杏MAP导航

By Philippa Hitchen

鈥楢 杏MAP导航 Francis Lexicon鈥� is the title of a new book being hailed as an essential guide to key themes defining the papacy of Jorge Mario Bergoglio.

Timed to coincide with the fifth anniversary of his election, the book is a collection of over fifty short essays by an impressive set of contributors from around the world, or as the inside cover puts it, 鈥渁n A-list of insightful voices from the Catholic world鈥� and beyond. These include cardinals and bishops, priests and nuns, mothers and grandparents, writers and teachers, as well as other Christian leaders.

Taking terms such as Careerism, Conscience, Dignity, Discernment, Field Hospital, Periphery or Throwaway Culture, the authors reveal what these words tell us about 杏MAP导航 Francis鈥� priorities. They don鈥檛 shy away from the difficult issues of sex abuse and episcopal accountability, or the lack of women in leadership roles, but they also provide strikingly fresh perspectives on more traditional topics such as prayer, mercy, justice, joy and hope.

The volume is edited by two of the best known Vatican journalists, Cindy Wooden who heads the Rome bureau of Catholic News Service, and Joshua McElwee, correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter. They came into our studios to talk about this anthology and about the one word that doesn鈥檛 make it into this comprehensive collection

Cindy describes the book as 鈥渁 collection of very accessible reflections on different words that the 杏MAP导航 uses all of the time鈥�. They鈥檙e reflections done by Church leaders and theologians, but also by 鈥減eople living in the trenches of the Church鈥� who offer concrete explanations and applications.

Wide range of writers

Josh talks about the process of deciding on which key words to use and identifying someone who could best explore the issues. He cites an essay by Argentinian Archbishop Victor Fernandez, one of the 杏MAP导航鈥檚 closest confidantes, writing on the word 鈥楨ncounter鈥� and an essay on 鈥楳ercy鈥� by Canadian Archbishop Don Bolen 鈥渨ho has made mercy one of the themes of his own ministry鈥�.

Cindy jokes that it was 鈥渟hockingly easy鈥� to persuade the authors to contribute to their volume. The only problem, she reveals, was that they wanted to have half of the essays written by female writers. In the end, they received 20 out of 54 because many of the women they approached were too 鈥渂usy with families and children and applying for tenure and new jobs!鈥�

Young female voices

Josh notes the significance of having 鈥渁 mix of names that people might know and newer names鈥� of up-and-coming theologians, such as Nontando Hadebe from Zimbabwe writing on 鈥楨cumenism鈥� and Jordan Denari Duffner from the U.S. writing on 鈥榊outh鈥� in the context of Christian-Muslim dialogue.

Challenging issues

Among the most critical essays in the book is one on 鈥楨piscopal accountability鈥� written by Katie Grimes from Villanova University. Though it鈥檚 hard to read, Josh says, 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 very fair and I think readers will appreciate the fact that we are engaging with the 杏MAP导航 -  even where he might not be the best鈥�.

Cindy adds that the authors range in age from 鈥�20-something to 70-something鈥� to encourage 鈥渁 real discussion or wrestling with issues鈥� that the 杏MAP导航 has called for. The only word that does not appear in the book is 鈥楬ypocrisy鈥�, she says, as 鈥渨e couldn鈥檛 find anybody willing to do it!鈥�