Pope Francis: Untying the Knots Free

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Not much in the extraordinary history of the Church has been weirder than the election of Pope Francis six months ago. For a start, it followed in the wake of Pope Benedict's all-but-unheard-of abdication. Then we were greeted with the spectacle of an Argentinian who not only liked jumping on buses and paying hotel bills in person Pope Francis: Untying the Knots someone who was also an improvised baby-kissing up-close-and- personal type who had taken the unprecedented step of adopting the name of arguably the greatest saint in the history of Christendom, the guy who talked to the birds and embraced Lady Pope Francis: Untying the Knots. He was also the first pope from the Americas. No sooner was Francis elected than there were accusations he had been tainted by the regime. It does seem true, in fact, going on Paul Vallely's admirably organised quickie of a biography, that as head of the Argentinian Jesuits, Francis had censured two Jesuits, Orlando Yorio and Franz Jalics, and told them they had to stop their liberation theology style work in the slums of Buenos Aires. They defied him and they were subsequently in arbitrarily arrested by military Pope Francis: Untying the Knots and tortured. Francis did not, of course, instigate this but his authoritarian opposition to these priests of the left would not have helped and may have influenced the thugs. It is also true, however that Francis - who had been close to the Iron Band faction of Peronism - and who as a high-flying Jesuit was not sympathetic to the preferred option for the poor, has changed his tune entirely. He became a prelate for Pope Francis: Untying the Knots poor. He went into the slums he forbade his priests to work in. He has kissed the feet of people in jail with AIDS, he has divested himself of every trapping of pomp and glory. At the beginning of Pope Francis: Untying the Knots we hear the title comes from Our Lady of Augsburg, the figure of the Virgin Mary who could solve the insoluble and who has become the favourite icon of Francis. It seems clear already he is one of the more radical and populist figures ever to occupy the chair of St Peter. He doesn't, to begin with, give much Pope Francis: Untying the Knots a damn about sexual irregularities; he's orthodox theologically but says things like who's he to judge the gays? And he seems to have internalised as his deepest intimation of the face of Christ the holiness of poverty. There was a reunion, late in the piece, between Francis and one of the men who may have been imprisoned and tortured because of him. The two priests embraced, they seem to have broken down and wept. Still, he seems to represent the point where the ghost of the spirit of poverty the liberation dream goes mainstream. It could be no small Pope Francis: Untying the Knots for a pope to have suffered his own Gethsemane and recognition in the slime and quicksand of third world iniquity. He is said to be a brilliant administrator so he is liable to clean up the Vatican male prostitution and the - rather more disturbing - nepotism that sent poor Benedict reeling. This is as good a preview as we're likely to get because of its compassionate and sensitive attention to the shades and spectres of the past. Pope Francis: Untying the Knots. The Sydney Morning Herald. License this article. Pope Francis: Untying the Knots by Paul Vallely

Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Want to Read saving…. Want to Read Currently Reading Read. Other editions. Enlarge cover. Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Open Preview See a Problem? Details if other :. Thanks for telling us about the problem. Return to Book Page. Preview — Pope Francis by Paul Vallely. He declared it should be 'a poor Church, for the poo From his first appearance on a Vatican balcony Pope Francis proved himself a Pope Francis: Untying the Knots of Surprises. He declared it should be 'a poor Church, for the poor'. But there is a hidden past to this modest man with the winning smile. Jorge Mario Bergoglio was previously a bitterly divisive figure. Yet something dramatic then happened to Jorge Mario Bergoglio. He underwent an extraordinary transformation. His book charts a remarkable journey. In this perceptive portrait Paul Vallely offers both new evidence and penetrating insights into the kind of pope Pope Francis: Untying the Knots could become. Get A Copy. Paperbackpages. Published September 24th by Bloomsbury first published January 1st More Details Other Editions 9. Friend Reviews. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about Pope Francisplease sign up. What is the difference between the first and second edition? See 1 question about Pope Francis…. Lists with This Book. This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 4. Rating details. Pope Francis: Untying the Knots filters. Sort order. Start your review of Pope Francis: Untying the Knots. Nov 25, Tom rated it it was amazing. Since the 's I have grown increasingly upset with the Catholic Church's distancing itself from Christ's teachings and the reforms of Vatican II This book gives a good account of Pope Francis' life and his plans for a return to reform and change. Elected Pope in he has already eliminated most, if not all, of the corruption with the Vatican Bank and has drastically reined in the controlling and corrupt practices of the Roman Curia and many Italian bishops. He would encourage t Since the 's I have grown increasingly upset with the Catholic Church's distancing itself from Christ's teachings and the reforms of Vatican II He would encourage the clergy to move from ambition and isolation to a more simple lifestyle that includes joining people in their communities. With respect to the laity he has begun to institute an "all are welcome response" that calls for ordinary people's participation. Francis would adopt a structure and authority that would be less vertical and more horizontal. He encourages discussion on issues related to women's roles in the Church, the divorced receiving Communion, remarriage, openness to homosexuals, inclusion of non believers, Jews, Moslems, Hindi, Eastern Orthodox, Anglicans, Buddhist et. As with Vatican II, Francis would support a return to discussions on right to life to include war, reform of economic systems that create inequality of income and living standards, capital punishment, euthanasia and abortion. Francis seems to be a very intelligent, humble and loving individual who, by his own admission, recognizes that he's also made many mistakes. He asks for prayers and forgiveness. His executive skills, leadership, openness, shared decision making and humility are a rare combination. I was inspired by the book. I was inspired by Francis and I like his understanding of Christ's message. Jul 09, Dianne Landry rated it really liked it. I have often said that if popes had been like this when I was younger I would still be Catholic. I found this a very interesting look at the life of Pope Francis and the influences that made him the ma he is. I did not know that he came second to Pope Benedict in the last conclave and might have won had it not been for dirty tricks pulled by the Jesuits Pope Francis: Untying the Knots own order but then again they have always had the reputation of being the s. Learning about the things he did for the p I have often said that if popes had been like this when I was younger I would still be Catholic. Learning about the things he did for the poor and weak in Argentina was really interesting. I hope that the College of Cardinals is learning and the from now on popes will all be in his image and not that of previous popes. Pope Francis: Untying the Knots 2 comments. Feb 07, Edwin Cacayorin rated it it was amazing. It needs to surge forth to the peripheries, not just geographically but to the existential peripheries where the people grappled with sin, pain, injustice, ignorance and indifference to religion. After reading the book, I now see the Pope to be more human, more fragile, but more endearing I now hope for change. View 1 comment. Sep 13, Tim Byron rated it really liked it Shelves: jesuitreligious. There was none of the respectful mourning that accompanies Pope Francis: Untying the Knots death of a preceding pope to temper the frenzied speculation when Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio stepped out onto the balcony. The only biographical account of Bergoglio published before the election, in any language, was El Jesuita by Sergio Rubin. Given the pressures of time, it is only to be expected that this would be a small pool, perhaps lacking the more prudent or cautious voices. However, working under considerable constraints, Vallely has done an impressive job. It expresses succinctly but also with a certain profundity the challenge at hand. It refers to an image of Our Lady that Jorge Bergoglio SJ brought back to Argentina from Germany, where he had been sent for further studies after his controversial stint as Provincial of the Argentinian Jesuits. During this period of exile, he was struck by a painting of Our Lady Untier of Knots that he stumbled upon in Bavaria. The concept of Mary untying knots is derived from St. For what the virgin Eve had bound fast through unbelief, this did the virgin Mary set free through faith. Vallely, with great insight, posits that this painting in some way represents the enigma Pope Francis: Untying the Knots Bergoglio: a former provincial with a complicated legacy, but also a man spiritual and Pope Francis: Untying the Knots enough to recognise his mistakes and learn from them. It is rather cursory about his Pope Francis: Untying the Knots, and there is little discussion about the future of Pope Francis. The focus is on Bergoglio the Jesuit provincial, and then Bergoglio as bishop and cardinal. It is both challenging and illuminating. Perhaps with one eye on the commercial advantages of releasing instalments in other publications, Vallely has already allowed excerpts to appear in The Tablet and The Times. Instalments demand headlines and a certain polemical tone, and I think Vallely may have sacrificed some impartiality to this requirement. It is easy to paint the young provincial as out-of-step with the other Latin American provinces in the heady post-Vatican II days, but that does not fit comfortably with a fascinating detail which Vallely, to his credit, also includes. The iconic Jesuit General Pedro Arrupe trusted and sent Bergoglio to intercept an ultra-conservative Spanish splinter-group of Jesuits who were coming to Rome to make demands that could have given rise to a schism. They Pope Francis: Untying the Knots persuaded by Bergoglio to turn around Pope Francis: Untying the Knots go back to Spain, thus preserving the integrity of the order, which is a source of Pope Francis: Untying the Knots to many Jesuits. Towards the end of the first part of the book, the author starts to bring out many of the quiet, courageous and heroic acts of Bergoglio the provincial. They do appear as an afterthought, though, which gives some sense of the book being unbalanced. Perhaps this is a result of the inevitable temptation — particularly when trying to exploit a timely and possibly fleeting gap in the market — to write a contemporary biography with the cadences of a film script, appealing to the modern attention span with Pope Francis: Untying the Knots and cliff-hangers. However, I may be being too sensitive — as a Jesuit, I have become quite protective of the first Jesuit pope and maybe I Pope Francis: Untying the Knots a certain objectivity. A favourite moment for me is the account of the general congregation that preceded the conclave at which Bergoglio was elected and his influential intervention there. Vallely is an excellent, well-connected writer, and Pope Francis: Untying the Knots is an engaging and thoughtful read throughout. Mar 01, Marie rated it really liked it Shelves: nonfictionspirituality-religionbooks. Vallely wrote it after traveling to Argentina to interview those who knew him well and investigate the claims that the Pope did nothing to prevent the kidnapping and torture of two priests during the Dirty War. I'm fascinated with Pope Francis' transformation as a young man: he began as an arrogant, dictatorial leader who was also extremely conservative. Pope Francis: Untying the Knots gives great background and insights into the politics of Argentina Pope Francis: Untying the Knots the Vatican. In his younger days, he spurned liberation theology the attempt to interpret Scripture through the plight of the poor and did indeed prevent the eventually kidnapped priests who were working in the ghetto from delivering communion. His detractors say this opened the door for the military junta to kidnap the priests. Vallely discovered that Francis worked valiantly to get them freed after they were kidnapped, and it seems that Francis now has regrets about what he did or did not do. Pope Francis: Untying the Knots | Thinking Faith: The online journal of the Jesuits in Britain

T he Roman Catholic papacy is understandably compared to a monarchy: a pope wears a Pope Francis: Untying the Knots, sits on a throne and, while he is debarred from having heirs, the cardinals are styled as pseudo-filial "princes". Pontiffs differ from monarchs in one significant way, however: succession. While we have recently Pope Francis: Untying the Knots multitudinous articles about how the royal baby might rule as King George VII in, say, half a century's time, most popes come as a surprise. Jorge Mario Bergoglio, now known Pope Francis: Untying the Knots Pope Francishad tendered his resignation as cardinal archbishop of Pope Francis: Untying the Knots Aires having reached ecclesiastical retirement ageand chosen his room in an Argentinian clergy retirement house, before flying to Rome to vote on a successor to Benedict XVI. The absence of any line of succession or electoral primaries creates problems for Pope Francis: Untying the Knots of papal biographies. Their books have most in common with the campaign-biogs that are rushed out by informed journalists as soon as the contenders to be next American president become known. However, with no shortlisting system, the papal biographer has to write after the election and with a speed that Pope Francis: Untying the Knots the fickleness of public interest and the risk of being overtaken by what the new man does in post. With the apparent help of at least one good source within the college of cardinals who are officially sworn to secrecy until deathVallely gives riveting accounts of the "conclaves" in which first, inCardinal Ratzinger was named Benedict XVI to follow John Paul II and then, inthe first pope from the Americas was selected to succeed Benedict. As Vallely tells it, Bergoglio of Buenos Aires ran Ratzinger close eight years ago, but his candidacy was hobbled by the circulation among the cardinals of a dossier alleging that the Argentinian had colluded with the country's military dictatorship in the mids arrest of two fellow Jesuit priests, who were subsequently imprisoned and tortured. The conclusion of Pope Francis: Untying the Knots — which takes its title from a favourite devotional painting of Bergoglio's in which the mother of Christ symbolically unravels a twisted rope — is that there is partial truth in both those stereotypes, which combine to reveal a man of sometimes tortured complexity. More accessible are the sections about ecclesiastical intrigue that remind us why Morris West, Michael Dibdin Pope Francis: Untying the Knots Dan Brown found the Vatican such fertile territory for thrillers. One of Bergoglio's long-time foes in the Buenos Aires church was apparently so riled when his rival became pope that he refused to ring the bells of his parish to celebrate. The book bears some marks of hasty publication, with missing words and wobbly punctuation that might have been picked up through more leisurely correction. And, strangely, an afterword repeats several anecdotes and facts that have already appeared and sometimes more than once in the main text, but without any inflection that recognises the repetition, so that this closing section reads like a stand-alone magazine article. Biography books. An exploration of Pope Francis's liberal reputation and murky past lifts this book well above the nervous reverence of much papal biography. Lackey or dude? Mark Lawson.