Not my usual sort of book but I thought I would expand my repertoire. Pope Francis is clearly a well-read and educated man, but this does make the book quite difficult to read at times with all the references to works I am not familiar with. Still, an interesting basis for a book, a variety of social and cultural issues discussed over the course of 12 interviews - which are more like conversations really. They are digestible and easy to read though.

I’m not a catholic, or religious in any way for that matter, but I found this book deeply interesting and engaging throughout. Very different to my normal reading but it was nice to have that change, I need to read more non fiction!

I almost passed up the chance to read this book due to the author, however, it turned out to be a very interesting read. Pope Franics is an admirable man and despite the difference in our religious beliefs, I found this to be a profound book.

This isn't the sort of book I'd usually pick up, as an atheist, however my boyfriend is Catholic, and to be honest I quite like Pope Francis as a person. So I gave it a go.
It's a heavier read than I'm used to but I found this book to be a really good read. Speaking about real-world issues obviously means this can be picked up by almost anyone and prove to be an insightful read.
I found a number of the words used by The Pope in this text to be applicable to more that one situation outside of religion.

Pope Francis met with a french reporter Dominique Walton, for a series of twelve conversations. Revolving around politics, cultural and religious issues.
It is interesting to see his point of view on all these topics , while I got bored quickly with this book , I can imagine a lot of people will love this book.

Another book that I chose to read for Non-Fiction November, The Path To Change is an official biography of Pope Francis (the current pope) conducted through interviews with the author. I personally am not religious, but Pope Francis seems to be more in contact with the current social climate than previous popes and I was interested to hear his thoughts and learn a little more about him. 

This book tells us a little about his background and childhood, where he started and how he has developed into the sort of man he is today, but the main focus of the interviews is his opinion of events today. How the Church communicates with its members, various political concepts which are hot topics and also opinions on morality. Although I found him repeating himself a lot (building bridges is a favourite topic of his), it was interesting to see what he thought about these topics and learn a little more about the head of the Catholic Church.

I won't lie, this wasn't the easiest of reads, the interview format does not lend itself to easy reading and the repetition, whilst emphasising points, did make me zone out a few times. However, I am glad that I have read this book and have learned more about an area of the world to which I am not connected.

I gave this book 3/5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley for an ecopy of this book in return for an unbiased review.

I was curious about this book when I saw that it was available on Netgalley for download. Aspect were interesting though it dragged in other places.#

I have a personal interest in the sense that I come from a Catholic background though I’m no longer practicing. I find it interesting to find out how views have changed over the years, some I agree with and others I do not.
Some parts of the book are taken directly from speeches given. I would highly recommend for anyone with an interest in religion.

Think before you have any say about migrants!

Pope Francis was interviewed by the French reporter, Dominique Wolton. He was not anything like Pope Benedict (often referred to as the Rottweiler). Pope Francis has a huge sense of humour like an ordinary human being.

The Pope advised about going through the economic system in the Western Civilisation, i.e., capitalism. Money is typically the root of evil, as the gap between the rich and poor people widens continuously.

There are millions of people who are displaced by the wars and the climate changes, suffering from hunger and chronically infirmed.

The people in Europe (both EU and non-EU states) are still angered by the “invasion” of their home nations by the migrants fleeing from war-torn Africa and Asia, causing the overpopulation in Europe where the civil services, such as the health departments, are strained.

The readers will be surprised how the wars and climate changes are caused.

Caesar 13

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

My entire paternal family are Irish roman catholics and i am a staunch atheist and i debated whether i was going to read this or not but in the end i found that it was quite an interesting read.

I will never, and i mean never support any religion, i think it is the biggest scurge of evil in the world and in my opinion should be eradicated, and im telling you this because i detest religion and yet i agreed with some of the things that the pope said, but fundamentally disagreed with a lot of things he said.

Despite your religions leanings this is a very interesting book.

Great read. A fabulous insight into an amazing man. I loved this book and will be buying it for other family members

I’m not Catholic, I’m not religious at all in fact but I believe in great leadership and this is a perfect example of well thought out, positive leadership that the world needs and deserves.

When you compare this to some of the vile nonsense that you hear from so called leaders this shines, genuinely shines.

Read for yourself and appreciate what we have in this Pope

Now, the latest book from the Pope wasn’t exactly high on my reading list but I was asked to read, The Path to Change: Thoughts on Politics and Society by Pope Francis, by the book’s publishers as they were curious as to the appeal of this book to a non-typical audience. And, well, it certainly is an interesting read and an easy one to – the book is set out as a series of interviews held with the Pope over the course of a year by self-professed ‘French intellectual’ Dominique Wolton – but this isn’t going to be a book that changes your mind about either the man or the Church.

Pope Francis is clearly a man determined to make the Catholic Church ‘a church for the poor’ – no mean task considering the wealth and privilege of the Church – and he is certainly a man with a great sense of social justice. From these interviews it is clear how committed he is to change the Catholic Church, to make it a more active part of the global community, and to make it a church with energy and life rather than staid tradition.

The Pope addresses some interesting issues, such as that erstwhile question of why God lets bad things happen to good people, but it’s also clear that he remains steadfastly opposed to such matters as feminism and homosexuality, even conflating the last matter with child rape at some points in the text, which is deeply concerning. He is also weirdly defensive about bishops guilty of sex abuse and rape. So, look, the book offers some genuinely interesting insights into the Pope’s thinking, but the opinion you hold of him and the Church before you read this – for good or for ill – will be the same by the time you finish it. There’s nothing here to really challenge that.

I was pleased to be asked to read this book. It is an informative and thought provoking read. Pope Francis has a lot of humility and compassion and caring for people. He is trying to show his beliefs in his actions and teach people about his faith. I admire him for his humility and the strength of his faith. It felt like a privilege to read this book and I will probably read it again.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

When I saw The Path to Change advertised I was intrigued despite being an atheist, after all its not very often you get to read a book written by a pope. The Path to Change features a series of interviews conducted by Dominique Wolton in which Pope Francis discusses his views on social and political issues.

The Path to Change begins with a very powerful speech from Pope Francis on what he considers to be the most pressing issue of our time.

“Recently I said and now I repeat, we are going through World War Three but in instalments. There are economic systems that must make war in order to survive. Accordingly, are manufactured and sold and, with that, the balance sheet of economics that sacrifice man at the feet of the idol of money are clearly rendered healthy. And no thought is given to hungry children in refugee camps; no thought is given to the forcibly displaced; no thought is given to destroyed homes; no thought is given, finally, to so many destroyed lives.”

High on the Pope’s agenda is a sense of social responsibility for everyone not just the religious.

“I dream of a Europe that promotes and protects the rights of everyone, without neglecting it’s duties towards all. I dream of a Europe of which it will not be said that its commitment to human rights was its last utopia.”

It is clear from the interviews that the Pope is a very personable man and certainly not a stuffy, empty figurehead.

Dominque Wolton performed very well in the role of interviewer asking some insightful questions and making some valid observations. For example:

“Sometimes I get dizzy when I think of the crushing responsibilities that weigh on his shoulders. How can he choose, think, amid so many obligations, and requests? How can he listen and act, not only on behalf of the Church, but also many global affairs? How does he do it?”

Once again, I must reiterate the depths of his concern about immigration.

“The problem begins in the countries that the refugees come from. Why do they leave their home? Because of a lack of work or because of a war. Those are the two main reasons. Lack of work, because they have been exploited – I’m thinking of the Africans. Europe has exploited Africa…The other reasons for migration is war. If you invest, people will find jobs and won’t need to leave, but if there is war, they will have to flee anyway. And who’s making war? Who’s giving them weapons? We are.”

Pope Francis is particularly outspoken about the evils of the arms trade, and again his opinions are very close to my own.

“We supply them with the weapons so they destroy themselves. People complain that migrants are coming to destroy us. But we’re the ones who are sending them the weapons."

During the interviews Pope Francis repeatedly stresses the important of communication and building bridges and the dangers of globalisation.

I found this book fascinating and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed reading it.

I was hesitant to request this book because I am not religious, but I am really pleased I did because a lot of the views expressed by Pope Francis, particularly on immigration, are views I share. It was a thoroughly absorbing read and despite being evasive on some topics he was generally honest and open.

I found this book to be very informative. I liked the way the book was set out, with questions and answers. I really like Pope Francis and whether you're religious or not, he comes across as a good man. He is intelligent and humble and I think he is probably one of our better Popes.

I was intrigued at receiving an invitation to read this book as it is certainly not one I would choose. I'm not a Catholic and have little time for organised religion, but was interested in reading what a seemingly very popular Pope had to say about the modern world.
On a practical level I found the book quite difficult to read with so many footnotes and at times I found the translation a bit grating. I also felt that although Dominique Wolton asked some interesting questions he felt almost fawning at times.
This book wouldn't make me change my views on Catholicism or feel that the Pope's views on such things as women and homosexuality will ever move further forward. However, he does come across as a man who thinks deeply and wants to build bridges with other people and religions so maybe there is hope for the world.

Receiving an invitation via Netgalley to read and review this book, I was intrigued. I am not a Catholic and know very little about the Catholic faith so I was interested to learn about Pope Francis' take on the world's problems.

The book is based around twelve interviews which the author, Dominique Wolton, a sociologist, conducted with Pope Francis. Each chapter reports on one of these with additional complementary material from public speeches he has made, relating to the broad theme of the chapter.

I found it quite a difficult read. The Pope is very well read and often cited works of philosophy with which I am not familiar. The extensive footnotes helped a little but are not easy to follow on a Kindle. And obviously he also cited Catholic authors and thinkers unknown to me. But even a reader without the necessary depth of understanding gets a picture of a very wise and thoughtful man, eager to use his power and influence for the good of the world. I found that quite consoling at a time when we lack strong moral leadership.

My only real criticisms of the book stem from my own background as a social science researcher. Interviews are tricky, even with lesser mortals then the Pope as your subject and I would have liked to know more of the thinking behind Wolton's approach than is provided in the introduction. What the book provides is a series of conversations, rather than what I would regard as interviews. The twists and turns give the Pope an opportunity to present his views in an accessible way but the dialogue reads very smoothly and I'd like to know how it was recorded and edited. It's also not entirely clear what language was used. The translator, Shaun Whiteside, is a very well respected translator, but, again, I would like to know a bit about the process.

This book will be of great interest to anyone wanting insights into the role of the Pope and the way the present incumbent is addressing his responsibilities, Catholic or not.

In this book Pope Francis lays out his thoughts on a variety of issues, during a series of twelve meetings with French researcher, intellectual and writer Dominique Walton. In addition to a summary of the discussions, the text includes extracts from sixteen speeches delivered by the Pope since his election in 2013. The subject matter includes, amongst other things: globalisation, diversity, communication and what the the pontiff believes to be the greatest threat to world peace. 



My position on religion is that of an agnostic, or perhaps (a new word I was recently introduced to) an apatheist. I'm certainly not against religion, in any of it’s many forms; I believe that, at its best, religion can propose a set of moral guidelines or rules by which societies and individuals can set out their stall or judge themselves by. In other words, I do think that the church, by working as common conscience and by vocalising its thoughts on important issues, can serve a useful purpose.

So what of this book? Well, the first thing to say is that it’s not an easy read. To me, it quickly highlights one of the issues the church has, that of clearly communicating its message to non-believers. Pope Francis is clearly a very intelligent, well read and articulate man and when he speaks on a number of topics I found myself having a good deal of sympathy with his thoughts. The problem is that there is a lot of difficult stuff to get through to fully comprehend where he’s coming from. Religions have their own vocabulary and there are numerous terms, words and references that left me puzzled. I confess I ended up skipping over much of this stuff.

Here are some of the elements that did grab me, though:

His statement that we are going through ‘World War 3 in instalments’, I found interesting. In his view the biggest threat to world peace is money, in that weapons are supplied around the world by the West, who then bemoan the fact that they have to resolve issues, often by force, that they’ve contributed to creating. He talks a lot here about the need for social and political engagement – clear communication with all sides actively listening to each other. In fact, communication is a big theme in this book: the need for dialogue, negotiation and a desire to ‘build bridges’ (a phrase he repeats often).

He has strong views on globalisation too. He feels that it removes diversity, and that’s a bad thing. There is a need for unity, he says, not uniformity. His view is that we should accept and embrace difference. A common sense overview, maybe, but not one that is holding much sway in today’s world. He also talks of the danger represented by fundamentalists who only accept their own view of how things should be done. Again, a view that is hard to disagree with but but it's a problem that's going to be so very hard to resolve.

In a speech in 2015, the Pope made three key points:

1. That the economy ‘should not be a mechanism for accumulating goods, but rather the proper administration of our common home’

2. The idea that peoples culture, language and social processes should be respected

3. The need to ‘defend Mother Earth’ (primarily this being focused on the need for humanity to address climate change and rebalance its relationship with the planet and each other)

It’s hard to argue with these points, I think!

Overall I found this book to be a fascinating insight into the thinking of the head of the Catholic Church. I was impressed by his breadth of knowledge and his depth of thinking. It certainly doesn’t change my stance on religion but it does strengthen my view that religious leaders do have a valuable role to play in ‘big’ politics, though certainly not party political politics, if we can find a effective way of harnessing it.

Although perhaps slightly wordy for my liking, and I definitely had to refer to Google one too many times for definitions of certain words, I did enjoy this overall.
The Catholic Church has taken a hitting recently with many a scandal coming to light, it’s easy to say Pope Francis has taken the church into the 21st Century.
This book is an insightful look at a man trying to include all, in a Church that’s trying to rebuild its foundations.

Not a believer myself, this book is certainly eye-opening.

It was really great to read the beliefs and ideas of the head of the Catholic church. I almost passed this book up because I'm an atheist, but I was also intrigued - could the ideas of Pope Francis be reconciled with my own ideas on the world?

This Pope is clearly a very intelligent and benevolent man; a man who is at the head of an institution that has spent centuries doing a lot of bad things, as well as good. He takes his position very seriously and seems to approach all the interview questions with a genuine love for humanity and a fairly open mind. Of course, he is still a traditionalist in many ways, but his ultimate desire for peace over war, understanding over hatred, and a better future over lingering in the past, made this a heartwarming read.

I should warn that it's quite wordy and dense - I wouldn't recommend this for those looking for a light read - but it takes on some huge topics so I suppose that's to be expected.