As a journalist I’ve written a lot about Pope Francis, the Shepherd of the Catholic Church. But like hundreds, if not thousands like me, I have never interviewed him, much less met him. But author Austen Ivereigh has had the privilege of spending some quality time with the Bishop of Rome, and so his new book, Wounded Shepherd: Pope Francis and His Struggle to Convert the Catholic Church, takes on more meaning and purpose. Ivereigh understands the man, Jorge Bergoglio, the first Latin American pope. What’s more, he understands what Francis wants for Catholicism and Christianity. Francis, according to Ivereigh, is singularly focused on putting Christ first in the Church; that means converting its members to know and understand the “man of sorrows, wounded for our transgressions” as the prophet Isaiah said. While media and armchair Catholic watchers focus on whether divorce Catholics or pro-abortion politicians should receive Communion, or priests should be allowed to marry. Francis is trying to put Christ back in Christianity, of making Jesus the head of the Church in people’s hearts. But it’s taken a toll on him. Grumblings that he’s at odds with the American bishops, or that he’s far too liberal for the conservative wing have made him a lonely figure. Hence, the wounding of the shepherd. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith, Austen Ivereigh talks about his time with Pope Francis; about what he wants, what he knows and where he’s trying to take the Catholic Church.
