“Chiedete. Le mie risposte alle vostre domande”: the first social book by Pope Francis

During the meeting between Pope Francis and Scholas Occurrentes, held today in the Synod Hall in Rome, a new Mondadori publishing project was presented developed in collaboration with Scholas Occurrentes and the start up eFanswer: Chiedete. Le mie risposte alle vostre domande, a book that will be published later in the year, both in Italy and abroad.

Chiedete. Le mie risposte alle vostre domande is not just a book but an international “social event”, in which Pope Francis invites young people from around the world to ask him questions on the site www.askpopefrancis.scholasoccurrentes.org, developed together with the start-up eFanswer and available in five languages: Italian, English, French, Spanish and Portuguese. You can ask anything, there are no predefined arguments or issues, the important thing is that what you want to know comes from the heart. The questions will be collected and selected by Mondadori and Scholas Occurrentes on the basis of two main criteria: variety and originality, in order to allow Pope Francis to share his thoughts on topics never so far addressed. The Holy Father’s answers will be published in a book to be released in the coming months and for which the rights will be sold worldwide. Edited by Tiziana Lupi, a journalist, who wrote Our Pope, an illustrated biography of Pope Francis published by Mondadori in 2014, and edited My Idea of ​​Art, a book published last year, also by Mondadori, in which, for the first time, Pope Francis expressed his thoughts on art.

Chiedete. Le mie risposte alle vostre domande is an authentic social book, which uses new forms of communication to put the Holy Father in contact with people from every corner of the planet. A sort of collective book interview, a new concept, a great virtual dialogue between Pope Francis and young people from around the world, of any social class and religion who, thanks to the internet, can ask their questions just as if they had him in front of them.

During the meeting Pope Francis underlined how important it is to learn to enter into a dialogue, because in a dialogue everybody wins and nobody loses; because dialogue means building bridges. Tiziana Lupi, who presented the project, focused on just this concept to describe it: “With this book, together with Scholas Occurrentes and Mondadori, we have tried to open a door to this dialogue. Unfiltered, so that young people can ask their questions directly on the web platform. The aim is to be open to listening and dialogue, two key tools, as Pope Francis himself claims, for the creation of a different world.” The first two questions were asked by two of the 12 YouTubers present at the meeting. The answers, which the Holy Father gave immediately, will be the first to be included in the book.

This project has been developed in collaboration with Scholas Occurrentes, an international organisation of pontifical law created by Pope Francis and concerned with young people and education with the aim of promoting social integration and a culture of encounters for peace, and thanks to a technological and publishing platform developed by the start-up eFanswer.