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The first half of 2021 was the lull before the storm, before the clash (between my two roles) became real. In the second half of the year, as Plenary Council (PC) member formation for the First Assembly began, it was almost as if my two roles — reformer and official — were stalking one another…
At the launch of John Warhurst’s acclaimed book Wrestling with the Church Hierarchy, journalist Genevieve Jacobs reflected that there was “no more valuable a person than the one who asks hard questions born of love” . John Warhurst’s latest book Hard Questions Born of Love is a personal and honest insider/outsider account of the dynamics of Church reform. Warhurst traces the highly contested direction of Church reform during 2021, including reflections on his own experience as a member of the First Assembly of the Plenary Council.
Hard Questions Born of Love is a unique and engaging insight into a Plenary process that has left many Catholics feeling disenfranchised and unheard. As Warhurst says, “History will interpret this Plenary Council in the decades to come…we must pray deeply, listen carefully, and read critically… We have a duty to speak up and a right to be heard”.
