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.

Must Read (or listen)

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

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.

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

Spirit Filled

This is a candid, behind the scenes telling of the whole story of this popular pope. I have come to cherish Pope Francis's humility and caring rootednes even more. I believe that you will come to similar conclusions! Strongly recommend this book.

Too adulation, even for Francis fans

Terrible follow up to "The Great Reformer." In this telling of the Pope's first year's in office, Ivereigh's pope is incapable of making any mistakes. The possibility of imperfection or that there could be a better way is excluded. It seems like at any moment he will add "and that's how the Pope fixed climate change!" Even for those of us who like the Pope Francis, this is too much. Ivereigh's book reads like a medieval hagiography.

His constant exaggerations of the Pope's actions become laughable. "Amoris Laetitia is the greatest treatise on marriage in the history of the Church!"

And then, for reasons I can't understand, he constantly throws the previous two popes under the bus. "They were rigorist, only caring about doctrine, and knew nothing about mercy." Geez.

Also, the narration is terrible, frequently butchering names in Latin, Spanish, and Italian. If you don't know how to pronounce something, just ask! It really makes a bad book even worse.

It's funny too because the book begins with the recounting of a meeting he had with Pope Francis. Referring to "The Great Reformer," the pope joked with him about how he should also speak about his faults. Then he writes this... I guess that need even the Pope would like this book.

OVER THE TOP!

Over the top! The author spends far too much time attacking the critics of Pope Francis. Love him, like him, or leave him, the author portrays Pope Francis as one of the most provocative figures of our time.