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

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Release Date: February 11, 2025
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Read By: Richard Cohen Publisher: Random House Audio Listen Time: at 1.0x Speed 14.83 hours at 1.5x Speed 11.13 hours at 2.0x Speed
Release Date: February 11, 2025
Format: Unabridged Audiobook ISBN: 9798217014804

Quick Stats About this Audiobook

Total Audiobook Chapters:

48

Longest Chapter Length:

45:14 minutes

Shortest Chapter Length:

13 seconds

Average Chapter Length:

27:50 minutes

Audiobooks by this Author:

3

Other Audiobooks Written by Philip Shenon: > View All...

Publisher Description

From the best-selling 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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"Insightful . . . The crises affecting the papacy of Pope Francis have roots extending back decades. To better understand the current pope, investigative journalist Shenon 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 . . . 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

Quotes

  • 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)
  • 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
  • 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)
  • Insightful . . . The crises affecting the papacy of Pope Francis have roots extending back decades. To better understand the current pope, investigative journalist Shenon 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 . . . 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)

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About Philip Shenon

Philip Shenon is an investigative reporter at the New York Times, where he has worked since 1981. He was the lead reporter on the investigation of the September 11 Commission and has held several of the most important assignments in the Washington Bureau, including chief Defense Department correspondent, diplomatic correspondent, congressional correspondent, and Justice Department correspondent. Shenon has reported for the Times from scores of countries across six continents. He is the author of The Commission and lives in Washington, DC.

About Richard Cohen

Richard Cohen is a nationally syndicated columnist for the Washington Post, where he has covered national politics and foreign affairs since 1976. He has written for numerous publications, including the New Republic, the Nation, Esquire, GQ, and the New York Review of Books. He has received the Sigma Delta Chi and Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild Awards for his investigative reporting.