Santiago Roncagliolo releases book on Vatican power struggles

Peruvian writer Santiago Roncagliolo has released ‘El pastor y los lobos’ (The Shepherd and the Wolves), a book exploring the internal conflicts within the Catholic Church and the election of Pope Leo XIV. The work blends investigative journalism, biography, and autobiography to examine the power struggles that have persisted since the Second Vatican Council.

A central figure in the narrative is the current Pope, Robert Prevost, an American who previously served as an Augustinian priest in Peru and Bishop of Chiclayo. The book details Prevost’s role in addressing scandals involving the Sodalicio de Vida Cristiana (SVC), an organization that was dissolved in January 2025 following investigations into sexual abuse, financial crimes, and the killing of peasants.

Roncagliolo describes the internal Church struggle as reaching “suicidal limits,” noting that sexual abuse allegations have increasingly been used as weapons in these institutional conflicts. The author also weaves personal reflections into the text, connecting his own experiences with clerical abuse to the broader themes of faith and power explored in the biography.