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Euronews
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
'It is impossible to invent something as exotic as the Vatican'.
Javier Cercas likes to describe his book as a non-fiction novel, a mixture of chronicle, autobiography and biography (of Pope Francis). "It is impossible to invent something as exotic and extraordinary as the Vatican. Believe me, it's totally impossible. Why would I make it up?" The Vatican opened its doors wide to him and for two years he was able to meet a whole series of high-ranking officials. "It's part of what was unusual about this pope. He was able to open doors. The Church had never done that before, opening the doors of the Vatican to a writer to ask questions, to talk, to discuss, to see whatever he wanted to see and to write whatever he wanted to write," explains Cercas. He accepted the commission despite not being a believer. "For me it was an extraordinary opportunity. I have sometimes been asked: how could you accept something like this, being an atheist and anti-clerical? My answer is: how could I not accept something like that? Javier Cercas travelled with Pope Francis to Mongolia where he was able to speak with missionaries and even with the pontiff himself. To write the book he had to overcome his own prejudices and his wife's warning that he could end up whitewashing the Church. When asked if Pope Francis was a revolutionary, he responds with reflection. "If by revolutionary you mean a pope who has changed Christian doctrine, the answer is no. He has not changed anything against what they say. He has changed nothing against what the forerunners say or it is irrelevant what he has changed. Now, if by revolutionary we mean a Pope who tries, as Vatican II wanted, to return to the primitive Church, then yes," says the Spanish writer. Cercas prefers to speak of a disruptive Pope because "for many people in the hierarchy, for many priests, but also for many ordinary Catholics, he has been very disturbing". From his conversations in the Vatican, he concludes that Pope Francis raised many fundamental issues, such as the role of women in the Church or paedophilia, and tried to put the means to solve them. But things are moving slowly in an institution with so many centuries of history. "This idea that the Pope does whatever he wants is false. It's one of the things that we lay people think works like that. But it doesn't work like that. The Pope cannot do whatever he wants". In his opinion, Pope Leo XIV will continue the reforms of his predecessor, but respecting the forms and with greater moderation. He recalls that Pope Francis, already on the first day, appeared on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica without the papal vestments, while Leo XIV wore them. "The outcome of this conclave is a pope, to a large extent, who will be a continuation of Francis, I have no doubt," he says. But the changes may be slow, since, according to Cercas, "to carry out this revolution you don't need one pope, you need 55 popes". He explains that the American Robert Prevost has at least two facets that could mark the character of his pontificate. "First of all, he is a missionary. And that is the cleanest, most luminous part of the Church". But, according to Cercas, he also belongs to another part that he describes as "more suspicious", the Vatican. "This man was a man who was also in the Vatican, who was part of the curia by decision of Francis himself". In his book, Cercas poses many theological questions to his interlocutors in interviews that he transcribes throughout the book. And almost obsessively he wants to reach the Pope to ask him about the "resurrection of the flesh" and, more specifically, whether his mother, who is a believer, will be able to be reunited with his father after death. But to find out if the Pope's answer convinced his mother, you have to read God's Fool: "That's at the end of the book. I can't tell you."
Forbes
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Forbes
The Church And The Market: What Pope Leo XIV Might Teach The World
With the goal of providing a moral compass, theologians and leaders of the Catholic Church have often written about economic principles. Some such principles can even be drawn from Christ's own parables. Here, though, I will focus on writings of the three most recent popes: John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis. It is a safe bet that Pope Leo XIV will continue with similar messages, incorporating the teachings of his immediate predecessors. Newly elected Pope Leo XIV, Robert Prevost addresses the crowd on the main central loggia balcony of ... More the St Peter's Basilica for the first time, after the cardinals ended the conclave, in The Vatican, on May 8, 2025. Robert Francis Prevost was on Thursday elected the first pope from the United States, the Vatican announced. A moderate who was close to Pope Francis and spent years as a missionary in Peru, he becomes the Catholic Church's 267th pontiff, taking the papal name Leo XIV. (Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP) (Photo by TIZIANA FABI/AFP via Getty Images) To put these writings in context, it is necessary to start with the framework provided by Church documents, especially the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et spes, which is a cornerstone of Vatican II's social teaching. In its 76th paragraph, the constitution clarifies that Church teachings should not be taken as political documents: "It is very important, especially in pluralistic societies, that there be a correct notion of the relationship between the political community and the Church. It is clear that the political community and the Church are autonomous and independent of each other in their own fields. Yet both, under different titles, are devoted to the personal and social vocation of the same human beings. The more both foster sound cooperation between themselves, with the more circumspect safeguarding of freedom proper to each, the more effective will their service be exercised for the good of all.' Gaudium et spes speaks also of the autonomy of science, and this includes economics. Autonomy of science, and especially of social science, does not mean independence. While the natural order and the spiritual order do not have all the same principles, the two orders are by no means completely separate. It is essential to start with a correct understanding of the human person and his relationships. When it comes to political systems, few paragraphs have been quoted more on this than paragraph 42 of John Paul II's landmark encyclical Centesimus annus: 'Returning now to the initial question: can it perhaps be said that, after the failure of Communism, capitalism is the victorious social system, and that capitalism should be the goal of the countries now making efforts to rebuild their economy and society? Is this the model which ought to be proposed to the countries of the Third World which are searching for the path to true economic and civil progress? The answer is obviously complex. If by 'capitalism' is meant an economic system which recognizes the fundamental and positive role of business, the market, private property and the resulting responsibility for the means of production, as well as free human creativity in the economic sector, then the answer is certainly in the affirmative, even though it would perhaps be more appropriate to speak of a "business economy", "market economy" or simply "free economy". But if by "capitalism" is meant a system in which freedom in the economic sector is not circumscribed within a strong juridical framework which places it at the service of human freedom in its totality, and which sees it as a particular aspect of that freedom, the core of which is ethical and religious, then the reply is certainly negative.' Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, before becoming Pope Benedict XVI, stressed that a free society can only subsist where people share basic moral convictions and high moral standards. He emphasized this at his induction into the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences of the Institute of France, adding that such convictions need not be 'imposed or even arbitrarily defined by external coercion.' In his lecture he noted, '[Tocqueville's] Before becoming Pope Leo XIV, Bishop Robert Prevost spent decades in Peru, which went from being a ... More failing state, to one of the fastest growing economies in the Americas. Picture from the celebration anniversary of the Diocese in Chulucanas, Peru, Aug. 12, 2024. (Diocese of Chulucanas via AP) Pope Benedict XVI argued that freedom, coupled with consciousness and love, comprise the essence of being. 'The person, the unique and unrepeatable, is at the same time the ultimate and highest thing. In such a view of the world, the person is not just an individual; a reproduction arising from the diffusion of the idea into matter, but rather, precisely, a 'person.'" In his encyclical Caritas in veritate, Pope Benedict affirmed the necessity of a strong charitable sector that would help foster community and mutual respect. His teachings challenged the world to see economic activity not merely as a means of wealth generation but as an integral part of human development. Inspired by this encyclical, the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace (PCJP, since renamed the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development) published a document titled 'The Vocation of the Business Leader' as a kind of vade-mecum for business men and women. It reads like a handbook to be utilized by professors in formative moments and for instruction in schools and universities. The document is now in its fifth edition and includes a guide for the examination of conscience, a discernment list, with insightful questions such as: 'Am I creating wealth, or am I engaging in rent-seeking behavior?' And: 'Do I truly accept the competitive market economy or am I engaging in anti-competitive practices?' Having spent most of his life in Argentina, Pope Francis witnessed the decay of his once prosperous society. As a young priest he lived through the horror and drama of an internal war between left-wing subversive groups and the overt and covert repression by military and paramilitary organizations. He lived through periods of hyperinflation. While Francis was bishop of Buenos Aires, three large multinational companies - IBM, Siemens and Skanska - were convicted for bribery. Francis thus did not have an optimistic view of the market economy. For instance, in his post-synodal apostolic exhortation Evangelii gaudium he denounced the "idolatry of money" and called for an economy that places people, especially the poor, at its center. In his encyclical Laudato si' he links economic justice with environmental sustainability, framing both as interconnected aspects of care for creation. As I wrote in previous articles for I had hopes that Pope Francis would incorporate into his teachings the economic contributions of noted Jesuits, especially the writings of Matteo Liberatore (1810-1892) and Oswald Von Nell-Breuning (1890-1991), who helped refine social doctrine on private property, but that was not the case. Leo XIV and Peruvian Economic Success Previous popes' respective native countries and academic cultures influence their teachings and behavior. John Paul II spent many decades under communism, Benedict XVI lived in Germany and in Rome studying and surrounded by scholars, and Pope Francis, as I wrote above, lived during difficult periods of Argentine decay. Pope Leo XIV spent over two decades in Peru, from 1985 to 1998 and later as bishop of Chiclayo from 2014 to 2023. When he arrived, society was under attack by several left-wing terrorist organizations, notably the Shining Path and the Tupac Amaru movement. At the time, analysts in Washington were predicting the disintegration of Peru as a nation. But after the terrorists were defeated under the presidency of Alberto Fujimori, Peru changed economic course and achieved some of the fastest rates of economic growth in the Americas. This big jump in economic freedom took place during the end of the last century. During the first decades of our century, Peru maintained a moderately free economy, as measured by the Heritage Foundation's Index of Economic Freedom. Peru also showed a similar improvement in the economic freedom index of the Fraser Institute, it went from a score of 6 out of 10, to 7.42 in 2022, from #70 in the world to #43. Both Heritage and Fraser rank Peru in the top third of the world. The country would have scored higher in economic freedom if not for its very low scores in rule of law and government integrity. Peru's relative stability in economic policy, though, contrasts with the political scene. Most Peruvian presidents during Pope Leo's stay in Peru were indicted, impeached, or deposed, and one of them, Alan García, who served two terms, rather than facing jail, committed suicide. As measured by the Heritage Foundation, after defeating a communist insurgency, Peruvian economic ... More policies moved towards freedom. The bad scores in property rights, government integrity, and judicial effectiveness, prevents Peruvian from enjoying an even better economy When explaining why he chose his name, Leo XIV stated that he is following Leo XIII's commitment to social issues and workers' rights during the industrial revolution. Leo XIII's 1891 encyclical Rerum novarum ('On New Realities') addressed the era's rapidly changing economic scene and the resulting impact on workers. Private property was an essential aspect of his views on social justice. Leo XIV, in explaining his choice of name, spoke about the new challenges of our century that parallel those confronted by Leo XIII, especially the rise of artificial intelligence, which is already affecting the workforce. I, for one, expect that Leo XIV's economic teachings will parallel those of John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, as well as some, but not all, of Pope Francis's views on economics. I also expect that Leo XIV's views will be influenced by the decades he lived in Peru. During that period, the Peruvian economy began a remarkable run. A key component of Peruvian economic success was the control of inflation, which in the late 1980s had soared past 7000%. Peru began to implement rigorous monetary policies in the 1990s. By the 2000s and 2010s, inflation rates were maintained in the low single digits, fostering price stability and growing investor confidence. Fiscal discipline helped the monetary authorities. Successive governments, despite being plagued by scandals and having different ideologies, pursued prudent fiscal policies. This led to low fiscal deficits and manageable public debt levels, ensuring that Peru avoided the financial pitfalls that plagued many of its neighbors. Between the early 2000s and 2019, Peru saw an average annual GDP growth rate of 5–6 %, one of the fastest-growing economies in the region during that period. These solid economic fundamentals allowed the country to weather the 2008 financial crisis and the 2014 commodity price shock better than other countries. Economic growth also led to a huge decline in poverty rates, which fell from over 55% in 2001 to approximately 20% by 2019. I have traveled to Peru fairly often, and one can see the impact of sustained economic development, which particularly in urban areas has contributed to a growing middle class. Poverty rates went down in Peru during most of the period spent by Fr Robert Prevost, now Leo XIV, ... More in Peru. Freer trade also played a major role in Peru's economic growth. The country signed free trade agreements with U.S., China, and the EU, which opened doors for trade diversification. Mining exports have been key to Peru's success in reducing poverty. Private sector investment in mining positioned Peru among the world's top exporters of copper, gold, and silver, and the country also has abundant rare earth deposits. All this has made Peru a leading destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) in Latin America. In addition to the issue of corruption that affects Peru and most developing countries, the Pope likely has a special understanding of the problem of the extra-legal economy, the large informal sector which limits access to social protection. The in-depth studies appearing in Hernando de Soto's pathbreaking book The Other Path, written in collaboration with Enrique Ghersi and Mario Ghibellini, explained in detail the causes of this informality: a myriad of regulations and the high cost of property titling. Despite the many gains made, this problem still affects two thirds of Peru's economy. Before being called to the Vatican, the future Leo XIV was bishop of Chiclayo, which performed even better than most other regions of Peru. The new pope's experience of the issues that have affected Peru over the last few decades will hopefully shed new light on the papal economics of this century.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
How Chicago Shaped Pope Leo XIV
Newly elected Pope Leo XIV, Robert Prevost addresses the crowd from the main central loggia balcony of the St Peter's Basilica for the first time in the Vatican on May 8, 2025. Credit - Tiziana Fabi—AFP/Getty Images The election of Robert Prevost as Pope Leo XIV took most of us by surprise. More than most, after spending 12 years in Rome with him as a superior of a religious community, and especially as a fellow classmate at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago from 1977 to 1982, the announcement of 'Robertus Franciscus Prevost' from the logia of St. Peter's Basilica seemed like something from a movie. I knew him as 'Bob' and will always think of him this way. We studied together as seminarians and served our communities as international superiors. Yet, this announcement changed everything, and now he is to be counted among the vicars of Peter, whose almost 2,000-year history we pondered in the text books we studied as we prepared for priesthood. What does the new Pope bring to the Church? He is a man formed by his experience in the church of Chicago, especially the south side—a Church that has often been on the front lines of fighting racial injustice—a Church that has also struggled with racism within its own ranks. He is also a product of the Order of St. Augustine—with its rich and profound spirituality and a charism for teaching and reaching out to the poor. He is also formed by his studies at Catholic Theological Union, a seminary for priests from religious communities conceived in a new mode after Vatican II; one that did not isolate seminarians from the realities of the world in some far-off bucolic location. Rather, it was inspired by the last document of the Second Vatican Council, Gaudium et Spes whose first, immortal words echo so prophetically today: 'The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the people of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ.' Read More: The True Meaning of an American Pope Situated in the city, studying for the priesthood with women religious, lay men and women, made it clear that the vision of the Church bequeathed to us by the Council was alive and needed to be implemented. Pope Leo XIV, though, is not just a Pope of the U.S. 'near.' He has spent the bulk of his life in serving the international church—especially the global south 'far.' As a missionary in northern Peru and later as Prior General of the Augustinian order, he comes to this new ministry with an international sensitivity that would be hard to find in other cardinals. While holding a graduate degree in Canon Law, his time in Latin America has taught him that the Church is not to be solely defined as a 'perfect society' ruled by canon law. Rather, it is the faith of the people—Pope Francis' 'Santo Pueblo y Fiel' (Holy Faithful People)—that has imparted the faith to generation after generation in so many parts of the Catholic world. It is obvious that popular religious expressions of the faith, as a real inculturation of the gospel, are an aspect of evangelization to which Pope Leo will be especially sensitive. Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, being a theological school known for outstanding professors of missiology and its international student body, helped prepare Pope Leo for his subsequent ministry that crossed borders and cultures. It is also obvious that Pope Leo will be following in the path pointed out to the Church by Pope Francis. The issue is simple. If the Church is to continue to effectively proclaim the Gospel, it must be in a position to listen to everyone—especially those on the margins. The way the Church teaches also needs to be more in action than through mere words. Outreach to those who have traditionally not had a strong voice—to the poor, to women, to the vast part of the Church that no longer belongs to Europe or North America, will also be a focused concern for Pope Leo. Dealing with sensitive issues such as LGBTQ persons as well as weighing in on politically charged questions such as the unjust invasion of Ukraine and the plight of Israel and the Palestinians will undoubtedly be a concern on which he will focus. As a seminary classmate, fellow priest, and fellow Christian, I rejoice in the election of Robert Prevost as our new Holy Father. The nearness of God's grace and God's love is surely manifest in the election of a Holy Father whose origins are from somewhere that to many may seem unlikely and even miraculous. Someone born in Chicago! Contact us at letters@
Time Magazine
10-05-2025
- General
- Time Magazine
How Chicago Shaped Pope Leo XIV
The election of Robert Prevost as Pope Leo XIV took most of us by surprise. More than most, after spending 12 years in Rome with him as a superior of a religious community, and especially as a fellow classmate at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago from 1977 to 1982, the announcement of ' Robertus Franciscus Prevost ' from the logia of St. Peter's Basilica seemed like something from a movie. I knew him as 'Bob' and will always think of him this way. We studied together as seminarians and served our communities as international superiors. Yet, this announcement changed everything, and now he is to be counted among the vicars of Peter, whose almost 2,000-year history we pondered in the text books we studied as we prepared for priesthood. What does the new Pope bring to the Church? He is a man formed by his experience in the church of Chicago, especially the south side—a Church that has often been on the front lines of fighting racial injustice—a Church that has also struggled with racism within its own ranks. He is also a product of the Order of St. Augustine —with its rich and profound spirituality and a charism for teaching and reaching out to the poor. He is also formed by his studies at Catholic Theological Union, a seminary for priests from religious communities conceived in a new mode after Vatican II; one that did not isolate seminarians from the realities of the world in some far-off bucolic location. Rather, it was inspired by the last document of the Second Vatican Council, Gaudium et Spes whose first, immortal words echo so prophetically today: 'The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the people of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ.' Situated in the city, studying for the priesthood with women religious, lay men and women people, made it clear that the vision of the Church bequeathed to us by the Council was alive and needed to be implemented. Pope Leo XIV, though, is not just a Pope of the U.S. 'near.' He has spent the bulk of his life in serving the international church—especially the global south 'far.' As a missionary in northern Peru and later as Prior General of the Augustinian order, he comes to this new ministry with an international sensitivity that would be hard to find in other cardinals. While holding a graduate degree in Canon Law, his time in Latin America has taught him that the Church is not to be solely defined as a 'perfect society' ruled by canon law. Rather, it is the faith of the people—Pope Francis' 'Santo Pueblo y Fiel' (Holy Faithful People)—that has imparted the faith to generation after generation in so many parts of the Catholic world. It is obvious that popular religious expressions of the faith, as a real inculturation of the gospel, are an aspect of evangelization to which Pope Leo will be especially sensitive. Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, being a theological school known for outstanding professors of missiology and its international student body, helped prepare Pope Leo for his subsequent ministry that crossed borders and cultures. It is also obvious that Pope Leo will be following in the path pointed out to the Church by Pope Francis. The issue is simple. If the Church is to continue to effectively proclaim the Gospel, it must be in a position to listen to everyone—especially those on the margins. The way the Church teaches also needs to be more in action than through mere words. Outreach to those who have traditionally not had a strong voice—to the poor, to women, to the vast part of the Church that no longer belongs to Europe or North America, will also be a focused concern for Pope Leo. Dealing with sensitive issues such as LGBTQ persons as well as weighing in on politically charged questions such as the unjust invasion of Ukraine and the plight of Israel and the Palestinians will undoubtedly be a concern on which he will focus. As a seminary classmate, fellow priest, and fellow Christian, I rejoice in the election of Robert Prevost as our new Holy Father. The nearness of God's grace and God's love is surely manifest in the election of a Holy Father whose origins are from somewhere that to many may seem unlikely and even miraculous. Someone born in Chicago!
Chicago Tribune
07-05-2025
- General
- Chicago Tribune
David Tracy, influential Catholic theologian who examined mystery of faith, dies
An influential theologian who taught for 37 years at the University of Chicago Divinity School, David Tracy wrote about the significance of mystery within religions and examined how literature influences theology. A professor of Catholic studies and an ordained Roman Catholic priest, Tracy was known for his independence of thought and commitment to free expression. Though generally a supporter of the Catholic Church's leadership, Tracy joined 20 other professors at the Catholic University of America in 1968 in formally dissenting from Pope Paul VI's encyclical letter objecting to artificial birth control. That prompted the university to fire those professors, including Tracy, and, with help from the American Civil Liberties Union, they fought the university and were reinstated. 'He was the most important Catholic theologian of the second half of the last century,' said Roman Catholic theologian Bernard McGinn, who grew up with Tracy and later taught with him at the U. of C. 'His writings have been very influential not only in the U.S. but worldwide.' Tracy, 86, died of natural causes April 29 at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, said his nephew, actor John Emmet Tracy. Tracy was a longtime Hyde Park resident. Born in Yonkers, New York, Tracy attended the Cathedral College in New York City and then undertook seminary training in philosophy and theology at St. Joseph's Seminary and College in Yonkers. Tracy studied further at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, and he was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest in 1963. Tracy earned a licentiate of sacred theology in 1964 and a doctoral degree in 1969, both from the Pontifical Gregorian University. Tracy's studies were during the Second Vatican Council, or Vatican II, which concluded in 1965 and deeply influenced how Tracy's theology evolved, his family said. While earning his doctorate, Tracy worked as a priest in a diocese in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and he also began teaching at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. In 1968, Tracy, McGinn and 20 other Catholic University of America professors tried to dissent from the pope's encyclical reaffirming the church's position barring artificial birth control. The university's president and senate fired the 22 professors, who later were vindicated and allowed to continue teaching. 'We said that our theological expertise, such as it is, and also our pastoral experience of counseling young married couples, leads us to a respectful dissent of this position because we felt that young people, especially young married couples, needed to make use of, if necessary, artificial birth control,' McGinn said. U. of C. Divinity School professor Wendy Doniger said Tracy generally was pleased with Vatican II and what it achieved, but that he strongly disagreed with church leaders 'who, in his opinion, departed from that legacy.' Vatican II spurred the U. of C. Divinity School to hire Catholic scholars for the first time and Tracy was invited to join the faculty. Throughout his decades at the U. of C., Tracy developed a reputation for acknowledging the mystery and power of religious faith, instead of rigid orthodoxy. His views drew critics within the Catholic Church, but plenty of plaudits outside of it, as he studied theology's elevation of life's complexities and mysteries of existence. Tracy once told The New York Times that 'religion's closest cousin is not rigid logic but art,' and that 'real religion does not give final answers; it makes us ask better questions.' Tracy's scholarship also brought him into dialogues with Jewish, Buddhist and Muslim scholars. 'He was a great scholar, a great intellectual and a man with a real gift for teaching, both in mentoring young scholars one by one and by mesmerizing them in groups in classroom lectures,' Doniger said. 'So he found great fulfillment in his life in the academic world.' Alejandro Nava, one of Tracy's graduate students in the 1990s, said Tracy helped him find his own voice 'not only as a young scholar of religion but as a complete human person.' 'He was a deeply caring teacher and human being, and his teaching and scholarship were essential to my intellectual and spiritual development,' said Nava, now a religious studies professor at the University of Arizona. 'He had a stunning range of knowledge: The ancient Greeks and the Bible, medieval and modern art, the history of Christianity, modern philosophy and literary criticism, the world religions — he soaked it all in and didn't lose any of it once he committed it to memory. 'Ultimately, the mystery of God was an existential question for him, a matter not only of thinking better, but of living more justly, more humanely, more lovingly.' Nava said Tracy's emphasized the need for intellectuals and scholars to listen to the voices of the less fortunate, particularly those from non-European backgrounds. 'He never presumed to have all the right answers,' Nava said. 'It was the love of the question, and the pursuit of human understanding, that inspired his scholarship.' Tracy published numerous influential essays and books. His 1975 book, 'Blessed Rage for Order,' takes its title from a Wallace Stevens poem and explores how the human imagination endeavors to find meaning in a world often random and chaotic. Other books followed, including 'The Analogical Imagination' in 1981 and 'Plurality and Ambiguity' in 1987. 'Whoever fights for hope, fights on behalf of us all,' Tracy wrote in 'Plurality and Ambiguity.' 'Whoever acts on that hope, acts in a manner worthy of a human being. And whoever so acts, I believe, acts in a manner faintly suggestive of the reality and power of that God in whose image human beings were formed to resist, to think and to act. The rest is prayer, observance, discipline, conversation and actions of solidarity-in-hope. Or the rest is silence.' Although no longer a parish priest in Chicago, Tracy celebrated Saturday night Mass on the Hyde Park campus for many years. Tracy retired from the U. of C. in 2006, but continued to write and lecture. In 2020, he published a collection of more than 40 essays titled 'Fragments and Filaments,' and at the time of his death he had been working on a book tentatively titled 'Infinity and Naming God.' Tracy hailed Pope John XXIII and Mahatma Gandhi for understanding intuitively that love is at the heart of everything. 'The religious imagination of people is touched and comes to life in these classic lives, events and texts,' Tracy told The New York Times in 1986. 'They make us aware of this great mystery — that love is the basic reality. And that is what my work is all about.' In a statement, his surviving family, which consists of cousins, nieces and nephews, said Tracy 'will be remembered for his extraordinary body of work, the breadth of his influence, his rigorous explorations of the meaning and symbol of God in modern life, and his commitment to equality, social justice and interfaith and intercultural dialogue.' Services are private.
