In his forthcoming book, “Let Us Dream: The Path To A Better Future,” Pope Francis comes out in support of racial justice following the killing of George Floyd in the United States, blasts COVID-19 skeptics, and even speaks against politicians who spread hate for their own gain.
The book will be out on December 1st and marks one of at least seven titles that the head of the Catholic Church has authored (the English-language biographer, Austen Ivereigh, is a ghostwriter on “Let Us Dream.”) In excerpts released this month, he conveys the gravity of the struggle for racial justice. He refers to George Floyd and writes, “Abuse is a gross violation of human dignity that we cannot allow and which we must continue to struggle against.”
He also criticizes populist leaders and damaging politicians. Though he doesn’t directly name Donald Trump, he seems to subtly shade the president: “Today, listening to some of the populist leaders we now have, I am reminded of the 1930s, when some democracies collapsed into dictatorships seemingly overnight,” he writes. “We see it happening again now in rallies where populist leaders excite and harangue crowds, channeling their resentments and hatreds against imagined enemies to distract from the real problems.”
He even addresses rigid conservative Catholics who use religion as an excuse to support politicians inflicting harm upon their poorest and most marginalized citizens. He writes, “Superficially religious people vote for populists to protect their religious identity, unconcerned that fear and hatred of the other cannot be reconciled with the Gospel.” Although he doesn’t use specific names, the passage calls to mind recent conservative figures, such as Supreme Court Judge Amy Coney Barrett, and other politicians who have helped prop up the Trump administration.
Pope Francis has been the most progressive pope in recent history. In the past, he’s spoken about the need for a basic universal income for all and he’s shared his belief that gay couples should receive legal protections. Back in August, he gave his support to a nun in Argentina who opened up a housing complex for trans women.
The Pope praises journalists who elevated stories of how the poor and marginalized have been affected during the pandemic. However, he doesn’t shy away from simultaneously condemning both politicians and media for using “this crisis to persuade people that foreigners are to blame, that the coronavirus is little more than a little bout of flu, and that restrictions necessary for people’s protection amount to an unjust demand of an interfering state.”
“There are politicians who peddle these narratives for their own gain,” he writes. “But they could not succeed without some media creating and spreading them.”