(1978) as a hymn of joy for the fact thatrnman has been redeemed through Christ;rnand he affirms the essential “joy of creation”rnthat is completed by “the joy ofrnsalvation.” Commenting on the internationalrnyouth rallies that have been a distinctivernfeature of his pontificate, he seesrna religious significance in the joie de vivrernof the young, because their happiness reflectsrn”something of the original joy Codrnhad in creating man.” Even the sad experiencernof living under Nazi and Communistrnrule has done little to diminishrnthe 75-year-old Pontiff’s good spirits.rnLike Chesterton, he seems consumed byrnwhat the great English writer called “arnfury for life.” Yet there are also hints thatrnthe Pope knows the meaning of personalrnbetrayal. At least, that would seem to bernthe implication of his simple and almostrnchildlike confession of his faith in thernOne “who walks alongside each personrnas a Friend—the only Friend who willrnnot disappoint him, on whom he canrnalways count.” But cheerfulness keepsrnon breaking through. Prayer, he explains,rnis not primarily a matter of discipline andrndifficulty; it is rather the most effectivernway of making God present in our lives.rnIn answer to a question about the apparentrnsilence of God, he refuses to berngloomy, pointing out that God has alreadyrnsaid everything through the revelationrnof the Incarnate Word, and thatrnthere is, in any case, an ongoing communicationrnthat takes place in the lives ofrnall believing people: the actions of thernsacraments are, after all, the actionsrnof Christ. And then, as a sort of casualrnaside, he points out the corollary of thisrncheerful sacramental theology, by summarizingrnthe entire history of the 20thrncenturv as an unsuccessful attempt tornstifle the voice of God.rnOne of the more curious features ofrnthe book is the Pope’s ambivalentrnattitude toward the Western world. Hernrefers to the struggle against God in thernWest, and he asserts that, for three centuries,rnthe life and thought of the Westrnhas been characterized by the “systematicrnelimination of God.” Even the Marxistrncollectivism under which he and hisrnpeople suffered such hardship is dismissedrncontemptuously as being nornmore than a “cheap version” of this samernantireligious plan. More than that, hernsees Western consumerism as a forcernmore powerful than communism in underminingrnreligious faith and traditionalrnmorality. At the same time, in spite ofrnhis many references to the need to evangelizernthe consumcrist society of thernWest, he is critical of social movementsrnthat attempt to undertake this task: in hisrnview, those who are engaged in an intenserndialogue with contemporary culturernare in constant danger of being o’erwhelmedrnby it, and, in any case, sincernindividual holiness is the key to all effectivernaction, no social action has any valuernwhich does not proceed from praver.rnThere is scarcely a word about strategiesrnfor the evangelization of contemporaryrnculture. On this question, as on all others,rnhis thinking remains uncompromisinglyrnsupernatural. In a passage of greatrneloquence, he says that every civilization,rnincluding Western civilization, is savedrnonly by its hidden saints, and he thenrnproudly lists the victims of the Nazirndeath camps and communist gulags asrnthe heroes of our century. Interestingly,rnin his roll-call of martyrs, he is careful torninclude the forgotten martyrs of thernSpanish Civil War.rnBut a difficulty remains which thernbook never precisely addresses. Accordingrnto the Pope, the interior life of prayerrnis the key to everything good both in thernlife of the individual and society. Thernemphasis is firmly on individual responsibilityrnand individual discipline. Yet thernPope’s sacramental theology also impliesrnsomething quite different. The sacramentalrnprinciple, after all, is communitarian,rnand the sanctity of the individualrnmust, therefore, ultimately depend onrnthe health of the community that is supposedrnto support the individual’s effortsrnto be good. If there are “structures ofrnsin” that perpetuate and magnify individualrnevil, there are also structures ofrnvirtue that make it easier for people tornlead good lives. In spite of the dangers ofrnsocial action, the evangelization of culturernmust somehow take place andrnstrategies for such an evangelization requirernmore than a call for individual holiness.rnIf the consumerist culture of thernWest possesses a terrible power to underminernreligious faith, then there is an urgentrnneed to challenge and transformrnthat culture. The Pope’s approving referencesrnto Pope Paul VI’s writing on thisrnsubject make it clear that he regards thernmatter as critical. It is disappointing thatrnin this book he is ncer given an opportunityrnto develop his ideas on the subject.rnPerhaps the most attractive feature ofrnthis book is its epigrammatic tjuality.rnWhat it lacks in overall design, it morernthan compensates for in the power of itsrnindividual comments. It is a case of thernparts being more impressive than thernwhole. The small sayings are the memorablernones, and there are enough of themrnto form a book of aphorisms. Long afterrnthe reader has forgotten the particularrnpoints which the Pope makes about thernthinking of Descartes and Kant, he isrnlikely to remember the Pope’s brisk andrnProtestant-sounding comment that therntitle “Christian” has far greater significancernthan the title “bishop,” even if thernsubject is the Bishop of Rome; and thatrnthe title “Vicar of Christ” is one thatrnshould be applied to every Christian.rnConcerning the Incarnation of Christrnand the “closeness” of God to human lifernthat this Mystery implies, he says: “Manrnwas no longer able to tolerate such closeness,rnand then the protests began. Thisrngreat protest has precise names—first itrnis called the Synagogue, and then Islam,”rnConcerning the insensiti’ity to the “LastrnThings” promoted by secularism, he suggestsrnthat the “hells on earth” created inrnthe 20th centurv have contributed to thisrninsensitivity: “Can man possibly expectrnanything worse from this world, an evenrngreater amount of humiliation and eontempt?rnIn a word, hell? . . . Is not hell inrna certain sense the ultimate safeguard ofrnman’s moral conscience?”rnFinally, something should be saidrnabout the attractive quality of the bookrnas a physical object. Beautifully andrnclearly printed on heavy paper, it is a delightrnto read. Even its compact size isrnright: larger than a paperback, but stillrnsmall enough to hold easily, and just thernright size to take with you on a journey.rnThe publisher and printer deserve creditrnfor their work. The tran,slation is morerndifficult to judge. Certainly the Italianrnversion has been rendered into smoothrnand idiomatic English. Nevertheless, it isrndisconcerting to learn that the reader isrntwo stages removed from the originalrntext, which was written in Polish. For arnproject of this importance, it should havernbeen possible to find someone competentrnto translate the book directly fromrnthat language. If the Italian publishersrncould find such a person, why couldn’trnAlfred A. Knopf? In the television interviewrnthat nexer happened and thatrnwould never have been remembered if itrnhad taken place, the failure to find thernexact words would scarcely have mattered;rnbut, in a noble book that will last,rnthe words ought to be exactly right.rn32/CHRONICLESrnrnrn