On 15 January 2024, a cultural encounter to discover Paul of Tarsus was held by the FSP Multimedia International Center, Rome, in collaboration with LUMSA University. The event was introduced by Prof. Francesco Bonini, rector of LUMSA University.
In a dialogue moderated by Fabio Bolzetta, journalist and president of WeCa (Italian WebCatholics Association, two eminent individuals in the cultural sphere, namely, Cardinal Josè Tolentino de Mendonça, prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Culture and Education as well as author of the book A Necessary Metamorphosis: Rereading St. Paul (Vita e Pensiero, 2023), and Corrado Augias, writer, disseminator of culture and author of Paul, the Man Who Invented Christianity (Rai Libri, 2023), shared their views concerning the life and witness of the Apostle Paul. Although the writers hold seemingly distant and perhaps irreconcilable positions with regard to the Apostle, many points of convergence emerged in their dialogue.
Their contrasting approaches to Paul and his writings helped the audience discover or rediscover the Apostle’s life and the universal depth of his thought, centered on the newness of Christ in a dramatic counter-experience that led him from Saul (which etymologically means “ the greatest”) to Paul (that is, “the least”). The Apostle won the minds and hearts of many of his contemporaries, Jews and Gentiles alike, through his writings, which 2,000 years later retain intact the immediacy of his message, and which have come down to us as a progenitor of Christian literature.
