Betting on freedom : my life in the church

In this wide-ranging conversation with the Italian journalist Luigi Geninazzi, Cardinal Angelo Scola discusses both the salient moments of his own life and the path and situation of the Church and society in Europe over the last half-century. The Cardinal recounts his life, speaking of the extraordinary gift of particular friendships he has had, starting with Luigi Giussani, founder of the ecclesial movement Communion and Liberation (CL), and moving on to discuss Hans Urs von Balthasar, Henri De Lubac, and Joseph Ratzinger. A figure who bridges the past three pontificates, Scola discusses his relationships with St. John Paul II, by whom he was nominated a bishop at the relatively young age of forty nine; Benedict XVI, with whom he has had an intense intellectual friendship for decades; and Pope Francis, of whom he speaks with affection and hope. At the center of this rich fresco of anecdotes and reflections stands a crucial question: what is the true path of the Church today? Between those who reduce Christianity to a mere civil religion and those who propose a purist return to the Gospel, the cardinal indicates a "third way" by betting on the freedom of the human person to recognize the supreme value of Christ. This is at the same time a bet on the active commitment of believers to contribute, starting from faith, to the birth of a new Europe, inevitably more diverse but no loss of its identity. Contents Preface to the 2018 Edition Acknowledgements Introduction: What Future for Christians? 1. Faith of the Common People: Childhood and Adolescence in Post-War Italy 2. A Surprising Encounter: The Experience of Gioventù Studentesca 3. A Movement in the Church: The Involvement in Communion and Liberation 4. An Obstacle Course: Vocation and Priestly Ordination 5. An Educational Genius: By Fr. Luigi Giussani’s Side 6. Great Teachers: In Contact with Balthasar, Ratzinger, and de Lubac 7. Inside Suffering: The Experience of Illness 8. The Pope of Freedom: Collaboration with St. John Paul II 9. To Be Truly Free: Bishop in Grosseto 10. A Community of Students and Teachers: Rector of the Pontifical Lateran University 11. The Nuptial Mystery: President of the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family 12. The Method of Christian Life: Patriarch in Venice 13. A New Educational Subject: The Marcianum Foundation 14. A Different Approach to Islam: The Oasis International Center 15. A “Humble Servant in the Vineyard”: The Relationship with Pope Benedict XVI 16. The Church and Public Life: The Ruini Era 17. A Church of the People: Archbishop of Milan 18. A Metropolis in Search of its Soul: The Church and the City 19. A New Kind of Papacy: The Conclave of 2013 and the Relationship with Pope Francis 20. Free from the Outcome: Final Considerations Published Works of Angelo Scola in English Index of Names Index of Words