Wounded Shepherd : Pope Francis and His Struggle to Convert the Catholic Church

Following his critically acclaimed The Great Reformer , Austen Ivereigh's colorful, clear-eyed portrait of Pope Francis takes us inside the Vatican's urgent debate over the future of the church in Wounded Shepherd . This deeply contextual biography centers on the tensions generated by the pope’s attempt to turn the Church away from power and tradition and outwards to engage humanity with God’s mercy. Through battles with corrupt bankers and worldly cardinals, in turbulent meetings and on global trips, history’s first Latin-American pope has attempted to reshape the Church to evangelize the contemporary age. At the same time, he has stirred other leaders’ deep-seated fear that the Church is capitulating to modernity—leaders who have challenged his bid to create a more welcoming, attentive institution. Facing rebellions over his allowing sacraments for the divorced and his attempt to create a more "ecological" Catholicism, as well as a firestorm of criticism for the Church’s record on sexual abuse, Francis emerges as a leader of remarkable vision and skill with a relentless spiritual focus—a leader who is at peace in the turmoil surrounding him. With entertaining anecdotes, insider accounts, and expert analysis, Ivereigh’s journey through the key episodes of Francis’s reform in Rome and the wider Church brings into sharp focus the frustrations and fury, as well as the joys and successes, of one of the most remarkable pontificates of the contemporary age. Following his critically acclaimed The Great Reformer , Austen Ivereigh's colorful, clear-eyed portrait of Pope Francis takes us inside the Vatican's urgent debate over the future of the church in Wounded Shepherd . This deeply contextual biography centers on the tensions generated by the pope's attempt to turn the Church away from power and tradition and outwards to engage humanity with God's mercy. Through battles with corrupt bankers and worldly cardinals, in turbulent meetings and on global trips, history's first Latin-American pope has attempted to reshape the Church to evangelize the contemporary age. At the same time, he has stirred other leaders' deep-seated fear that the Church is capitulating to modernity—leaders who have challenged his bid to create a more welcoming, attentive institution. Facing rebellions over his allowing sacraments for the divorced and his attempt to create a more "ecological" Catholicism, as well as a firestorm of criticism for the Church's record on sexual abuse, Francis emerges as a leader of remarkable vision and skill with a relentless spiritual focus—a leader who is at peace in the turmoil surrounding him. With entertaining anecdotes, insider accounts, and expert analysis, Ivereigh's journey through the key episodes of Francis's reform in Rome and the wider Church brings into sharp focus the frustrations and fury, as well as the joys and successes, of one of the most remarkable pontificates of the contemporary age. Title Page......Page 2 Copyright Notice......Page 4 Dedication......Page 5 Prologue......Page 6 Chapter 1: A Sinner’s Mission......Page 9 Chapter 2: If the Dogs Are Barking......Page 28 Chapter 3: Mediators, Not Middlemen......Page 47 Chapter 4: A Time to Serve......Page 70 Chapter 5: A Church of Wounds......Page 100 Chapter 6: Close and Concrete......Page 147 Chapter 7: Saving Our Common Home......Page 189 Chapter 8: La Patria Grande......Page 216 Chapter 9: This Turbulent Family......Page 241 Chapter 10: Mercy and Its Discontents......Page 270 Epilogue......Page 306 Notes 1......Page 333 Notes 2......Page 335 Notes 3......Page 338 Notes 4......Page 341 Notes 5......Page 345 Notes 6......Page 349 Notes 7......Page 354 Notes 8......Page 357 Notes 9......Page 359 Notes 10......Page 363 Notes: Epilogue......Page 368 Note on Sources......Page 371 Index......Page 376 Acknowledgments......Page 415 About the Author......Page 417 Newsletter Sign-up......Page 418 Copyright......Page 420