PRESENTATION OF FIRST TWO BOOKS IN ITALIAN BY POPE FRANCIS

Vatican City, 25 March 2013 (VIS) - “Guarire dalla corruzione” (Recovering from Corruption) and “Umilta, la strada verso Dio” (Humility: The Road towards God) are the titles of the first two books by the new Pope to be published in Italian. Tomorrow, 26 March, they will be presented to the press at the Curci Hall of the offices of the Jesuit periodical “La Civilta Cattolica”.

Written when he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires, both texts draw upon the spirituality expressed by St. Ignatius of Loyola in his “Spiritual Exercises” to describe the profound mechanism of corruption in society—including the Church—and to note solutions, among which is the need for an ecclesial life characterized by fraternal charity.

“Guarire dalla corruzione” (orig. “Corrupcion y pecado”) is a text on morality. Based on an analysis of the spread of corruption in Argentine society and around the world, it locates the root of this evil within the heart. The text makes a novel distinction between the phenomena of corruption and sin. The afterword is written by Judge Pietro Grasso, president of the Italian Senate and former head of Italy's national anti-mafia prosecutor's agency.

“Umilta, la strada verso Dio” (orig. “Sobre la acusacion de si mismo”) has a strongly spiritual character. It introduces a text—widely cited in the book—by Dorotheus of Gaza, a 6th century Church Father, on humility. The book includes an appendix written by the prior of the ecumenical Monastic Community of Bose, Enzo Bianchi, who updates Dorotheus' message through the reading offered by Pope Francis.