"Through an examination of Pope Francis's words and actions during the coronavirus pandemic, the author finds a model of leadership for a suffering world"--

The volume collects the words of Pope Francis on the pandemic of coronavirus pronounced during the General Audiences. It covers a time span from August 5, 2020 to September 23, 2020. The book has been created with the aim of preserving and transmitting the intention expressed by the Pontiff at the conclusion of the General Audience of August 5, 2020: "It is my desire to reflect and work together, as followers of Jesus who heals, to build a better world, full of hope for future generations. The Preface is signed by Peter K. A. Turkson, Cardinal Prefect of the Department for the Service of Integral Human Development.

The leader of the Catholic Church discusses what the COVID-19 crisis revealed about the cruelty and inequality of society, what it can teach about handling upheaval, and how to make the world safer, fairer, and healthier for all people. -- Provided by publisher.

The 1980s and 1990s, the height of the AIDS crisis in the United States, was decades ago now, and many of the stories from this time remain hidden: A Catholic nun from a small Midwestern town packs up her life to move to New York City, where she throws herself into a community under assault from HIV and AIDS. A young priest sees himself in the many gay men dying from AIDS and grapples with how best to respond, eventually coming out as gay and putting his own career on the line. A gay Catholic with HIV loses his partner to AIDS and then flees the church, focusing his energy on his own health rather than fight an institution seemingly rejecting him. Set against the backdrop of the HIV and AIDS epidemic of the late twentieth century and the Catholic Church's crackdown on gay and lesbian activists, journalist Michael O'Loughlin searches out the untold stories of those who didn't look away, who at great personal cost chose compassion--even as he seeks insight for LGBTQ people of faith struggling to find a home in religious communities today. This is one journalist's--gay and Catholic himself--compelling picture of those quiet heroes who responded to human suffering when so much of society--and so much of the church--told them to look away. These pure acts of compassion and mercy offer us hope and inspiration as we continue to confront existential questions about what it means to be Americans, Christians, and human beings responding to those most in need.

There are one billion Catholics in the world today, spread over every continent, speaking almost every conceivable language, and all answering to a single authority. The Vatican is a unique international organization, both in terms of its extraordinary power and influence, and in terms of its endurance. Popes come and go, but the elaborate and complex bureaucracy called the Vatican lives on. For centuries, it has served and sometimes undermined popes; it has been praised and blamed for the actions of the pope and for the state of the church. Yet an objective examination of the workings of the Vatican has been unavailable until now. Drawing on more than a hundred interviews with Vatican officials, this book affords a firsthand look at the people, the politics, and the organization behind the institution. Reese brings remarkable clarity to the almost Byzantine bureaucracy of congregations, agencies, secretariats, tribunals, nunciature, and offices, showing how they serve the pope and, through him, the universal church. He gives a lively account of how popes are elected and bishops appointed, how dissident theologians are disciplined and civil authorities dealt with. Throughout, revealing and colorful anecdotes from church history and the present day bring the unique culture of the Vatican to life. The Vatican is a fascinating institution, a model of continuity and adaptation, which remains constant while functioning powerfully in a changing world. As never before, this book provides a clear, objective perspective on how the enormously complex institution surrounding the papacy operates on a day-to-day level, how it has adapted and endured for close to two thousand years, and how it is likely to face the challenges of the next millennium.

“Essential reading for historians of [Francis’s] papacy in years to come, from the New York Times–bestselling author of The Reformer and Let us Dream.” —The Tablet Austen Ivereigh’s colorful, clear-eyed portrait of Pope Francis takes us inside the Vatican’s urgent debate over the future of the church in Wounded Shepherd This deeply contextual biography centers on the tensions generated by the pope’s attempt to turn the Church away from power and tradition and outwards to engage humanity with God’s mercy. In turbulent meetings and on global trips, history’s first Latin-American pope has attempted to reshape the Church to evangelize the contemporary age. At the same time, he has stirred other leaders’ deep-seated fear that the Church is capitulating to modernity. Facing rebellions over his allowing sacraments for the divorced and his attempt to create a more “ecological” Catholicism, as well as a firestorm of criticism for the Church’s record on sexual abuse, Francis emerges as a leader of remarkable vision and skill with a relentless spiritual focus—a leader who is at peace in the turmoil surrounding him. With entertaining anecdotes, insider accounts, and expert analysis, Ivereigh’s journey through the key episodes of Francis’s reform in Rome and the wider Church brings into sharp focus the frustrations and fury, as well as the joys and successes, of one of the most remarkable pontificates of the contemporary age. “A thoughtful, essential book.” —Booklist, starred review “Highly recommended.” —Library Journal, starred review “A richly detailed and engaging portrait of Francis as pope.” —Commonweal “A revelation.” —Publishers Weekly “A detailed study packed with insider tidbits.” —Kirkus Reviews