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Book Summary and Reviews of Jesus Wept by Philip Shenon

Jesus Wept by Philip Shenon

Jesus Wept

Seven Popes and the Battle for the Soul of the Catholic Church

by Philip Shenon

  • Critics' Consensus (4):
  • Published:
  • Feb 2025, 608 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

From the bestselling author and former New York Times investigative reporter, an unprecedented look at the defining struggles of the modern Catholic Church, told through the lives of the last seven popes.

When the jolly Italian peasant-turned-cardinal Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli of Venice was elected Pope John XXIII in 1958, change was in the air. The Church, many said, had refused to enter the twentieth century. In response, Pope John launched Vatican II, an "ecumenical council" that summoned hundreds of church leaders to Rome. It marked one of the most progressive turns the Church had taken in centuries: "medicine of mercy," as Pope John called it. Yet not everyone in the Church was prepared to accept this modernization. The lines were drawn—in a battle that continues to rage into the twenty-first century.

In Jesus Wept, Philip Shenon takes us inside the Holy See to reveal its intricacies, hypocrisies, and hidden maneuverings, bringing all the momentous disputes and issues vividly to life: priestly celibacy, birth control, homosexuality, restoring ties with other Christians and Jews, shameful sex abuse crimes, the role of women in the Church.

In his rich portrayals of the popes from John to Francis, Shenon draws on research across four continents, including hundreds of interviews and the exhaustive archival material. He also brings to light other key figures in the Church, such as Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani, the incredibly powerful, conservative, and staunchly anticommunist director of the Holy Office under Pius XII, who lived proudly by the motto semper idem—"always the same." This is a consummate, vibrant history of the modern Church.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"A detailed, well-researched, and quite frankly epic examination of the Roman Catholic popes of living memory ... [Shenon's] assessments are honest and, at times, brutal ... Apologists for the church will doubtlessly find plenty of reason to argue with Shenon, but he also gives them a great deal of material to defend. An extraordinary accomplishment: controversial, but crucial for discussions in today's Catholic Church." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Readers interested in the Catholic Church and religious history will enjoy this insightful work. Contributions from top theologians about the roles that various women played in papal households add considerable depth and detail to the stories of the popes." —Library Journal (starred review)

"The result of prodigious research, Shenon's book is endlessly fascinating, insightful, and brilliantly told. Even at its significant length, it is always interesting and highly readable, and Shenon's final analysis is inarguably a marvel." —Booklist (starred review)

"Drawing on prodigious research, the author paints a richly detailed portrait of a complex, hierarchical, and secretive institution as it grappled with a modernizing world." —Publishers Weekly

This information about Jesus Wept was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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Author Information

Philip Shenon

Philip Shenon is an award-winning investigative reporter and bestselling author who spent more than twenty years at the New York Times. As a Washington correspondent for the paper, he covered the Pentagon, the Justice Department, the State Department and Congress. As a foreign correspondent, he reported from more than sixty countries and several warzones. He is the author of two New York Times-bestselling books: A Cruel and Shocking Act: The Secret History of the Kennedy Assassination and The Commission: The Uncensored History of the 9/11 Investigation. A native of San Francisco, he now lives in Washington, D.C.

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