The Mind of Pope Francis: Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s Intellectual Journey dismantles that image. Borghesi recounts and analyzes, for the first time, Bergoglio’s intellectual formation, exploring the philosophical, theological, and spiritual principles that support the profound vision at the heart of this pope’s teaching and ministry. Central to that vision is the church as a coincidentia oppositorum, holding together what might seem to be opposing and irreconcilable realities. Among his guiding lights have been the Jesuit saints, Ignatius and Peter Faber; philosophers Gaston Fessard, Romano Guardini, and Alberto Methol Ferrer; and theologians Henri de Lubac and Hans Urs von Balthasar. Recognizing how these various strands have come together to shape the mind and heart of Jorge Mario Bergoglio offers essential insights into who he is and the way he is leading the church. Notably, this groundbreaking book is informed by four interviews provided to the author, via audio recordings, by the pope himself on his own intellectual formation, major portions of which are published here for the first time.

Full Product Details

Author:   Massimo Borghesi ,  Guzm�n Carriquiry Lecour ,  Barry Hudock
Publisher:   Liturgical Press
Imprint:   Liturgical Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.70cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.695kg
ISBN:  

9780814687901

ISBN 10:   0814687903
Pages:   344
Publication Date:   04 October 2018
Audience:   General/trade ,  College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  General ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Available To Order  
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Table of Contents

Contents   Foreword by Guzmán Carriquiry Lecour Introduction 1. A Horizon Marked by Profound Contrasts At the Origins of a System of Thought: Gaston Fessard and the Theology of “As If” Juan Domingo Perón and the Church The Unity of Universal and Particular, Center and Periphery: The Lesson of Amelia Podetti City of God and Earthly City: The Relevance of Augustine The Pueblo Fiel as Theological Source 2. A Philosophy of Polarity 57 The Society of Jesus as Synthesis of Oppositions Jesuits and Dialectical Thought: Przywara, de Lubac, Fessard The Dialectical Thomism of Alberto Methol Ferré 3. The Theory of Polar Opposition: Bergoglio and Romano Guardini Doctoral Thesis on Guardini Principles and Polarity: Similarities between Bergoglio and Guardini Polar Opposition and the Common Good: Sineidetic Thought Power, Nature, Technology: Guardini in Laudato Si’ 4. Church and Modernity: Methol Ferré and the Catholic Risorgimento in Latin America Vatican II as the Overcoming of the Reformation and the Enlightenment From Medellín to Puebla: The Latin American Catholic Risorgimento Catholicism and Modernity: The Lesson of Augusto Del Noce Libertine Atheism and the Critique of the Opulent Society 5. A World without Bonds: The Primacy of the Economy in the Era of Globalization Globalization and the Latin American Patria Grande: Methol Ferré and Bergoglio Pope Benedict XVI’s Caritas in Veritate Evangelii Gaudium’s Critique of Inequality 6. At the School of Saint Ignatius: Life as Witness Narrative Thought and Theologia Crucis: An Ignatian Tension Michel de Certeau’s Biography of Peter Faber Being and the Unity of the Beautiful, the Good, and the True: Bergoglio and Hans Urs von Balthasar 7. Christianity and the Contemporary World Mercy and Truth: Amoris Laetitia and the Morenita’s Gaze Encounter as “Beginning”: The New Balance between Kerygma and Morality Aparecida: The Christian Style in the Twenty-First Century Index  

Reviews

Massimo Borghesi's book is the first real intellectual biography of Jorge Mario Bergoglio and it builds a bridge between the different universes of today's global Catholicism: different generations of Catholics; different areas of the world; different theological, philosophical, and socio-political backgrounds. This book is an invaluable contribution for the comprehension of this pontificate and potentially a game-changer for the reception of Pope Francis, especially in the English-speaking world. Massimo Faggioli, Professor of Historical Theology, Villanova University

Massimo Borghesi's book is the first real intellectual biography of Jorge Mario Bergoglio and it builds a bridge between the different universes of today's global Catholicism: different generations of Catholics; different areas of the world; different theological, philosophical, and socio-political backgrounds. This book is an invaluable contribution for the comprehension of this pontificate and potentially a game-changer for the reception of Pope Francis, especially in the English-speaking world. Massimo Faggioli, Professor of Historical Theology, Villanova University Pope Francis' predecessor was an internationally renowned theologian. Perhaps because of that, many have dismissed the Argentinian pope as lacking in intellectual `heft.' Massimo Borghesi's fascinating and informative study of the intellectual influences on Pope Francis has exploded that canard, demonstrating the intellectual breadth, subtlety and perspicacity of Francis' thought. Borghesi helps us see that behind Pope Francis' famous `evangelical simplicity' lies `a rich and original thought process, ' one informed by such thinkers as Amelia Podetti, Alberto Methol Ferre, and Romano Guardini. Thanks to Borghesi we can better appreciate the subtle and creative mind of this `simple' pope. Richard Gaillardetz, Joseph Professor of Catholic Systematic Theology, Boston College Any Catholic thinker, priest, or seminarian who wants to grasp the intricacies of the intellectual formation of Pope Francis has to read this book. Even the best biographies have up to now been unable to recount the true influence of Gaston Fessard, Amelia Podetti, and Alberto Methol Ferr . This book was hard to put down. The interplay of the modern dialectic and classical analogy under the rubric of Jesuit polarity is itself worthy of a small monograph. The record is now corrected. Friends and foes can learn for the first time the multiple and diverse strands of Latin American, Ignatian, and European thought that the inquisitive Bergoglio brought from the Southern Cone of his native hemisphere to the chair of St. Peter. Peter Casarella, University of Notre Dame Massimo Borghesi has provided an indispensable resource for all who want to understand why Pope Francis thinks the way he does. Both erudite and scholarly, A Mind of Pope Francis reveals the intellectual and cultural formation of Jorge Mario Bergoglio, with the added benefit of recently recorded and highly reflective interviews with the subject himself. Beautifully translated by Barry Hudock, this is a vital addition to the anthology of books on this most captivating and consequential religious leader. Kerry Alys Robinson, Global Ambassador, Leadership Roundtable In unpacking his thought, Borghesi has not just shown Francis to be a brilliant, and original thinker, closely connected in particular to Benedict XVI, but has given a masterclass in the effect of Grace on thought. Austen Ivereigh, Crux An indispensable study of how Jorge Bergoglio became the strikingly original thinker and believer who has renewed the Church in his ministry as Pope Francis. Mollie Wilson O'Reilly, Editor at Large, Commonweal

Author Information

Massimo Borghesi is professor of moral philosophy at the University of Perugia. He is the author of several books, including The Mind of Pope Francis: Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s Intellectual Journey (Liturgical Press, 2018) and volumes on Augusto del Noce, Luigi Giussani, and political theology.

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