by Jim Lawlor

The pontificate of Pope Francis is the first in modern times to meet with bitter opposition from within the Church. Thankfully two recent books reveal to us who Francis is, why he has engendered such hostility and, more important, what is the basis and nature of his reform. Austin Ivereigh’s The Wounded Shepherd. Pope Francis and His Struggle to Convert the Catholic Church and Christopher Lamb’s The Outsider. Pope Francis and his Battle to Reform the Church cover similar terrain and reach similar conclusions. After The Great Reformer, Ivereigh is well placed to offer a second analysis of this challenging pontificate. Christopher Lamb, The Tablet’s Rome correspondent, expands themes from his weekly Letter from Rome. Common to both is the narrative of scandal around sexual misconduct, lack of financial transparency and clerical careerism and how Francis is negotiating his path through this morass.