Posted by
Katie Favazza on Monday, April 28, 2008 6:39:57 PM
I recently had the honor of talking with George Will about his forthcoming book, "One Man's America" (Crown Forum). Here's a snippet of that interview:
KF: In one of the columns
featured in the book, you call Pope John Paul the Second one of the most
consequential people of the latter half of the twentieth century. Pope
Benedict, who just made a historic trip to the United States, doesn’t have the backdrop of the
Cold War—but do you think he is or will be a transformative figure, as well?
GW: "I don’t think so. John Paul the Second, because he came from
Poland and because Poland was restive
before he was elevated and was more so after, could not help but be the fuse
that lit an explosion. He didn’t want to avoid being that, but he couldn’t have
avoided it even if he’d wanted to.
The current pope’s challenge is a trend, probably several
centuries now strong, and that is toward the secularization of Europe.
I think it was Hilaire Belloc who said that Europe is the
faith and the faith is Europe. And therefore,
this long-term secularization, which gathered speed in the second half of the
eighteenth century is something far beyond the power of one man, however
intelligent and even charismatic, to reverse."
To whom did Will dedicate this, his eighth collection of essays? What are Will's thoughts on "improvident borrowers and supposedly predatory lenders?" What has Will left out of every column for the last 15-20 years?
For these answers and more, check out "The Bookshelf" in the June issue of Townhall Magazine.