Dear Pope Francis

Spadaro, A., & McGrath, T. (2016). Dear Pope Francis: The Pope Answers Letters from Children Around the World. Chicago: Loyola Press.

Children are curious. Children have questions that sometimes adults have difficulty answering, especially when they don’t know the answers themselves. In this collection of letters written by children to Pope Francis in which they ask questions about faith, about religion, about beliefs, about injustice, Pope Francis does his very best to answer these kids’ questions while maintaining the children’s faith strong and hopeful.

Sometimes even adults don't know the answer to these questions and reading this was soothing on a new different level. Even as an adult I found comfort in reading Pope Francis' responses. Can our deceased relatives see us from heaven?  Thinking that they are indeed "smiling down at us" is a wonderful thought. I am Catholic and even as a Catholic I have questions about the world, the mysteries of it, and the ways things work out. I have always been a fan of Pope Francis. I don't know, I find him to be genuine and just so chill... I read some of these questions out loud and his responses to my nine year old and he understood everything he said. I know religion and beliefs are quite a controversial topic to deal with in society, especially when we deal with it and children. However, I believe that because of the nature of the responses he provides for these letters, anyone who is a Christiank, regardless of the religious denomination, would find this helpful. I really enjoyed it and so did my kids. :)

Dear Pope Francis Trailler