Austen Ivereigh

"Synodality is not democracy but something well upstream of it. Reading these chapters, you realize just how much a healthy democracy depends on the virtues and practices of synodality... This is a journey of profound conversion now for the church. But not so long from now, its harvest will be reaped by humanity." —from the foreword Witnesses of Synodality provides the faithful and clergy with models for good practices, inspires them with examples, and equips them with concrete tools for building a synodal church. "Witnesses of Synodality offers a rich tapestry of synodal experiences, sharing concrete examples and practices. It presents diverse perspectives from religious orders, parishes, diocesan, and continental contexts in connection with the global synod on synodality, providing invaluable insights for implementing Pope Francis’ vision of synodality that is most of all a learning by doing." —Sr. Nathalie Becquart, xmcj, Undersecretary, General Secretary of the Synod Jos Moons, SJ, is a Dutch Jesuit priest who has taught at the faculties of theology in Tilburg, Paris, and Louvain. He is currently working at KU Leuven as a lecturer and researcher and offers training for spiritual directors. He has authored and edited various books on topics including Vatican II, the holy spirit and the church, as well as spiritual direction and Ignatian spirituality. †

Drawing on the wisdom of Pope Francis and the spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, austen Ivereigh has written a captivating spiritual guide for our turbulent age. Designed as an eight-day Ignatian retreat, First Belong to God serves as a roadmap to deeper discipleship. It does this by focusing on the three foundational forms of belonging: to God, to creation, and to others. Whether you're embarking on a solitary spiritual expedition or a journey with like-minded individuals, First Belong to God offers the next best thing to a personal retreat with Pope Francis: a full-soul immersion into his wisdom via the classic Jesuit retreat that shaped him profoundly.

"This is not a time to hunker down and lock our doors. I see clearly that the Lord is calling us out of ourselves, to get up and walk." --From the Foreword by POPE FRANCIS Drawing on the wisdom of Pope Francis and the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Austen Ivereigh has written a captivating spiritual guide for our turbulent age. Designed as an eight-day Ignatian retreat, First Belong to God serves as a roadmap to deeper discipleship. It does this by focusing on the three foundational forms of belonging: to God, to creation, and to others. Structured around the core principles of St. Ignatius's Spiritual Exercises, First Belong to God encapsulates the key aspects of the Francis pontificate: the essence of being "God-belonging" entities the way God's mercy challenges our self-reliance the journey to building the Kingdom in the footsteps of Christ heeding the cry of the earth and the stranger striving for fraternity by championing synodality Whether you're embarking on a solitary spiritual expedition or a journey with like-minded individuals, First Belong to God offers the next best thing to a personal retreat with Pope Francis: a full-soul immersion into his wisdom via the classic Jesuit retreat that shaped him so profoundly.

Current interest in the situation and future of parishes in Roman Catholicism has focused largely on qualitative sociological studies and practical pastoral models. These approaches have filled important gaps in pastoral studies literature. Often, however, theological reflection on the actual significance and meaning of the parish – essential for self-understanding, motivation, and unity – has been deemphasized. The Face of the Church answers skepticism about the pastoral role of theology by presenting a case for “Theology of the People” as an important tool for empowering whole communities at the local level of the Church. It unfolds a vision of the parish as a diverse and dynamic community whose members own their integral place within the Church and engage their essential role in the Church’s mission. Key concepts explored include the missionary discipleship prominent in the writings of Pope Francis; the signs of the times appealed to in the documents of the Second Vatican Council, along with the concept of pastoral listening, and that of communal discernment developed within contemporary Ignatian spirituality; the parish as a community of communities; the relationship between parish and sacred place, and consequent implications for the “care of our common home”; and the gospel mandate for servant leadership. Written with the ongoing and far-reaching crises of the Church and of global society as necessary reference points, and with frequent use of real-case examples, this book reflects on the possibility of a Church that sustains its offerings of faith, hope, and love to a troubled world through nurturing and empowering its local parish communities. William A. Clark, SJ, is an associate professor in the Department of Religious Studies at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, where he has been teaching since September 2001. He specializes in systematic theology, particularly ecclesiology, and has a special interest in parish life and issues affecting local church communities.†

In this uplifting and practical book, written in collaboration with his biographer, Austen Ivereigh, the preeminent spiritual leader explains why we must--and how we can--make the world safer, fairer, and healthier for all people now. In the COVID crisis, the beloved shepherd of over one billion Catholics saw the cruelty and inequity of our society exposed more vividly than ever before. He also saw, in the resilience, generosity, and creativity of so many people, the means to rescue our society, our economy, and our planet. In direct, powerful prose, Pope Francis urges us not to let the pain be in vain. He begins Let Us Dream by exploring what this crisis can teach us about how to handle upheaval of any kind in our own lives and the world at large. With unprecedented candor, he reveals how three crises in his own life changed him dramatically for the better. By its very nature, he shows, crisis presents us with a choice: we make a grievous error if we try to return to some pre-crisis state. But if we have the courage to change, we can emerge from the crisis better than before. Francis then offers a brilliant, scathing critique of the systems and ideologies that conspired to produce the current crisis, from a global economy obsessed with profit and heedless of the people and environment it harms, to politicians who foment their people's fear and use it to increase their own power at their people's expense. He reminds us that Christians' first duty is to serve others, especially the poor and the marginalized, just as Jesus did. Finally, the Pope offers an inspiring and actionable blueprint for building a better world for all humanity by putting the poor and the planet at the heart of new thinking. For this plan, he draws not only on sacred sources, but on the latest findings from renowned scientists, economists, activists, and other thinkers. Yet rather than simply offer prescriptions, he shows how ordinary people acting together despite their differences can discover unforeseen possibilities. Along the way, he offers dozens of wise and surprising observations on the value of unconventional thinking, on why we must dramatically increase women's leadership in the Church and throughout society, on what he learned while scouring the streets of Buenos Aires with garbage-pickers, and much more. Let Us Dream is an epiphany, a call to arms, and a pleasure to read. It is Pope Francis at his most personal, profound and passionate. With this book and with open hearts, we can change the world.

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. Through battles with corrupt bankers and worldly cardinals, in turbulent meetings and on global trips, history's first Latin-American pope has attempted to reshape the Church to evangelise the contemporary age. At the same time, he has stirred other leaders' deep-seated fear that the Church is capitulating to modernity - leaders who have challenged his bid to create a more welcoming, attentive institution. 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.

Since his surprise appointment in March 2013, Pope Francis has emerged as the most talked-about and most revolutionary pope in living memory. He has become a subject of fascination, conversation, and headlines not only to the 1.2 billion Catholics in the world, but to virtually everyone. This biography of Pope Francis describes how this revolutionary thinker became who he is, and how he will use the power of his position to challenge and redirect one of the world's most formidable religions. Drawing on extensive interviews in Argentina and other countries and now featuring an updated epilogue, The Great Reformer traces the roots of his papacy in Francis's childhood in Buenos Aires, in his Jesuit training, and in the dramatic events during the Perón era and the military government in Argentina in the 1970s. It shows how these experiences have shaped his beliefs, and with his commitment to the discernment of God's will, enabled him to challenge and redirect the Church. Pope Francis was elected in the midst of one of the biggest crises in the Church in modern times. This is the story of a true radical who is transforming the Church by restoring what it has lost.

A Philadelphia Inquirer Best Book of the Year A biography of Pope Francis that describes how this revolutionary thinker will use the power of his position to challenge and redirect one of the world's most formidable religions Based on extensive interviews in Argentina and years of study of the Catholic Church, this biography provides never-before-explained context on how one man's ambitious program began-and how it will likely end-through an investigation of Francis's youth growing up in Buenos Aires and the dramatic events during the Per n era that shaped his beliefs; his ongoing conflicts and disillusionment with the ensuing doctrines of an authoritarian and militaristic government in the 1970s; how his Jesuit training in Argentina and Chile gave him a unique understanding and advocacy for a "Church of the Poor"; and his rise from cardinal to the papacy.

The Second Vatican Council, which ended thirty-five years ago, promised so much: a new vision of a reformed Church aware of its social, theological and ecumenical responsibilities; a truly conciliar Church with collegial structures. However, this vision seems to have evaporated and many of the promised reforms have been truncated or have not happened at all. The Vatican remains intensely bureaucratic. Theologians are silenced and the effect of clerical scandal seems to have led Church leaders to dig in and see the deposit of faith as something static. Once again the Church believes it has a monopoly on the truth and millions of people feel marginalized and excluded. Britain's long-established Catholic weekly, The Tablet , has fought for the spirit and values of Vatican II in a way that no other journal has done. It has criticised the Church (Humanae Vitae) and has condemned corruption, but has also supported the Church where it has been right to do so. These essays come from a truly international cast of contributors who cover the Church of Vatican II but above all give us prophesy of where this vision may still lead the Church and the people of God. This is a Church semper reformanda.