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Review by Dr Pravin Thevathasan

Wounded Shepherd:
Pope Francis and His struggle to convert the Catholic Church
by Austen Ivereigh
Henry Holt And Co

Pope Francis reminds us that our faith is a relationship with the person of Jesus Christ. The author is keen to point this out, and rightly so: Catholicism is not an ethical task, it is not a set of rules. It goes without saying that all the great Catholic works from the Imitation of Christ to the Introduction to the Devout life to The Way said the same. But it is good for us to be given a reminder. I doubt very much if issues like abortion, euthanasia or gay marriage can be addressed ultimately without conversion to Christ. The book emphasizes that this encounter with Christ is a loving, healing, merciful encounter.

Unfortunately, Ivereigh appears to lack mercy towards the critics of Pope Francis. There are critics and there are critics. There certainly are those who loathe Francis and claim he is not the pope. And there are those of us who have really tried to follow Francis and have become increasingly unsettled by his confusing and confused comments, none of which pertain to papal infallibility. In my case, I have documented proof that I tried understanding Francis in the light of Church tradition for the first few years of his pontificate. All that changed with Amoris Laetitia.

Ivereigh has a habit of dismissing conservative Catholics as rigorists who spend all of their time judging others. But might not he be a tad judgmental himself? It reminds one of the tax collector who went to the back of the Temple and prayed: "God be merciful to me a sinner. And I thank you that I am not like that Pharisee!"

To dismiss someone like Cardinal Burke, a truly humble man, as a Trump supporter is just plain nasty.

If I were to meet the author, I would begin by thanking him for having been a founder of Catholic Voices, which helped many confused people, Catholics and non-Catholics alike. I am sure that he will not be offended were I to call him a liberal who is trying his best to understand the teachings of the Catholic Church. But I will make a point of distinguishing him from the liberals who simply dismiss the teachings of the Church.

Similarly, I hope that Ivereigh will one day distinguish the many conservative Catholics who are troubled by this papacy from those who simply hate the Holy Father. There really is a difference.

A point that Ivereigh doesn’t get as yet.



Copyright ©; Dr Pravin Thevathasan 2019

Version: 9th December 2019



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