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The New Dawn of Pope Francis: Three Books Reviewed Book Review Conversations on Jesuit Higher Education Volume 46 Article 28 September 2014 The ewN Dawn of Pope Francis: Three Books Reviewed Joseph A. Tetlow S.J. Follow this and additional works at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/conversations Recommended Citation Tetlow, Joseph A. S.J. (2014) "The eN w Dawn of Pope Francis: Three Books Reviewed," Conversations on Jesuit Higher Education: Vol. 46, Article 28. Available at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/conversations/vol46/iss1/28 Tetlow: The New Dawn of Pope Francis: Three Books Reviewed Book Review Brackley took the place of one of the six Jesuits murdered in 1989 with their housekeeper and her daughter at the University of Central America (UCA) in San Salvador and worked tirelessly for social justice. It was at the UCA that Kelly’s meticulous research led him to discover and translate articles written by Rutilio in Busqueda, a journal where priests shared conversations about their ministries. He also interviewed numer- ous associates of Rutilio. Kelly has spenT considerable Time in El Salvador boTh accompanying sTudenTs on immersion programs and researching This book. AlThough he wroTe iT for sTu- denTs, The TexT has a far wider appeal To scholars and anyone inTeresTed in under- sTanding The nexus beTween The church and poliTics in El Salvador or learning abouT RuTilio’s undersTaTed buT enduring influence on The ChrisTian communiTy. SophisTicaTed in iTs argumenT, The book remains broadly accessible by virTue of Kelly’s crisp prose and willingness To Tom Kelly and participants in the Ignatian Colleagues Program pilgrimage to El Salvador in clarify Terms ThaT may be unfamiliar To February 2014 at the site of the assassination of Rutilio Grande, S.J., and his lay companions. nonTheologians. I discovered The book while preparing for a mission Trip To El Thomas Kelly is Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at Creighton Salvador wiTh The IgnaTian Colleagues University.He is the Immersion Coordinator for the Ignatian Colleagues Program and found iT To be an exTraordi- Program. More information about the book can be found at http://www.whenthegospelgrowsfeet.org/ nary resource. ■ The New Dawn of Pope Francis Three Books Reviewed By Joseph A. Tetlow, S.J. hree books rise ouT of The preparing for his mandatory retirement Tsunami of papal image as Archbishop of Buenos Aires at age and myTh-making. Taken 75. The book appeared in Argentina as TogeTher, They give a grasp El Jesuita in 2010, and in 2013 in a fine of Jorge Mario Bergoglio, English translation (Putnam, New York). T Pope Francis, adequaTe To keeping one’s nose above The flood. STarT wiTh Pope Francis: Joseph A. Tetlow, S.J., the author of Conversations with Jorge Bergoglio, by many works on the spirituality of St. Sergio Rubin and Francesca Ambrogetti. Ignatius Loyola, has served in Jesuit The Argentine journalists interviewed administration and in the formation The cardinal-archbishop as he was of young Jesuits. Conversations 43 Published by e-Publications@Marquette, 2014 1 Conversations on Jesuit Higher Education, Vol. 46, Iss. 1 [2014], Art. 28 Book Review The reporTers posed informed and Chicago, 2013). Lowney’s best-selling ofTen poinTed quesTions, only one or oTher Heroic Leadership painted the “Ignatian Time making you wish They’d pushed a way of proceeding” that has kept the poinT. They drew from This churchman Jesuits thriving for centuries as a model some fairly saTisfacTory informaTion on for contemporary leaders. At Loyola complex issues: his early auThoriTarianism, Press’s invitation, he here probes how it The Two JesuiTs disappeared from The works for the new pope. slums, his self-image as a sinner saved. Lowney did a lot of homework to Many details about his family, youth, find out. He interviewed Jesuit and lay and vocation show that he had a real Argentines whom Bergoglio has led. He life before his final elecTion. The knows Rubin and AmbrogeTTi’s El reporters do very well in letting the Jesuita and Pope Francis’s torrent of pope speak for himself. public utterances. He needs no further research into the “best business prac- ardinal Bergoglio emerges tices”; he has insider knowledge of from these paragraphs as them from a career as a managing an integrated, transparent, director at J. P. Morgan and as chair of inTelligenT, and deeply the board of the sprawling Catholic self-disciplined man. The Health Initiative. He needs no instruc- Cspectacles of his first papal tion about Ignatian spirituality having monThs – fooT-washing, kissing The been a Jesuit for some years. deformed, letting a little child hug his His book weaves together the prac- The pope himself wroTe while oThers were thighs while he’s giving an address – far tices and theories of these two leader- enjoying ferragosto, AugusT holidays in from being stunts turn out to be the ships, secular and religious. Take the ITaly.The key is in paragraph 141: “Where kinds of thing that this man just natural- fact that Fr. Bergoglio moved at age 42 your synThesis is, There lies your hearT” – ly does. from being one of the top 200 leaders a paraphrase of MaTThew 5:21. This book Somehow too ordinary to be a in this worldwide corporation (provin- is Francis’s synThesis and shows where supersTar, Jorge Mario Bergoglio is cial) to being a supervisor of trainees his hearT lies. proving almost too extraordinary as a (rector of a seminary). The business On one hand, it is a deeply conser- pope. This is how Chris Lowney sees world’s assessment of this: “Ouch. End vaTive hearT. He ciTes The Second and studies him in Pope Francis: Why of career.” The Jesuit assessment: the Vatican Council and popes constantly – He Leads the Way He Leads (Loyola, best men for shaping future leaders. Paul VI, 21 times; John Paul II, 46 times; The people whom Bergoglio led Tell and Benedict, 19 times. The quotes do whaT They remember abouT his leadership. not decorate the text but make signifi- As provincial, he silenTly saved people cant points. On the other hand, this is a from The miliTary dicTaTor. AT The impover- deeply radical heart. Item: “Every single ished seminary, he Took his Turn feeding human being alive is immensely holy.” pigs, did his own laundry, and washed [141] Item: Bishops, not Rome, should dishes afTer dinner. Lowney remarks ThaT handle their own problems [16]. Item: he led like The Marine officer who sTands Politics and business are noble, lofty lasT in The food line, making sure his peo- vocations [203,205]. Item: Poverty in a ple are fed firsT. Lowney makes bulleTed society is a sickness and the “safety-net” lisTs, as business leadership books are is a temporary expedient [202]. Item: wonT To do, buT The iTems are arresTing. We can no longer trust in the unseen How close can anyone geT To defining The forces and the invisible hand of the JesuiT “way of proceeding”? market [204]. Each of These Two books is The besT Papal documents do not stir peo- of iTs kind. BuT The unique source for ple, Francis admitted, but this one has knowing This pope is his own book- “programmatic significance and impor- lengTh exhorTaTion, The Joy of the Gospel tant consequences” [25]. Reading it – (USCCB, WashingTon, D.C., 2013), which even at its length – is believing it. ■ 44 Conversations http://epublications.marquette.edu/conversations/vol46/iss1/28 2.
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