It might sound incredible, but this was the first time in his life that Pope Francis had been to Assisi. In all the visits to his immigrant parents’ native Italy – as a boy or as a bishop – Jorge Mario Bergoglio never made a pilgrimage to the home town and burial site of the saint from whom he has drawn so much spiritual inspiration.
Papa Francesco’s agenda for the 4 October visit may offer a clue to why he’s never felt moved to go to Assisi until now. He spent the first, nearly three, hours of his day with disabled children and poor people. Only afterwards did he finally head to the pilgrim’s most loved spot – the much-venerated tomb and Basilica of San Francesco.
The unmistakable message was that the Pope prefers spending time with people in n
12 October 2013, The Tablet
Letter from Assisi
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User Comments (2)
I agree that religious education is a good place to enhance critical thinking.
Education should help to form people who want to work for social change and who can think critically about the world and come to know reality after examining many viewpoints.
You may be interested in my short talk on this, "Education for Liberation":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuYUoeqYUSs
Sincerely,
Fr. Joe Mulligan, SJ
Nicaragua
A very thought provoking article with which I am in almost total agreement. My agreement stops at that most over used word, so beloved of every news reporter, "radicalisation". Given the latest murders can we please stop referring to the perpetrators of these horrifying crimes as radicals. Far more likely they are angry, disaffected, loners who are unlikely to respond to any amount of religious education, however well intended it may be.