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Anonymous
Posted November 4, 2006
To the best of my knowledge this is the only existing biography of the 33-day Pope. There have been a few mini-biogs written in several languages carefully edited by the Vatican. Yet, none of them tell where he stood on the issues of his day. The Church would rather forget where he stood on the issues of his day. They are little more than resumes: he was born on ¿ became a priest on ¿ was elevated to a bishop on ¿ became pope on ¿ died on - etc. For the 5-star version of this book see the white cover 2006 edition. The white cover 2006 edition is two books in one book: 1) the only existing complete biography of the 33-day pope and 2) the investigation into the murders of John Paul and his six closest friends in the fall of 1978. This out-of-print black cover edition does not include his childhood, his teenage days at the Minor Seminary at Feltre, his time in the Major Seminary at Belluno and his young priesthood - things that the white cover 2006 edition presents so accurately and vividly that one would think one was there. Buy the poorly edited black editions and you get a good book. Buy the professionaly edited white cover edition you get a treasure trove of yesterday.
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Posted April 29, 2006
This book is the compilation of previously published actions of the 33-day Pope. So outlandish and revolutionary - particularly for his time - are many of them, and so ingeniously does the author weave them into the record, one could get the impression from time-to-time that one is immersed in a princely dream. That is, if one ignores the footnotes. Being a doubter, I researched a couple-dozen of these references both on the `net¿ and in library microfilm and was unable to poke a hole in them. Still, I find it hard to believe that a man¿s life, so well documented in the world press, could have been so effectively snuffed out by his enemies who survived him and - as the author contends - may have murdered him. Here is the record of a revolutionary-activist whose deeds and words were recorded in the press from the time he was twelve when he published an article in his school paper that reached all of Europe. Then, a non-conformist from the start, he called upon the nations of the world to live up to their copyright laws and place a warning on the Old Testament, ¿This is a work of fiction. Keep away from children.¿ Had he been successful - to the extent that Mein Kampf was inspired by the Old Testament - the world may have been spared WWII and the Holocaust? Then there was that time, just a month before his election, when he cast his vote for genetic science. When most bishops had condemned Louise Brown - the world¿s first artificially inseminated child, John Paul, then Archbishop of Venice, wrote her parents, ¿I congratulate you on the birth of your little girl. I (the Church) have no right to condemn you for what you asked the doctors to carry out. Be assured, there is reserved for both you and your child a high place in heaven.¿ His public image continued to be pragmatic all the way down to his last proclamation the day before he died, ¿God is more our Mother than She is our Father,¿ - a sitting Pontiff who challenged the age-old assumption that God has a penis. So, like the DaVinci Code, there are things here that will infuriate the devout hence look for lo-scores from enraged nuns and old cranky preachers who really don¿t want to dig him up ¿ who speak generalities and take words out of context evaluating it for its theological content rather than its literary or historical value. But, unlike the DaVinci Code, the critics of this book must contend with the proof of the pudding which is at the bottom of the pages - footnotes - ironclad sources that define the integrity of this work. Pinch yourself - check them out - it¿s not a dream.
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Posted April 11, 2006
What an odd book. It is so fully of empty speculation, completely fabricated incidents, theological nonsense that I finished it first wanting a shower, and second doubting if Albino Luciani had actually ever been pope. Seriously, this is perhaps the only verifiable fact in these (almost) 400 poorly written, wretchedly edited, repetitious, absurd pages. The entire book seems to have been fabricated out of whole cloth in order to 'prove' that Luciani (John Paul I) was an ultra-liberal who was going to overturn the Church's traditional teachings on homosexuality (with which the author seems obsessed) and the ordination of women. He was even going to sell off the Vaticans real estate holdings in Rome and kick the Old Testament out of the Christian canon! I would doubt anything contained herein besides the most rudimentary facts (which are much more engagingly and reputably presented elsewhere, most notably in a lovely little volume titled 'The Smiling Pope' by Raymond and Lauretta Seabeck, which also contains numerous real writings by Papa Luciani). If you are interested in unraveling the 'mystery' of John Paul's sudden death, the book 'A Thief in the Night' by John Cornwell (hardly the Vatican stooge Gregoire makes him out to be) is still an excellent, superbly documented, exquisitely written source. Granted, the death of Luciani, who was a conservative when it came to doctrine, though perhaps relatively moderate on most social issues, was a terrible human tragedy, and a real blow to progressive, pro-Vatican II forces within the Church. His would have been, perhaps, a much more flexible, decentralized, and humane Church than that which his succesor, John Paul II erected. But if you want a clearer understanding of his place in the history of faith, then STAY AWAY FROM THIS WORK OF ABJECT FICTION! Better to consult one of the books noted above, or to find a used copy of Luciani's own under-apprecated masterwork, 'Illustrissimi', in which the humor and warmth and supple mind of this good man come through clearly. Better, too, to wait patiently in joyful hope for the apprearance of a real, thorough, reputable biography of John Paul I, a humble and sincere servant of God who touched the world (and changed the Church) in spite of his extremely brief tenure as pope.
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Posted August 8, 2005
I was a young seminarian in the Vatican the night the Pope died. The next morning, as we chatted in the cafeteria, the assumption was murder and our conversations focused on the two bishops Murder in the Vatican implicates in the crime. The author presents compelling evidence that these two led a conspiracy that resulted in the deaths of John Paul and six of his closest confidants within the short space of a few months. As told by the author, both these bishops were promoted past 400 archbishops and cardinals that outranked them to two of the most powerful positions in the Church shortly after the death of John Paul I. Yet, the important part of the book (Part I) tells of this good man¿s life. I, too, remember when in 1967, faced by an orphan population of two million in Italy, he led the effort in Italian Parliament to make it possible for single persons to adopt children. As the author says, an opposition member challenged, ¿But that would make it legal for homosexuals to adopt children.¿ John Paul ¿ at the time Bishop Albino Luciani ¿ responded, ¿The desire to parent children is a basic human need, and until we can guarantee basic human rights to the tiniest minority we cannot truthfully call ourselves a democracy.¿ I happened to be present at the audience the author speaks of when a young reporter challenged John Paul on doctrine concerning his intent to ordain women. The author tells it exactly as it happened. ¿When I was a teenager,¿ the newly appointed Pontiff told the reporter, ¿my father made me promise that I would live my life in imitation of Christ, and I have kept that solemn promise. Each time that the fork in the road has come up for me - often only minutes apart - I have asked myself, ¿Now, what would Jesus have done in this case?¿ And I have often pondered the possibility as to how much better the world would be if everyone were to do this.¿ He then turned to the reporter and asked, ¿Now, what do you think Jesus would do in this case?¿ And like the author I recall Albino Luciani¿s countless press releases against the Church¿s heartless ban on contraception and the sanctification of remarriage. And how many of us recall Louise Brown ¿ the world¿s first artificially inseminated child. When every other cardinal in defense of Church doctrine had publicly condemned the child as ¿a child of the devil,¿ Luciani picked up his pen and wrote her parents, ¿I congratulate you on the birth of your little girl. I (the Church) have no right to condemn you for what you wanted and asked the doctors to carry out. I want you to be assured that there is reserved for both you and your child a high place in heaven.¿ And here I talk of just the tip of this iceberg called Murder in the Vatican ¿ the Revolutionary Life of John Paul I. So, yes, I remember him. He was all that you say that he was and much more. My hope for a more just Church and a better world died with him. A few months ago, I sent a copy of Murder in the Vatican to a troubled father. I received this reply, ¿Thank you for sending me this book. For the first time in my adult life I am truly at peace with myself. I now love and accept my gay son for the person God intended him to be.¿ Very enjoyable to me is the recounting of your many conversations with this great man when he was Bishop of Vittorio Veneto. In recording his many recollections of his struggles as an impoverished child and as an outspoken priest and bishop you have preserved for the world an important part of history - something that the present rulers in Rome would rather be forgotten. Of particular note was Luciani¿s friendship with General Patton and their joint participation at the funeral of a young gay soldier who had given his life to save the lives of twenty-eight Italian school children. Thank you for having had the great courage to have written this important book. It will bring great comfort to many and will stand the test of time.
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Posted August 7, 2005
This is the only existing biography of John Paul I and despite its title it is much more about his life than it is about his mysterious death. Loaded with enchanting stories of the Pope's struggle as an impoverished child, as a young revolutionary priest, as an outspoken bishop and as a compassionate cardinal the book is a joy to read and escapes the dry narative that most biographies tend to be. I see this as the first important book of the twenty-first century. I read the book in response to Michael Malak's review: 'A Conspiracy Buff's Delight' but found it to be immensely more than just that. Concerning his struggle for basic human rights for women, homosexuals and the poor, John Paul (Albino Luciani) was a rampaging locomotive running about the press, the courts and legislature in Italy during his twenty years as a bishop and a cardinal. In 1967, faced by an orphan population of two million in Italy, it was his lobbying in Italian Parliament that had made it legal for single persons to adopt children. When an opposition member challenged, 'But that would make it legal for homosexuals to adopt children,' he responded, 'The desire to parent children is a basic human need and until we can guarantee basic human rights to the tiniest minority, we cannot truthfully call ourselves a democracy.' Part II of the book is dedicated to the investigation of his mysterious death. The author does a methodical Hercule Poroit-like analysis of all of the facts surrounding the Pope's death. As a matter of fact, I have read all of the books that speak of this subject and 'Murder in the Vatican' by far contains the most comprehensive record of all the facts. Believe me, no one is going to walk away from this book without the firm conviction that this good man was murdered because he treatened to bring about equal human rights for women, homosexuals and the poor in the Church. He was about to announce the ordination of the first woman in the Church and he had already made plans to liquidate the vast Vatican treasures to annihilate poverty in third world countries when his life was cut short. Not only does he prove this man and several others around him were murdered, the author presents compelling evidence that points to a conspiracy of three men who rose to high office in the Church. Perhaps, not enough in itself for a conviction, but much more that enough for an indictment. TRUE LIFE - TRUE CRIME don't pass this one up.
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