Nurture Your Faith (10-19-13)

    On March 13, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Archbishop of Buenos Aires, was announced as the new Pope and chose the name Francis. Immediately, his few writings available on Amazon were sold out.  
    Naturally enough, when Image books announced the English translation of “On Heaven and Earth,” a book of his dialogues with a rabbi from Argentina, I was very excited. The book gives a sweeping tour of Cardinal Bergoglio’s views on many theological, social and political topics.
    In the book, Cardinal Bergoglio is at home in talking about the importance of the devil, true discipleship, the relationship between faith and science, prayer and the genius of Vatican II.
    One has to be careful, however, in reading too much into a book such as this. Cardinal Bergoglio was not the same type of author as Cardinal Ratzinger, who had written thousands of pages on a wide variety of topics before he became pope, giving the world a clear record of his personal theological vision and approach to the faith.
    That being said, there are many absolute gems in this short, easy-to-read book.
Ecumenical dialogue
    One finds in Cardinal Bergoglio a man who is comfortable engaging in ecumenical dialogue with both remarkable charity and surprising theological flexibility. Indeed, his homilies and as pope have shown him to be a man who is not easy to pigeonhole into a single theological (much less political) category. Those who seek a pontiff who boldly proclaims the orthodox Catholic faith from the heart will find a great spokesman in the pope, and the same can be said for those eager to hear the social doctrine of the church proclaimed with a new ardor.  
    One of my favorite sections was reading the pope’s thoughts on the importance of caring for the elderly. He gives a beautiful reflection, stressing the dignity of all people, the obligation that we have to care for our parents, and especially the great wisdom we can gain from the elderly. Another great section was his discussion on poverty. He speaks with great conviction and obviously as a witness to the importance of living the Gospel.  His love for the poor, the sick, the hungry, and all those he collectively refers to as “the marginalized” shines through the text.  
    Cardinal Bergoglio notes that, while giving money to institutions which help is good, it “does not excuse us from our obligation of establishing personal contact with the needy. The sick must be cared for, even when we find them repulsive and repugnant. Those in prison must be visited … It is terribly difficult for me to go to a prison because of the harshness of life there. But I go anyway, because the Lord wants me to be there in the flesh, alongside those in need, in poverty, in pain.”
    Such profound words, especially for a man who, in his short time as the pope, has given the world such an example of a personal devotion to serve all in the name of Christ and his church.  
    For anyone looking for a quick, accessible introduction to the new Pope’s theology, I highly recommend Image Books’ “On Heaven and Earth.”
    Luke Arredondo is director of religious education at Divine Mercy Parish in Kenner and is currently earning a master’s degree at Notre Dame Seminary.