Episode 15: Will Pope Francis Pull It Off?

 Will Pope Francis Pull it Off? is the title of Prof. Rocco D’Ambrosio’s new book about the reform program of Pope Francis.

Born in 1963, Prof. D’Ambrosio is a priest of the Diocese of Bari in southern Italy, and holds the chair of political philosophy in the School of Social Sciences at the Pontifical Gregorian University.

He is also a freelance journalist, whose by-line may very well be familiar to many listeners, especially – though by no means exclusively – those who read the Italian journals.

His slim, provocatively-titled volume is deceptively dense, and poses serious questions in the engaging style of a seasoned journalist who knows his beat.

He has his opinions – and while he is not afraid to share them – you’ll hear – he does not let them get in the way of clear presentation of the facts, nor is he afraid to say what we don’t know about the complex realities facing the man who was elected to reform the governing apparatus of the Universal Church.

Will Pope Francis pull it off?

The first – and obvious – question is: what is it?

That is where our conversation began, and as you’ll hear, it was harder to nail down than one might think.

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Show Notes

• Will Pope Francis Pull It Off? The Challenge of Church Reform (Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Mn., 2017) was originally published in Italian as Ce la farà Francesco? La sfida della riforma ecclesiale (Ed. La Meridiana, 2016). Barry Hudock prepared the English translation.
• Pope Francis sent a letter to Walter Cardinal Brandmüller, naming him Papal Emissary Extraordinary to celebrations marking the *450th anniversary of the conclusion of the Council of Trent – in the audio, host Chris Altieri misspeaks and refers to the occasion as the 500th anniversary of the Council’s conclusion. The Council of Trent ran from 1545-1563, and did its business in twenty-five sessions over three major periods and one minor period, which was held at Bologna.

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“Thanks!” as always to Executive Producer Ester Rita.

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Praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever!