Catherine Pepinster

The review examines three early biographies of Pope Leo XIV, the former Cardinal Robert Prevost and first US-born pope, comparing their accounts of his election, American background, missionary work in Peru and approach to church leadership. Elise Ann Allen offers the strongest coverage of his years in Latin America and conflicts with Opus Dei, while Christopher Lamb provides the most incisive analysis of the papacy's future, including church reform, finances, women’s roles, LGBTQ+ issues, abuse scandals, digital evangelism and the Vatican’s global influence. Prevost is portrayed as a socially engaged, consensus-oriented leader whose positions on immigration and climate change differ sharply from those of Donald Trump and JD Vance. The review concludes that Lamb’s book is the strongest overall, with Allen’s preferable for spiritual and biographical insight.

Catherine Pepinster gives Andrew Atherstone’s biography of Sarah Mullally three stars, portraying the newly installed Archbishop of Canterbury as an accomplished former NHS chief nursing officer and pioneering woman bishop whose leadership is shaped by compassion, faith and an emphasis on inequality. The review argues that Mullally’s cautious, civil-service style may limit her ability to reconcile the Church of England’s evangelical, Catholic and liberal factions. She faces major challenges involving safeguarding and sexual abuse, same-sex relationships, racism, poverty, housing and reparations, while the biography leaves aspects of her personal life and theological views underexplored.