A Journal of Political Thought and Statesmanship
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VOLUME XIX, NUMBER 1, WINTER 2018/19 A Journal of Political Thought and Statesmanship William Charles R. Voegeli: Kesler: Politics after e Road Trump to 2020 Michael Mark Barone: Bauerlein: Hubert Camille Humphrey Paglia David P. Charles Goldman: Hill: e State Pentateuch Secrets Richard Angelo M. Brookhiser: Codevilla: Benedict Yoram Arnold Hazony Kevin D. Michael Williamson: Anton: Don’t Mess Draining with Texas the Swamp A Publication of the Claremont Institute PRICE: $6.95 IN CANADA: $8.95 mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Essay by Robert Royal Is the Pope Catholic? ven when, as at present, the cath- the world—is debatable. But there’s no ques- who, as Ivereigh himself admits in the book, olic Church exercises very little direct tion that in his various efforts to stir things up, collaborated to elevate Bergoglio to the pa- Epolitical or social power, its continued Pope Francis has in many ways, figuratively pacy, unsuccessfully in 2005 when John Paul witness to the world after two millennia re- and literally, made a mess of the stewardship II died and then in 2013 when Benedict XVI tains a compelling grandeur. Empires rise and entrusted to him. Several recent books help stepped down. Ivereigh did serious research fall, revolutions come and go, but the Church— us to understand that mess and its broaden- on Bergoglio for his book and conducted nu- miraculously—endures, despite great internal ing repercussions. merous interviews with people who knew the troubles, a great pre-modern bulwark in the future pope in his earlier life. All this enabled modern day against shallow rationalism and Enigmatic Figure the author to situate a basically unknown fig- moral relativism. And so when the Catholic ure at the time of his election within the vari- Church seems to have become unsure, or di- he british journalist austen iver- ous social, political, and religious currents of vided, about its own meaning—as it has been eigh published the earliest and, despite his native environment. since Jorge Mario Bergoglio became Pope Tthe flood of books since, still the most The great disadvantage of Ivereigh’s work, Francis in March 2013—the world notices. important biography in English of the new however, is already clear from the title. It In one of the early, defining moments of pope, The Great Reformer: Francis and the would be wrong to say that the book is pure his papacy, Francis told the 3 million young Making of a Radical Pope (2014). Francis is the hagiography; it admits Bergoglio made mis- people assembled in Rio de Janeiro for World first pope from Latin America, and Ivereigh takes. But even the most admiring biographer Youth Day 2013, “hagan lío,” a phrase from his has an advantage over other commenters be- cannot make much of a case that the future native Argentina that means “raise a ruckus” cause he wrote his doctoral thesis at Oxford pope was highly successful—as a reformer or or, more literally, “make a mess.” He presum- on Argentine history, a notoriously treach- anything else—in Argentina. Francis is the ably wanted them to bring fresh energy into erous subject, which was later published as first Jesuit pope. When he became the provin- the daily life of the Church and the world. Catholicism and Politics in Argentina, 1810– cial superior of the Jesuits in Argentina dur- The prudence of asking young people to do 1960 (1995). He also worked for the late Car- ing the 1970s, he was so divisive a leader that what they are already inclined to do anyway— dinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor, archbishop his tenure ended after only six years. He then knowing little, as they do, of the Church or of Westminster and one of several bishops held various positions and pursued studies Claremont Review of Books w Winter 2018/19 Page 85 mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm intermittently, in and out of Argentina, but to listen these days that they are confused At the center is the rather enigmatic figure remained so controversial that in 1992 he was about their mission. The pope has shown of Jorge Bergoglio, who seems to inspire in- asked not to reside in Jesuit houses any longer. himself quite willing to blur several Catho- tense dislike and equally intense admiration Through friendship with Cardinal Antonio lic teachings in order to meet halfway some at each point in his life, forcing those around Quarracino of Buenos Aires, he was recalled of the worst developments in modern cul- him to form factions for or against him. He from a kind of internal exile, made an auxil- ture—a popular move with liberals and non- came of age while Juan Perón dominated Ar- iary bishop in the capital, and later succeed- Catholics, but a betrayal for serious Catho- gentine politics, and later, after the military ed his patron as archbishop. There certainly lics. And in several countries as well as the coup in 1976, had to try to protect his people wasn’t much evidence of his carrying out re- Vatican itself, the Church has been engulfed while the generals who had taken control of form, great or otherwise. Vocations were few (again) by a lurid scandal of largely homosex- the government conducted their guerra sucia and Church initiatives modest, though he did ual predation and cover-up, which—judging or “dirty war,” sending death squads to si- start sending more priests into poor areas to from the unhurried bureaucratic responses lence political dissidents. Bergoglio learned to minister to the marginalized. When the Vati- speak ambivalently in public. Like Perón, he can was considering making Bergoglio a car- boldly tells different groups what they want dinal in 2001, then Jesuit Superior General to hear, even if he often contradicts himself. Books discussed in this essay: Peter Hans Kolvenbach wrote a letter to John This characteristic lack of precision and Paul II advising against it because of the con- consistency can be found, for example, in The Great Reformer: Francis and the troversies Bergoglio had provoked over many Francis’s recent rewording of The Catechism Making of a Radical Pope, years and, it is said, because of psychological of the Catholic Church, which now makes it by Austen Ivereigh. instability. (The letter, it is also said, has dis- appear as though sacred Scripture and the Henry Holt and Co., 464 pages, appeared from the archives.) The basic facts entire history of Christianity can be waived $30 (cloth), $16 (paper) here are not in dispute. Francis has admitted aside when it comes to the permissibility of that he saw a psychiatrist during a troubled capital punishment. For many people inside period in his life, and he did not really repair The Dictator Pope: The Inside Story and outside the Catholic Church this has , his relationship with his religious order— of the Francis Papacy raised the question: are other moral teachings by Marcantonio Colonna. which remained broken for 37 years—until also now up for grabs, or just the ones liberals Regnery Publishing, 256 pages, $26.99 he became pope. don’t like? What Bergoglio became famous for—and Perhaps nowhere is his studied ambigu- Ivereigh does a good job in highlighting, while The Political Pope: How Pope Francis ity more evident than in the notorious 2016 Is Delighting the Liberal Left and remaining silent about the lack of achieve- apostolic exhortation, Amoris Laetitia (“The , by George ments—was his presentation of himself as a Abandoning Conservatives Joy of Love”), which among its 261 pages (it Neumayr. Center Street, 288 pages, $27 man who lived simply and, quite conspicuous- is the longest single document ever produced ly, did not embrace the usual perquisites of a by a pope) buries in a footnote deliberately prince of the Catholic Church. People all over The Francis Effect: A Radical vague language in order to give the impres- the world have learned of how he took the Pope’s Challenge to the sion that adultery no longer bars one from , subway and not a limousine (often not even American Catholic Church receiving Holy Communion. Bishops, priests, by John Gehring. Rowman & Littlefield, a car) to meetings, lived in a modest corner and laypeople throughout the Church issued 286 pages, $34 (cloth), $26 (paper) of the episcopal palace in Buenos Aires, and open letters, begging the pope to bring much gave personal attention to ordinary people he needed clarity to the matter, without success. encountered. He is the first successor of Saint Lost Shepherd: How Pope Francis Is In politics a certain amount of studied ambi- Misleading His Flock, by Philip F. Lawler. Peter to take the name “Francis”—after il po- guity can be a useful tool. But in religion—es- Gateway Editions, 256 pages, $26.99 verello, the little poor man, as Francis of Assisi pecially when it comes to some of the most is affectionately known in Italy. Although am- burning current issues—ambiguity can look plified to mythic proportions by an enthralled To Change the Church: Pope Francis and like confusion, or even surrender. , media, the new pope’s emphasis on simplicity the Future of Catholicism by Ross Douthat. and humility is genuine, as is his warm affec- High-Handed Manipulator? Simon & Schuster, 256 pages, $26 tion when interacting with the homeless, dis- figured, or otherwise marginalized, and both he most critical assessment of traits go a long way toward explaining the Pope Francis, and in some ways the enthusiasm that greeted the first days of his ranging from clumsy P.R. spin to stony si- Tmost insightful (though perhaps not pontificate. lence—shows little sign of being seriously entirely accurate) is The Dictator Pope: The Whatever his track record in Argentina, dealt with in Rome.