Book Description

A collection of 11 articles from the July 2020 edition of La Civiltà Cattolica, the highly respected and oldest Catholic journal published from Rome. The Holy Father is fond of St Paul’s Letter to the Galatians, often reflecting on it at the General Audience, every Wednesday in Rome. One time he reminded us to “walk in the Spirit.” The Holy Spirit, he said, is our guide on our “journey along the way of Christ,” a “stupendous, but difficult journey that begins in Baptism and lasts our whole life.” Giancarlo Pani discusses this exceptional document. How does a common religious identity and ethnic homogeneity, strengthened by geopolitical boundaries, form politics and nationalism? Joseph Lobo, SJ considers if, in reality, there is no geographical entity that can be defined as a nation that has a single homogeneous identity from a linguistic or religious point of view. Covid-19 is a silent revealer of many realities that remain concealed in our everyday life. In Philosophers of Contagion: How intellectuals perceive Covid-19, Cristian Peralta, SJ asks whether the concerns of Western intelligentsia have changed as the pandemic has hit the richest countries hard. Does Pope Francis’s call for the establishment of a universal basic wage means that it has to be paid to all without conditions? Gaël Giraud, SJ examines how our faith can guide us as we evaluate the practicalities of its implementation? Pope Francis suggests the Covid-19 pandemic is a propitious time to find the courage for a new imagination of the possible. Antonio Spadaro, SJ discusses seven figures that Pope used to interpret both the present moment and the future. Giovanni Cucci, SJ says a person continues to be present online even after their death, although in a very different form. Will the presence of a dead person in the digital world have significant consequences in psychological, emotional and educational terms? A large part of India’s population live below the poverty line and it is estimated that in 2030 its inhabitants will number more than one and a half billion. In Modi’s India: Between Hindu Traditionalism and Coronavirus, Giovanni Sale, SJ looks at two predicaments the country is facing: the pandemic and changes to citizenship laws. In one of his self-portraits, Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn presents himself as imprisoned in Rome, like the Apostle Paul. Identifying with his characters, with their prayers, defeats, regrets and hopes, he becomes a proclaimer of the Good News. John Paul II showed himself to be a great communicator and his relationship with the media says a lot about his attention to them as an important aspects of today’s reality, that he was aware how the media are an indispensable way to spread every message. Federico Lombardi, SJ talks about his firsthand experience and knowledge of John Paul II Communicator.