The Mind of Pope Francis: Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s Intellectual Journey

Drawing on interviews with Pope Francis, Borghesi, professor of moral philosophy at the University of Perugia, provides a thorough look at the pope’s intellectual and theological development. Borghesi begins with an overview of the theological, philosophical, and cultural sources of the pope’s ideas about the environment and the plight of the global poor, which would eventually inform his papal encyclicals. In the 1970s and 1980s, while working as a rector in Argentina, Francis (then Jorge Mario Bergoglio) recognized a tension between human-centered theology that was committed to protecting the needy and God-centered theology that focused on divinity and scripture. Out of this dialectic—which he attributes to his readings of Hegel and Catholic theologians Gaston Fessard, Henri du Lubac, and Romano Guardini—Bergoglio developed the axiom that unity is universally superior to conflict and division; the whole is superior to the parts. Though Borghesi’s scholarship is commendable, the execution is lacking: the pace is plodding, large sections are composed of quotes from other writers, and Borghesi’s discussion of Bergoglio’s theological influences requires a familiarity with (or strong willingness to explore) philosophical jargon. Scholars and researchers interested in Pope Francis’s early thought will appreciate Borghesi’s meticulous book. (Oct.)