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  • Moyers & Company The Pope, Poverty and Poetry (Season 2, Episode 51)
  • TV-G
    TV Episode | 59 min | News, Talk-Show

Moyers & Company

The Pope, Poverty and Poetry (Season 2, Episode 51)
TV-G
TV Episode | 59 min | News, Talk-Show
In just a few months, Pope Francis, the first in history to take the name of the patron saint of the poor, has proven to be one of the most outspoken pontiffs in recent history, especially when it comes to income inequality. He has ...See moreIn just a few months, Pope Francis, the first in history to take the name of the patron saint of the poor, has proven to be one of the most outspoken pontiffs in recent history, especially when it comes to income inequality. He has criticized the "widening gap between those who have more and those who must be content with the crumbs." And in his recent "apostolic exhortation" on "the economy of exclusion and inequality," he said: "The worship of the ancient golden calf has returned in a new and ruthless guise in the idolatry of money and the dictatorship of an impersonal economy lacking a truly human purpose." It remains to be seen if Pope Francis can bend the institutional Church to his exhortation, but for the moment at least, it seems as if the spirit of Occupy Wall Street has settled into a one-man occupation of the Vatican. Francis is the first Jesuit to ascend to the papacy, so we turn to Jesuit-educated author and historian Thomas Cahill to get his perspective. Bill Moyers speaks with Cahill in a conversation on the meaning of Pope Francis and the relevance of the Church in the 21st century. Later, the poet Philip Levine joins Bill to discuss why Americans have lost sight of who really keeps the country afloat - the hard working men and women who toil, unsung and unknown, in our nation's fields and factories. During the years he himself spent in the grit, noise and heat of the assembly lines of Detroit auto plants, Levine discovered that his gift for verse could provide "a voice for the voiceless." Described by one critic as "a large, ironic Whitman of the industrial heartland," Philip Levine is the author of twenty collections of poems and books of translations and essays. He is the recipient of the Pulitzer and two National Book Awards and recently served as the nation's poet laureate at the Library of Congress. Written by Anonymous See less
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Composer
Jamie Lawrence
See all filmmakers & crew (2)
Status
Edit Released
Updated Dec 29, 2013
Release date
Dec 29, 2013 (United States)
Awards
Series awards
1 win & 1 nomination

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