By Michael McGirr
AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Hope: the Autobiography
Pope Francis
Penguin, $36.99
The best pope of my lifetime was John Paul I. He only lasted 33 days before he died. This meant he made virtually no mistakes, appointed no inappropriate people and issued no controversial statements. He had an unblemished record.
The others have all been the focus of hot debate and criticism. This is part of what makes Pope Francis’ autobiography, Hope, such a pleasant surprise. There are no profound revelations. Many of the stories he recounts here are already familiar, even from his own writings.
Pope Francis kisses a wooden statuette of the infant Jesus at the end of a mass in St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on New Year’s Day in 2025.Credit: AP
For example, his role in Argentina’s so-called dirty war is a bone of contention. In Hope, he writes about his relationship with Esther Ballestrino de Careaga, with whom he worked in a laboratory when he was a budding scientist, one of the thousands who were captured and murdered. He had already written about her in Life: My Story Through History, published just last year.
He also repeats his account of the speech he gave to the other cardinals before the conclave in 2013 which saw him elected. That speech certainly influenced their decision. In it, he touched on some of the themes that have come to define his papacy: a rejection of an inbred church that exists only for itself and a call to thrive at the margins. He condemns “theological narcissism”.
Don’t expect any great revelations from the Pope’s autobiography.
Don’t come to this book expecting scandal or even much in the way of fresh disclosures. It is curious to read a memoir by somebody who is uncomfortable in the limelight, doesn’t like parties, and hasn’t watched TV since 1990. Despite the often-crazy diatribe against him from the right wing of the church, especially in the United States, there isn’t a hint of vindictiveness or retribution. That is part of what makes it so uplifting.
In the face of some dark situations, both inside and outside the church, the pope is endlessly positive. He always prefers vulnerability to defensiveness. He does not believe that differences need to make divisions. He far prefers to remember grassroots workers he has met along the way and seldom speaks about world leaders or cardinals. The only reference to George Pell is an expression of gratitude for how Pell was able to sort out Vatican finances.
Hope does not follow a simple narrative direction. The Pope tends to use his own experience as a springboard into the exploration of broader issues. He writes about his grandparents fleeing from Italy to Argentina. From there, he has developed a profound sympathy for the plight of refugees. The first pilgrimage of his papacy was to the Italian island of Lampedusa, the destination of thousands who simply want to live in peace. Family experience is also the root of his utter contempt for war and the military industry.
Pope Francis is often contrasted with John Paul II, but the differences can be exaggerated. Francis may have a more inclusive tone, but he has changed very little, if any, church teaching. Hope gives the impression that the rule book is far less significant than the lived experience of real people. He writes, “those who are always looking for solutions through regulations, who tend toward doctrinal certainty who search stubbornly to rebuild the lost past, have a fixed and inward-looking vision. And faith, in this way, becomes just one of the many ideologies rather than a living experience.”
Twice Francis quotes the words of Gustav Mahler: “Tradition is not the worship of ashes; it is the preservation of fire.” The one lasting difference Francis has made is to deliver Catholics permission to talk about anything. When John Paul II declared that women could never be ordained, he forbade any further discussion of the topic. That is not Francis’ style. He is a listener. He wants to hear as many voices as possible. He loathes an exclusive clerical culture and has spoken against it on numerous occasions. He dislikes self-important priests.
Hope is underwritten by a warm and engaging humanity and by an almost folksy sense of the Christian community. It is often charming. “Life is directed toward something that goes beyond this life.”
There are numerous stories about Francis that do the rounds. One concerns a meeting with Australians in Rome. A few started speaking in Italian. He stopped them in their tracks. The meeting would be conducted in English, even if that put him at a disadvantage. He wanted everyone to be able to speak and be understood, especially the bishops who didn’t hang around the teacher’s desk in Rome. His autobiography is like that. It looks far more at the struggles of the whole human family than it does at any church enclave.
Michael McGirr is the mission facilitator of Caritas Australia.