From his first papal appearance in March 2013 on the balcony above St. Peter’s Square, charming Italians with an avuncular purring of “Bueno sera,” Francis has steered a path unlike any previous pope. Now, thanks to his newly released memoir, Hope, the story of the world that made Jorge Mario Bergoglio — and, by extension, the world leader we know as Pope Francis — is a story finally told in his own words.
Collaborating with the Italian journalist Carlo Musso, Francis dwells on his ancestral background in Northern Italy as bonds between the old country and new shaped his worldview. He ignores a number of mysteries, such as why, as pope, he has yet to return to Argentina (presently governed by a libertarian nationalist who has denounced him) and possible scandals in the Roman Curia that drove his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI to retire. Though he speaks with compassion of clergy abuse survivors, Hope ignores Vatican resistance against his own commission for protecting minors. These details await probing biographers.
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With thanks to the National Catholic Reporter (NCR) and Jason Berry, where this article originally appeared.
