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Author : V. Bogomazov
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, in 1970-1980, official of the USSR embassy in Rome
responsible for contacts with the Holy See, Candidate of Science (Political Science)
POPE FRANCIS continues to enjoy growing popular-
ity. This is seen from the polls in many countries and
conclusions made by international media and the wor-
ried reaction among broad public to the pope's words
at the end of August of 2014 giving himself another
"two or three years'' to live.
Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was only
elected head of the Roman Catholic Church on March
13, 2013, but there have already appeared substantive
studies focusing on the pope's character and his activities.
The book is a thorough analysis of Bergoglio's main stages as a religious leader - as leader of
the Jesuits in Argentina, in the period before becoming Archbishop of Buenos Aires, as President
of the Argentine Episcopal Conference in that capacity, and currently as Pope of the Catholic
Church. Few Western reviewers have demonstrated talent for critical assessment of the inten-
tional and practical deeds of the person who is the current pope.
The author cites solid reasons against simplistic assessments and conclusions about the 266th
head of the Catholic Church, the first from the Americas and from the Southern Hemisphere,
the first member of the Jesuit order, the first pope to take the name Francis.
The author has good reasons to note that the Vatican's head at times greatly differs from what
he used to be as cardinal, "but if he was a wise teacher and a gentle pastor, Benedict XVI was a
weak governor and a poor politician" (p. 9).
The book comes up with an impeccable analysis of the situation in the world and in Argentina
ruled by the military junta. It says that the United States insisted that the conflict with commu-
nism was to be waged as a total war. The best allies of the U.S. in that would be those right-wing
military dictatorships, while the clergymen in the countries of the region were being persuaded
by CIA agents that it was necessary to defend Catholicism against the anti-Church atheist on-
slaught (p. 70).
When still archbishop of Buenos Aires in 2010 today's pontiff said in an extensive interview to
the press that the church was gradually coming to realize what had happened in Argentina as a
result of the putsch. The documents since declassified and cited in the book, however, tell a dif-
ferent story.
Quite a few religious experts and political scientists, and members of the mass media covering
religious matters voiced their approval of the book reviewed here. In the summer of 2014, I
met many of them during our work at the library of the UN Office at Geneva. I am convinced
that this book is a must for all who are interested in the workings of the Catholic Church today.
Электронное приложение к журналу «
Международная жизнь
»
Pope Francis: More than Meets the Eye