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Catholic Discordance: Neoconservatism vs. the Field Hospital Church of Pope Francis
2022 Catholic Media Association honorable mention Pope Francis 2022 Catholic Media Association honorable mention in English translation edition
One element of the church that Pope Francis was elected to lead in 2013 was an ideology that might be called the “American” model of Catholicism—the troubling result of efforts by intellectuals like Michael Novak, George Weigel, and Richard John Neuhaus to remake Catholicism into both a culture war colossus and a prop for ascendant capitalism.
After laying the groundwork during the 1980s and armed with a selective and manipulative reading of Pope John Paul II’s 1991 encyclical Centesimus Annus , these neoconservative commentators established themselves as authoritative Catholic voices throughout the 1990s, viewing every question through a liberal-conservative ecclesial-political lens. The movement morphed further after the 9/11 terror attacks into a startling amalgamation of theocratic convictions, which led to the troubling theo-populism we see today.
The election of the Latin American pope represented a mortal threat to all of this, and a poisonous backlash was inevitable, bringing us to the brink of a true “American schism.” This is the drama of today’s Catholic Church. In Catholic Neoconservatism vs. the Field Hospital Church of Pope Francis , Massimo Borghesi—who masterfully unveiled the pope’s own intellectual development in his The Mind of Pope Francis —analyzes the origins of today’s Catholic neoconservative movement and its clash with the church that Francis understands as a “field hospital” for a fragmented world.
One element of the church that Pope Francis was elected to lead in 2013 was an ideology that might be called the “American” model of Catholicism—the troubling result of efforts by intellectuals like Michael Novak, George Weigel, and Richard John Neuhaus to remake Catholicism into both a culture war colossus and a prop for ascendant capitalism.
After laying the groundwork during the 1980s and armed with a selective and manipulative reading of Pope John Paul II’s 1991 encyclical Centesimus Annus , these neoconservative commentators established themselves as authoritative Catholic voices throughout the 1990s, viewing every question through a liberal-conservative ecclesial-political lens. The movement morphed further after the 9/11 terror attacks into a startling amalgamation of theocratic convictions, which led to the troubling theo-populism we see today.
The election of the Latin American pope represented a mortal threat to all of this, and a poisonous backlash was inevitable, bringing us to the brink of a true “American schism.” This is the drama of today’s Catholic Church. In Catholic Neoconservatism vs. the Field Hospital Church of Pope Francis , Massimo Borghesi—who masterfully unveiled the pope’s own intellectual development in his The Mind of Pope Francis —analyzes the origins of today’s Catholic neoconservative movement and its clash with the church that Francis understands as a “field hospital” for a fragmented world.
- GenresReligion
280 pages, Hardcover
Published December 20, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 14, 2025
“El Desafío Francisco” de Massimo Borghesi es mucho más que una defensa del Papa: es una interpretación profunda de su visión y de la lógica evangélica que animó su pontificado. Este libro se revela como una herramienta imprescindible para comprender la coherencia y el alcance de su legado. Borghesi no presenta a Francisco como un reformador improvisado ni como un simple pastor popular. Lo muestra como un pensador espiritual que, en medio de una Iglesia polarizada, se negó a caer en el juego de las trincheras ideológicas. Como escribe el autor en uno de los pasajes más reveladores:
“La Iglesia no necesita enemigos para vivir, los encuentra a lo largo de su camino, pero, en su corazón, desea transformarlos en amigos. Su objetivo es comunicar la mansa humanidad divina del Redentor, a los que están cerca y a los que están lejos. Toda ideología, toda teología política, es un tropiezo que divide a la humanidad en buenos y malos, en derecha e izquierda... la Iglesia debe ser capaz de rebasar [esas barreras] sin quedar condicionada por ellas. De otro modo… su destino es concebirse como una fortaleza asediada y no como debe ser: un hospital de campaña ofrecido a los heridos en el campo de batalla de la historia.”
El pontificado de Francisco fue, en ese sentido, un esfuerzo constante por devolver al centro de la vida eclesial la misericordia, el encuentro y la apertura al otro. Borghesi ayuda a comprender por qué, a pesar de las resistencias, esa visión tenía un profundo arraigo evangélico. Un libro necesario para todos los que no quieren reducir el legado de Francisco a caricaturas o etiquetas.
En dos palabras: muy recomendable. AE
“La Iglesia no necesita enemigos para vivir, los encuentra a lo largo de su camino, pero, en su corazón, desea transformarlos en amigos. Su objetivo es comunicar la mansa humanidad divina del Redentor, a los que están cerca y a los que están lejos. Toda ideología, toda teología política, es un tropiezo que divide a la humanidad en buenos y malos, en derecha e izquierda... la Iglesia debe ser capaz de rebasar [esas barreras] sin quedar condicionada por ellas. De otro modo… su destino es concebirse como una fortaleza asediada y no como debe ser: un hospital de campaña ofrecido a los heridos en el campo de batalla de la historia.”
El pontificado de Francisco fue, en ese sentido, un esfuerzo constante por devolver al centro de la vida eclesial la misericordia, el encuentro y la apertura al otro. Borghesi ayuda a comprender por qué, a pesar de las resistencias, esa visión tenía un profundo arraigo evangélico. Un libro necesario para todos los que no quieren reducir el legado de Francisco a caricaturas o etiquetas.
En dos palabras: muy recomendable. AE
January 16, 2022
All Catholics, especially North American ones, should read both works of Massimo Borghesi on the current pope: "The Mind of Pope Francis" and "Catholic Dissonance".
While his intellectual biography of Pope Francis helps the reader understand the formation of Jorge Bergoglio's spiritual and philosophical life, it can be a bit academic at times. Alternatively, "Catholic Dissonance" provides a layman's perspective into Francis's thought through a dialectical method in contrast to his Neoconservative, primarily American opponents.
The first chapter of this book provides a valuable history of the Neoconservative Movement from the 1980s to the US election of 2016 and its blocking of Pope Francis's teachings. indeed, this is the major bulk of the work. It is also the most interesting and significant part.
The rest of the book heavily quotes from Pope Francis's and Bergoglio's writings, as well as from his Neoconservative opponents. In fact, you will be better served reading his first book to understand Francis more fully.
The significant conclusion of the book is that the cure for the liquid society can't be found in political-religious traditionalism. Indeed, every ideology and political theology that divides humanity into good or bad, right and left, is a stumbling block to unity and human fraternity
September 10, 2023
It probably should come as no surprise that this work seeks to deflect must of the criticism of Pope Francis that appears to be coming from the neoconservative wing of the American Catholic Church … primarily by offering an analysis of how and why the theological foundations of the movement developed within the aftermath of the fall of communism [within Russia] and the presumed superiority of the capitalist system that brought it down. Full disclosure here … I am NOT a part of the neocon movement and as such I found that I very much resonated with the analysis and arguments illustrating where they have drifted away from the missionary nature of the Church. Much of this was supported by significant blocks of quotations from the likes of notable neocons such as Novak, Neuhaus and Weigel to ensure sufficient context; however, readers subscribe to the neocon ideal probably won’t appreciate this nearly as much as I did.
This principle defense of Pope Francis seems to center on how his theology revealed in the various encyclicals are really a continuation of the theology and teachings of the Church advanced by previous Popes (primarily JP2 and Benedict). While this appears to be true, there can be little doubt that the focus of Pope Francis (on the poor and our home) does not align with where the Catholic neoconservatives wish the Church to go (adherence to the law and unrestrained capitalism) and that is the source of much of the criticism from that wing. Perhaps it is telling that any show of sympathy to those that do not participate in the prosperity of capitalism is condemned as mere populism (ref Zanatta - "Manifesto populista"). Of the two approaches I find myself more in the former camp while understanding the importance of the latter within the membership of the Church. What is missing from this book is any sort of balance or attempt to acknowledge the concerns raised by the Pope’s critics … and toward that end we see the inventible result of such a vacuum.
We don’t get to see the other side of this conflict until the last 3rd of the book where the concept of the Church as a Field Hospital is presented. The basic idea is that the Church should first focus on the big things (a sort of triage that works to relieve suffering) instead of focusing on the purity of her members. This doesn’t means that the Church must compromise her teaching, but that it recognizes that we are all unworthy and are at different places on our journey … and that is all okay. When everything is all said and done … this is where the Church should have been all along.
The chapters and sections in this work are:
Introduction: Beyond the Theological-Political Model
Chapter 1: The Fall of Communism and the Hegemony of Catholic Americanism
Chapter 2: the Pontificate of Francis and the Crisis of Globalization
Chapter 3: A Church That Goes Forth and a Field Hospital
Conclusion: Theo-populism, the United States, and the Future of the Church
I was given this free advance reader copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
#CatholicDiscordance #Edelweiss
This principle defense of Pope Francis seems to center on how his theology revealed in the various encyclicals are really a continuation of the theology and teachings of the Church advanced by previous Popes (primarily JP2 and Benedict). While this appears to be true, there can be little doubt that the focus of Pope Francis (on the poor and our home) does not align with where the Catholic neoconservatives wish the Church to go (adherence to the law and unrestrained capitalism) and that is the source of much of the criticism from that wing. Perhaps it is telling that any show of sympathy to those that do not participate in the prosperity of capitalism is condemned as mere populism (ref Zanatta - "Manifesto populista"). Of the two approaches I find myself more in the former camp while understanding the importance of the latter within the membership of the Church. What is missing from this book is any sort of balance or attempt to acknowledge the concerns raised by the Pope’s critics … and toward that end we see the inventible result of such a vacuum.
We don’t get to see the other side of this conflict until the last 3rd of the book where the concept of the Church as a Field Hospital is presented. The basic idea is that the Church should first focus on the big things (a sort of triage that works to relieve suffering) instead of focusing on the purity of her members. This doesn’t means that the Church must compromise her teaching, but that it recognizes that we are all unworthy and are at different places on our journey … and that is all okay. When everything is all said and done … this is where the Church should have been all along.
The chapters and sections in this work are:
Introduction: Beyond the Theological-Political Model
Chapter 1: The Fall of Communism and the Hegemony of Catholic Americanism
Chapter 2: the Pontificate of Francis and the Crisis of Globalization
Chapter 3: A Church That Goes Forth and a Field Hospital
Conclusion: Theo-populism, the United States, and the Future of the Church
I was given this free advance reader copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
#CatholicDiscordance #Edelweiss
February 24, 2022
An essential book to understanding the Catholic Church in America.
March 13, 2022
Enlightening
Very well done. The author put into perspective for me a complex set of issues some of which I was not aware of. It expresses why a few years ago I be came a "throw away Catholic" by neocon clericalists.
Thanks,
Very well done. The author put into perspective for me a complex set of issues some of which I was not aware of. It expresses why a few years ago I be came a "throw away Catholic" by neocon clericalists.
Thanks,
July 24, 2022
Mixed bag. Appreciated the way he connect Erik Peterson to Pope Francis' & Benedict's thought re: political theology.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews