A New York Times columnist and one of Americaâs leading conservative thinkers considers Pope Francisâs efforts to change the church he governs in a book that is âmust reading for every Christian who cares about the fate of the West and the future of global Christianityâ (Rod Dreher, author of The Benedict Option).
Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in 1936, today Pope Francis is the 266th pope of the Roman Catholic Church. Pope Francisâs stewardship of the Church, while perceived as a revelation by many, has provoked division throughout the world. âIf a conclave were to be held today,â one Roman source told The New Yorker, âFrancis would be lucky to get ten votes.â
In his âconcise, rhetorically agileâŚadroit, perceptive, gripping account (The New York Times Book Review), Ross Douthat explains why the particular debate Francis has openedâover communion for the divorced and the remarriedâis so dangerous: How it cuts to the heart of the larger argument over how Christianity should respond to the sexual revolution and modernity itself, how it promises or threatens to separate the church from its own deep past, and how it divides Catholicism along geographical and cultural lines. Douthat argues that the Francis era is a crucial experiment for all of Western civilization, which is facing resurgent external enemies (from ISIS to Putin) even as it struggles with its own internal divisions, its decadence, and self-doubt. Whether Francis or his critics are right wonât just determine whether he ends up as a hero or a tragic figure for Catholics. It will determine whether heâs a hero, or a gambler whoâs betraying both his church and his civilization into the hands of its enemies.
âA balanced look at the struggle for the future of CatholicismâŚTo Change the Church is a fascinating look at the church under Pope Francisâ (Kirkus Reviews). Engaging and provocative, this is âa pot-boiler of a history that examines a growing ecclesial crisisâ (Washington Independent Review of Books).