Pope Francis has written a comprehensive and deeply personal letter on the important role of literature in the formation of priests but also for all Christians who increasingly encounter “toxic” media narratives.
Written on 17 July and published by the Vatican on Sunday 4 August, the letter underscores the “value of reading novels and poems as part of one’s path to personal maturity” and also as a means to counter the toxicity, superficiality and violence that dominates so much of the news cycle nowadays. Based on that context, the Pope emphasises that the letter is addressed not just to those in formation but to all Christians, urging them to, in effect, pick up a good book.
