Book excerpt: When Mercy Seasons Justice is a powerful story of redemption, resilience, and humanity, set against the backdrop of the modern-day refugee crisis and Catholic Church scandals. In this moving debut novel, former Congressman David Bonior weaves together an inspiring story of two characters who dare to defy the status quo. The first is Pope Francis, the kind-hearted, unconventional leader who struggles to usher his church out of a crisis riddled with scandals. The second is Maria Elena, a Honduran mother desperate to save her four children from their terror-stricken community. As Maria and her children head north to seek asylum in McAllen, Texas, Francis grapples with unfaithful bishops and a male-dominated clergy, who rebel against the drastic changes the Church desperately needs. Just as Maria and her family must rely on the help of good Samaritans they meet along their journey—including an artistic gardener, two priests in the mold of Francis, and a New York Times reporter—Francis must seek the advice of his trusted aides, Father Soto and Sister Mary Vernard, to lead the Church through one of its biggest upheavals since the Reformation. Will Maria and her children survive their harrowing search for asylum? And, at this significant turning point in the history of the Church, will Pope Francis redefine his male-dominated papacy—and, ultimately, his legacy? When Mercy Seasons Justice is a timely narrative of hope, faith, and redemption, that intertwines the struggle of two parallel souls trying, despite all odds, to search for virtue and compassion in a world seemingly full of corruption.