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Rating: "...I saw and knew the shadow of him/who made the great refusal out of cowardice" (Dante Alighieri, Inferno, Canto III, vv. 59-60)
The majority of critics and Dante scholars believe that this obscure phrase refers to Pope Celestine V, who abdicated the papacy a few months after his election. If this hypothesis is correct, Dante would therefore accuse Celestine of abdicating out of cowardice. With all the respect and veneration that the Supreme Poet deserves, I believe this is a somewhat superficial assessment. And, judging by "The Story of a Humble Christian," Ignazio Silone thought so too.
The work, a drama for the theater, is based on historical foundations, recounts the story of Pietro da Morrone, a hermit monk who lived in the 1200s in Abruzzo, who was unexpectedly elected pope as Celestine V in 1294. After a few months, however, unable to reconcile the papacy with the authentic message of Christ as he had hoped, he abdicated, and was succeeded by Boniface VIII, who then had him captured fearing a split within the Church. Regarding the form, the text can be divided into three parts (also underscored by three different ways of referring to the protagonist, "Fra Pietro," "Celestine V," and "Pier Celestine"): before, during, and after the papacy.
Before: Pietro da Morrone is a holy man much loved by the people, living a life of penance and prayer. He meets some spiritual Franciscans to discuss the ideological clashes that divided them into conventuals (who softened St. Francis's rule by organizing into convents) and spirituals (who followed the rule to the letter, including the message of eremitic life and absolute poverty). This is the example of the poor, simple, respectful Christian who adheres to the dictates of love that Jesus left to those who wish to follow him.
During: Unsure whether to accept the papacy or not, Pietro finally agrees hoping for a great reform of the corrupt Roman Church, a reform that would reinstate the importance of charity and love. Over time, he realizes the impossibility of his purpose and prefers to abdicate in December 1294. In this central part, the protagonist's naivety is evident: only a poor man like him could think of a possible profound reform, without realizing its impracticality. The writing reveals a certain compassion from Silone for Celestine V, but it is a compassion in a positive sense, a "feeling together," an emotion stirred by the desperate yet hopeful attempt of the friar to change the minds of the great powers of the Church, more engaged in laughing and plotting behind the pope's back than in caring for their own and others' souls.
After: Pursued by men of the new pope, Boniface VIII, who fears that the French cardinals will not recognize him as the legitimate pontiff thus causing a serious schism in the Church, Pier Celestine is forced to flee along with his fellow friars. Pietro is morally exhausted, disillusioned by his failure; his withdrawal is a great moral burn, having gradually but unmistakably realized the utopia of a true, heartfelt, and sincere change within the Church.
Beyond the story itself, very faithful to how events unfolded, Silone's work provokes interest for the exemplary contrast between the political and spiritual Church, a very relevant opposition even today. In particular, from the face-to-face dialogues between Pier Celestine and Boniface VIII, the irreconcilability of the two positions (and thus Pietro's naivety) is evident. On one side, the Church attentive to the individual, to souls, follower of the authentic and extraordinary message of Jesus; on the other, the secular, corrupt Church indifferent to the values it should theoretically profess. The clash between opposites is the crux of "The Story of a Humble Christian." A man full of hope is forced by the evidence of facts to surrender, and disillusioned, he wishes to peacefully continue his former life as a hermit. But Power cannot allow this to happen, because such a personality is dangerous. Ultimately, a pure and free personality is dangerous.
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