The Libreria Editrice Vaticana will publish on November 20 the new book by León XIV, a work titled The Power of the Gospel. The Christian Faith in 10 Words. L’Osservatore Romano has released a part of the unpublished introduction, where the Pope presents a clear diagnosis of the world situation and the inequalities that persist in numerous countries:
“We cannot continue to tolerate structural injustices by which those who have more always have more, and vice versa, those who have less become poorer and poorer”
This reflection sets the general tone of the book, which seeks to illuminate current challenges from the perspective of the Gospel.
The volume has been prepared by Lorenzo Fazzini, editorial director of the Libreria Editrice Vaticana, who has gathered a selection of interventions and speeches by the pontiff and organized them around ten fundamental words of the Christian tradition. It is a journey that starts from Cristo and the heart as the center of faith, and advances through themes such as the Church, the mission and the communion, up to issues such as peace, the poor, fragility, justice and hope. The book thus proposes a simple yet demanding synthesis of the Christian message, articulated from the preaching and thought of León XIV in these 6 months of pontificate.
In the introduction, the Pope also dwells on the climate of polarization that crosses the contemporary world. He warns that hatred and violence can spread like a continuous overflow, fueled by situations of misery that wound entire peoples. In the face of this risk, León XIV emphasizes that fraternity is a realistic and necessary path: recognizing ourselves as brothers, he states, constitutes a true antidote against all forms of extremism and allows building bonds capable of healing deep social wounds.
The publication of the book will be accompanied by several public encounters in different Italian cities during the coming weeks, a joint initiative of the Libreria Editrice Vaticana and ecclesiastical and cultural institutions. In each presentation, there will be dialogue about the central axes of the work and the pastoral vision of the pontiff. In addition, the documentaries León de Perú and Leo from Chicago, produced by the Dicastery for Communication, will be screened, which offer a complementary portrait of Prevost’s life: his missionary stage in Peru and his roots in the United States.