Pope Francis told French sociologist Dominique Wolton he had seen a Jewish psychoanalyst in the 1970. “For six months, I went to her once a week to shed light on certain things,” the Pope Wolton. “She was very good, very professional … but she always remained in her proper place. […]That helped me a lot at a moment of my life when I had need to consult [. . .] to clarify things.”
The exchange appeared in extracts from Wolton’s new book, ”Pope Francis: Meetings with Dominique Wolton: Politics and Society,” published by Le Figaro on Friday.
In the new book’s 400 pages, the Pope criticizes Europe’s attitude about the migration of asylum seekers from the Middle east, saying, “At this moment Europe is afraid; it closes, closes, closes.” He also comments on war and peace, politics and religions, globalization and cultural diversity, fundamentalism and secularism, ecology, inequalities in the world, ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue, the individual, the family, otherness, the times, confidence and joy.
Dominique Wolton is Research Director at CNRS, and the author of some 30 works, including the book-length interview “Le Choix de Dieu” with Monsignor Jean-Marie Lustiger (1927-2007), the former Archbishop of Paris who was a Jewish convert to Christianity.
In media events about his new book, Wolton speaks of Pope Francis’ smile, his gentleness, his “extremely bright eyes” and his intelligence.