Jesus Wept: Seven Popes and the Battle for the Soul of the Catholic Church

The crises affecting the papacy of Pope Francis have roots extending back decades. To better understand the current pope, investigative journalist Shenon (A Cruel and Shocking Act: The Secret History of the Kennedy Assassination) tells the story of the modern papacy through the eyes of the last seven men who have held the office. Beginning with the reign of Pope Pius XII and the aftermath of World War II, the book explores the personalities, politics, and conflicts that marked each pope’s reign. The popes confronted pleas to rescind the ban on the use of contraception, the declining number of priests, and calls to end the requirement of celibacy, along with pleas for women’s ordination and an increased role for the laity. Demands for reform usually ended with the pope reaffirming traditional church teachings, Shenon shows. The clerical sex abuse scandals that erupted during John Paul II’s and Benedict XVI’s reigns were often ignored by earlier popes, even as credible allegations mounted and reassigning offending priests failed to prevent abuse.