A New York Times columnist and one of Americaās leading conservative thinkers considers Pope Francisās efforts to change the church he governs in a book that is āmust reading for every Christian who cares about the fate of the West and the future of global Christianityā (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 Francisās stewardship of the Church, while perceived as a revelation by many, has provoked division throughout the world. āIf a conclave were to be held today,ā one Roman source told The New Yorker, āFrancis would be lucky to get ten votes.ā
In his āconcise, rhetorically agileā¦adroit, perceptive, gripping account (The New York Times Book Review), Ross Douthat explains why the particular debate Francis has openedāover communion for the divorced and the remarriedāis 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 wonāt just determine whether he ends up as a hero or a tragic figure for Catholics. It will determine whether heās a hero, or a gambler whoās betraying both his church and his civilization into the hands of its enemies.
āA balanced look at the struggle for the future of Catholicismā¦To Change the Church is a fascinating look at the church under Pope Francisā (Kirkus Reviews). Engaging and provocative, this is āa pot-boiler of a history that examines a growing ecclesial crisisā (Washington Independent Review of Books).