Wounded Shepherd

Pope Francis and His Struggle to Convert the Catholic Church

By: Austen Ivereigh

Narrated by: Adam Verner

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.

©2019 Austen Ivereigh (P)2019 Macmillan Audio

Outstanding

After reading George Wiegel’s famous book on St John Paul II, Austen Ivereigh‘s book on Pope Francis was eyeopening. He inherited a mess that Wiegel failed to articulate. Excellent book! Performance is poor and it takes work to ignore the exaggerated voice inflections of the reader. Over the top.

Excellent overview of Francis's papal ministry

The author has done an excellent job of presenting both the person and the teachings of a great religious leader. He pulls no punches in his portrayal of Francis as a pope who touches the lives of people because he embraces his own flawed humanity and recognizes the power of the grace of God to lift up a fallen world. He generally portrays Francis's opposition in a way that illustrates both its ferocity and its humanity. While the content of the book is presented in language that is easy to understand, the performance of the narrator leaves a lot to be desired. The occasional emphasis on the wrong word can be forgiven, but his atrocious pronunciation of "apostolic exhortation" as "apostolic extortion" is illustrative of a lack of preparation that also marks his generally very bad rendering of ecclesiastical Latin. Maybe I'm being too picky, but to constantly hear "Evangelii gaudium" and "Amoris laetitia" mispronounced was annoying. Ten minutes spend with someone who knows how to pronounce ecclesiastical Latin would have been well spent, and it's all he would have needed. The bottom line: This book is a wonderful portrayal of a courageous and humble leader who is passionate about his mission. It is well worth listening to, as the flaws of the narrator do not diminish the power of the work.

Must Read (or listen)

I found myself so moved during this reading. We are so lucky to have Pope Francis leading us.

A great book to understand Pope Francis

This is a wonderful book to better understand the historic papacy of Pope Francis. Read beautifully and passionately.

Mercy, Grace & Humanity - From Pope Francis’s Perspective

Enlightening insight into the man, the priest, the archbishop and Pontificate of Pope Francis today. As well as the confirmation of a deep state at the Vatican equal to that at Washington DC. Both full of corruption, abuse and scandals. Glad I listened to it but still wonder if and how the Roman Catholic Church can survive without a true spiritual awakening and removing it self from Globalization theology. While critical of USA, noticeably absent any mention of China. #OneWalkwithJesus