Halfway between investigative journalism, fiction, and autobiography, the Peruvian writer Santiago Roncagliolo (Lima, 1975) presented in Madrid El pastor y los lobos, a book that sheds light on the inner workings of the selection of Pope León XIV and the “war” inside the Vatican.
The is a war that dates back to the Second Vatican Council —the author recalls—, and which in recent times “is reaching suicidal limits”; that “from the outside it seems left and right, but from within it has more to do with where they see God, whether in heaven or on earth. The sexual abuses have begun to be used as a weapon in this war,” the writer has noted, author of a trilogy about the Catholic Church and power: Abril rojo (2006), winner of the Alfaguara Prize, Y líbranos del mal (2021) and El año en que nació el demonio (2023).
El pastor y los lobos (Seix Barral) retraces the career of American Robert Prevost, especially his period as an Augustinian priest in Peru and as bishop of Chiclayo, and how he handled the scandal of the now-dissolved Sodalicio de Vida Cristiana (SVC). “It is a brutal case because it is not only about sexual abuse but also financial crimes and the murders of peasants who defended their lands,” Roncagliolo said, who has likened the Sodalicio to organizations such as the Opus Dei in Spain and the Legionaries of Christ in Mexico, all of which were “protected” by Pope John Paul II.
The writer recalled that one of the last things Pope Francis did before his death was to dissolve the Sodalicio; he did so in January 2025, after a long series of investigations in which Prevost played a crucial role. Roncagliolo has considered that the fact that León XIV received in the Vatican, last March, Gareth Gore, the author of a book that makes serious accusations against that organization, which he labels an “abusive sect,” is a clear signal. “When Francis took a photo with the journalists who investigated the Sodalicio abuses, they ended up shutting it down. That photo is a very clear message.”
The author believes that in this war the pope has been playing different cards. “The major critics of Francis are delighted, because he has revived the traditional rite and abandoned LGBT topics; by contrast, he has strengthened the social side.” As for the sexual abuse investigations, he has considered that, for the moment, it is the issue “where he has had the least success,” and he mentioned the complaints voiced by the victims during his recent visit to Spain, and in Peru, where the pope will travel in November. “I hope he has a hidden plan, which is very much his style, but up to now I would say the victims expected more,” the writer said.
On clashes with the United States government, Roncagliolo believes that “Trump has realized that it is a suicidal confrontation” and sees as “a Vatican victory” the fact that the American president sent Marco Rubio to “make peace” after J. D. Vance’s statements “correcting” the pope on theological matters and triggering reactions against his own electorate.
Finally, he says, it is a story about good and evil. “I find myself at a moment when I believe in few things. We live in a world where everything is falling apart, so I want to believe that this man is truly good, but even good is imperfect. We are all always between the shepherd and the wolves.”
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Source: Efe.