Pope Francis Untying the Knots The Struggle for the Soul of Catholicism Paul Vallely What reviewers said of the first edition of Paul Vallely’s biography: Pope Francis: Untying the Knots Peter Stanford, The Sunday Times: ‘Paul Vallely’s biography of Francis ... stands, in terms of seriousness of purpose and depth of understanding, head and shoulders above others.’ Mark Lawson, The Guardian: ‘Reads like a lost, unexpectedly literate chapter of The Da Vinci Code ... Tough-minded analysis ... lifts the book well above the nervous reverence of much papal biography, and should recommend it to an audience broader than Catholics …’ Michael Walsh, The Tablet: ‘Read this book, forget the rest.’ Raymond A Schroth SJ, America, the US Jesuit magazine: ‘At last a book has put both Jorge Mario Bergoglio, SJ, and Pope Francis in context, and explained the mystery of this man who seems to have come from nowhere to lead the Catholic Church at a critical time.’ Luke Coppen, editor of the Catholic Herald, in The Independent: ‘Vallely skilfully unravels the competing narrative threads, without ever oversimplifying either Argentine politics or the new Pontiff’s complex personality ... a sophisticated biography.’ John Wilkins, the Church Times: ‘ … in a different class from other biographies ... a compelling account.’ The Economist: ‘This book demonstrates that Pope Francis is a tougher, more complex figure than meets the eye. A turbulent life has given the pontiff a subtle sense of the realities of power, and the courage to act on it. Anybody who reads this book will eagerly await his next move.’ Tim Byron SJ, Thinking Faith, the online journal of the British Jesuits: ‘ “Untying the Knots” – is a stroke of genius. It expresses succinctly, but also with a certain profundity, the challenge at hand ... an engaging and thoughtful read throughout.’ Tom Heneghan, religion editor, Reuters: ‘Paul Vallely’s Untying the Knots fills the gaps left by “instant books” on Pope Francis.’ John Cornwell, Times Literary Supplement: ‘Vallely’s book is a formidable achievement.’ James Carroll, The New Yorker: ‘indispensable’ Julian Coman in The Observer: A ‘masterly biography’ Andrew Sullivan, The Daily Dish: ‘The indispensable English-language biography of the Pope.’ Eamon Duffy, The New York Review of Books: ‘Paul Vallely’s Pope Francis: Untying the Knots was one of the earliest in the field. Admiring but keenly questioning, its judgments have worn well.’ For Christine without whom nothing would be possible and for Thomas faith in the future In a higher world it is otherwise, but here below to live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often. John Henry Cardinal Newman, ‘On the Development of Ideas’, from An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine Abbreviations € means euros. $ means US dollars. Other currencies are spelled out in the text. Contents List of Illustrations Foreword 1 Dirty Tricks in the Vatican 2 The Common Touch 3 Jesuit Secrets 4 What Really Happened in the Dirty War 5 The Bishop of the Slums 6 Exile in Córdoba 7 How Bergoglio Changed 8 Francis – a Name to Alter History 9 A Pope of Surprises 10 Signs of His Times 11 If Necessary Use Words 12 Reforming the Vatican Bank 13 Cleansing the Curia 14 The War over Sex Abuse 15 Synod and Schism 16 A Weakness for Women 17 Prophet or Politician? Timeline – Jorge Mario Bergoglio Timeline – Pope Francis Acknowledgements Index List of Illustrations