In the COVID crisis, the beloved shepherd of over one billion Catholics saw the cruelty and inequity of our society exposed more vividly than ever before. He also saw, in the resilience, generosity, and creativity of so many people, the means to rescue our society, our economy, and our planet. Pope Francis urges us not to let the pain be in vain. Let Us Dream explores what this crisis can teach us about how to handle upheaval of any kind in our own lives and the world at large.
Not long into these reflections on the lessons of a traumatic year, Pope Francis offers a line from his favourite poet, Friedrich Hölderlin: 'Where the danger is, grows the saving power.' At moments of personal trial throughout his life, Francis writes, these words have helped him navigate the crisis. Though moments of reckoning will strip us bare, absolute vulnerability leaves us open to moments of grace and revelation. Short enough to read in a single sitting, Let Us Dream is written in the spirit of that insight and throws down a spiritual gauntlet to the reader ... There is a spiritual urgency and warmth to Let Us Dream that will appeal to lay readers as well as the faithful ... this book should be read as a work of prophecy and hope rather than analysis.
Pope Francis, never one to shy from controversy, wades boldly into the coronavirus debate with a new book in which he criticizes those who blame the virus on foreigners and people who protest church closings and mask mandates. In his book, Let Us Dream: The Path to a Better Future, based on conversations he had with papal biographer Austen Ivereigh, Francis also speaks out on the protests against racial injustice, poverty, and the arms trade ... Unlike some other papal writings, the book avoids complex discussions of church doctrine and theology. Francis instead shares stories from his own life and offers his views on the various crises facing the world, from the coronavirus to the environment, poverty and hunger, political polarization, and the condition of the Catholic church. The Pope clearly intended for the book to be read by a wide, popular audience.
The 150-page book [...] was ghost-written by Francis’ English-language biographer, Austen Ivereigh, and at times the prose and emphasis seems almost more Ivereigh’s than Francis.’ At its core, Let Us Dream aims to outline Francis’ vision of a more economically and environmentally just post-coronavirus world where the poor, the elderly and weak aren’t left on the margins and the wealthy aren’t consumed only with profits. But it also offers new personal insights into the 83-year-old Argentine pope and his sense of humor ... For Francis, the pandemic offers an unprecedented opportunity to imagine and plan for a more socially just world.
