St. Thomas theology professor Massimo Faggioli has three books set for publication in the spring, which focus primarily on Pope Francis, the second Vatican Council and the changes in the Catholic Church that have evolved from the two.
His book, “Pope Francis: Tradition in Transition,” was published last year in Italian but will be available in English for the first time in April. The book documents the first nine months of Francis’ papacy and analyzes the transition from Pope Benedict to Pope Francis.
“In the last chapter of the book, I try to identify a few key critical issues on the relationship between America and Pope Francis, such as new stances on social justice and foreign policy,” Faggioli said. “Pope Francis is radical and definitely a sign of something bigger that is happening in the church. It’s a transition from a more European Catholic Church to a more global one.”
Faggioli’s two other books in the works, “A Council for the Global Church” and “The Legacy of Vatican II,” also touch on these radical changes in the church and focus directly on the impact of the second Vatican Council both then and now.
“No matter what, we are all children of the second Vatican Council. If you believe that everyone who is faithful should read scripture or that all Christians have something in common, then you are a Vatican II Catholic,” Faggioli said.
The actions of Pope Francis and the results of Vatican II are closely intertwined, according to Faggioli.
“Francis, in my mind, is doing what Vatican II was meant to do. He is closing the gap between ideal statements of how things should be (in the church) and practical statements of how things really are. He is not afraid to acknowledge that we need to do something,” Faggioli said.
Faggioli noted the importance of this newfound practicality on the younger generation of Catholics.
“I think there is definitely a Francis effect all over the world, especially among young Catholics,” Faggioli said. “Teaching theology at St. Thomas gives you an interesting take on this, as the students are all children of the second Vatican Council ideals, whether they like the council or not.”
Freshman Julia Plasynski, one of Faggioli’s theology students, said she feels the Catholic Church is catching up to the modern era and is pleased the church is bringing new issues to the table.
“With Francis, I hope the church will start accepting gay people and start looking at the Bible in a different way – less fundamentally,” Plasynski said. “The church needs to change, and I think it will.”
Sophomore Quinlan Keller said she’s enthused that Francis appeals to an audience of Catholics and non-Catholics alike.
“The church is global, and I think it’s important that (Francis) appeals to everybody because I think the church could be appealing to everybody if it was depicted the way it was supposed to be,” Keller said.
Whitney Oachs can be reached at oach5325@stthomas.edu.