Like "The Committee," Buckland's novel keeps you wanting more. He obviously did some research on the Vatican and found a way to weave it into the story line. His two main characters, I feel, are well-developed, but the others need a little more depth. His writing is a little spare, but, hey, Hemingway got away with it, so why not. Looking forward to developments in later novels.

Raymond Buckland is quite an authority on magick and psychism in the USA. His talent in this area has led him to create a good book using it with his characters. The magick is believable, although somewhat pushing the limits of imagination.

This book could have been 5 stars except that Buckland lacks the necessary ingridients in making well fleshed out characters. The other problem with this book I felt is that the villian is given to us too early on along with his motives. We know exactly what he is up to and this detracts from the overall layout of the story!

If you are into magick, psychism, wicca, voudoun or any other type of esoterical beleif system, I think that you will find this book a good read!

Yet another attempt to get into another genre of the writing world. Too bad you didn't advise all the readers of all your past works about the fiction in them. Most of us in the Craft know about your ability to sound valid and this is yet another stunt to show that you have talent in the writing field. New Flash: YOU DON'T. Maybe a biography of you might be a good idea for one of the many of us who have known of your bookwriting episodes. Wouldn't it be fun for a tell-all book about Buckland to come out? Bet it would be better than this one!

This magnificent piece of scholarship has already raised the hackles of many Catholics. It should not.

David Kerzter's work extends the ongoing study of how much the Catholic Church contributed to anti-Semitism in the 19th and 20th centuries--a study that must continue if Catholic-Jewish relations are ever to be fully normalized, as both the Jewish people and the current Holy Father would like.

Kertzer takes the work of James Carroll and John Cornwell (reviled by many) a step further: Neither Carroll nor Cornwell had access to the same recently-opened secret Vatican archives as Kertzer. He can thus refute, with full confidence, the 1998 Vatican claim in a report called "We Remember: A Reflection on the Shoah," that the Catholic Church bore no responsibility for the Nazi Holocaust.

"The Vatican Commission, which came out with a report after 11 years, totally misrepresented what that history was," Kertzer told Eric J. Greenberg of Jewish Week in mid-September, 2001. "Unfortunately, the official Church is unwilling and unable to come to terms with its own history."

In fact, Kertzer found considerable evidence of Vatican-sponsored anti-Jewish incitement. He rightly believes that there is no difference between the Church's anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism. The Church contends that it never sponsored the latter, which it defines as a racial, socioeconomic movement opposing Church doctrine.

But Kertzer shows pages of memos, confidential letters and other documents which clearly demonstrate a continuous line of anti-Jewish policy from Popes from the 19th century forward, despite the fact that by then Jews had begun to earn freedoms so long denied them in Europe. Popes, for example, confined Jews in the Papal States to live in cramped ghettos without hospitals, denying them the right to work in most occupations--policies which remained in force into the 20th century, despite protests by Jewish leaders and even some Cardinals.

Mussolini's anti-Jewish racial laws in 1938 elicited no response from the Pope. These laws banned Jewish teachers and children from public schools and Jewish adults from civil service jobs, among other things.

The Vatican has also censored all anti-Semitic comments of Pope Pius XI contained in the official public record of his letters. Therefore, Kertzer legitimately asks about the veracity of other material released by the Holy See.

This casts doubt upon the current discussion of the Vatican's proposed beatification of Pope Pius XII. According to Kertzer, it should focus not only on what Pius XII failed to do to save Europe's Jews from 1933 through 1945. It should also center on the role of the Church in the decades-long demonization of the Jewish people.

Only after full disclosure of the Church's sins can an honest discussion between the Jewish people and the Catholic Church begin to repair the tattered bonds of these two major faiths. That is exactly why this book is critical.

Judaism teaches that, to be forgiven for sins against others, a person must ask forgiveness from those wronged. Clearly, the Church cannot seek forgiveness from millions murdered as a result of anti-Semitism it helped to spawn.

But Judaism also teaches the importance of Tikkun Olam--healing the world. This book can help humankind in that critical work--provided that the Church and Catholics respond openly, rather than defensively, to the institutional sins exposed by this dedicated historian. Alyssa A. Lappen

David Kerzer makes a noteworthy addition to the growing field of study, namely the relationship between the Catholic Church and anti-Semitism in the 19th and 20th century. Kertzer, a historian who was granted considerable access to the Vatican, examines how the church failed to condemn the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe and actually added to it.

Among other things he cites the leading roles a number of priests played in propagandizing for anti-Semitic groups, including spreading the infamous Protocols of the Elders of Zion far and wide. Moreover, he shows that the church actively supported a number of virulently anti Semitic political parties in the late 19th and early 20th century. The ideology of these parties was, in many ways, a breeding ground for the philosophy of national socialism.Kertzer cites several examples of church officials seeing Jews as evil and enemies of the faith.

No doubt many reviewers of this book will condemn it, I suspect most without ever reading it. That is unfortunate. This does nothing to help break with the past, nor does it contribute to honest scholarship. People should read this fine work by a talented historian before they tried to condemn it. If they find fault in his arguments they should cite them before they resort to polemics

Pope John Paul II recently unveiled the study, "We Remember: reflections on the Shoah," which in effect exonerated the Catholic Church from any culpability for the Holocaust or the hatred that caused it. Kertzer, in this thoughtful and evocative examination of the Church's relationship with Jews, persuasively demonstrates that no reasonable reading of the history could conclude that the Church was so blameless. Indeed, Kertzer's main evidence comes from the Church's own archives, carefully examining several hundred years of the Church's ongoing persecution of the Jews.

The work focuses on two distinct periods, the first when the Church ruled the Papal States, an area of Italy where the Pope exercised temporal as well as ecclesiastical control. This region was almost certainly the most backward and oppressive towards Jews outside of Czarist Russia. While the other European powers embraced modernity, the Church insisted on denying Jews basic civil rights and protections, forcing them to live in Ghettos, wear distinctive yellow stars, banned them from the professions and universities, and bared them from universities. The Nazi Reich adopted all of these rules when it came to power in the 20th century. Kertzer also examines how the Church hierarchy saw liberation and equality for Jews as one of modernity's great evils that should be thwarted all costs, even as it turned out, if it cost the Pope his temporal kingdom.

Kertzer then goes on to examine how after Italian unification denied the Pope his state, the church turned with a vengeance on Jewry, laying out in Catholic papers much of what would become the standard charges of modern anti-Semitism. Jews are portrayed as bent on the murder of Christians to use their blood in satanic rituals. These Catholic papers further claim Jews are in a conspiracy bent on world domination and that Jews, an oppressed minority in Europe for over 1000 years, are actually the rulers of the continent. Again, as with the rules limiting Jewish Freedoms, many of these famous canards became incorporated into modern Anti-Semitic propaganda in the 20th century.

Kertzer's work on the relationship between the rise of Catholic political parties in France and Austria and the rise of modern anti-Semitism is nothing short of seminal. These parties often led and represented in parliaments by priests relied on the worst sort of anti-Jewish vitriol. Portraying Jews as controllers of finance and the media bent on world domination, they fanned much of what became modern anti-Semitism. Kertzer even finds several examples of the parties leaders, clergy, and catholic newspapers exposing the racisialist form of anti-Semitism, that Jews even if converted to Christianity are by nature evil and not to be trusted. Beginning with these sorts of arguments could the Nazi?s eliminationist anti-Semitism be far behind?

The weakness of Kertzer's work is in his dealing with the concept of papal infallibility that took firm root in the 19th Century. Popes Against the Jews is, implicitly, a challenge to the Church's claim of institutional innocence in modern anti-Semitism, laying the blame instead on evil laymen. While a puzzling position to non-Catholics, the position is in fact internally consistent with Catholic theology. The rational goes as follows. Popes and the Church are by definition blameless and innocent, therefore any evil must have been the act of outside forces. The argument may not be satisfying to many, or even just, but Kertzer would have done well to explain it to his reader so they better understood the Church's position.

The tension between the Church and Europe?s Jews is based on 1000 years of the former?s consistent and often violent oppression of the latter. Obfuscation will not heal these deep rifts. Honest appraisals, such as this one, however give a strong basis from which one can begin to understand the history and seek ways to address these past wrongs.

Well, I just got back from a trip to Rome and read this book on the plane. Yes, at times it was funny --- as the other reviewers have noted. Yes, I learned some things about the Vatican I didn't know before. But the book is also disjointed, repetitive, poorly edited, and written in a style that was wordy, manipulative of the reader, and with barely veiled sexism in his repeated references to the physical appearance of the women he sees or meets. I had the impression the author was just trying to fill enough pages to make it book length. It was not a pager turner.

Living in Rome (I even work for the Vatican), I found the 1998 version (subtitled "An Unofficial Guide to the Vatican") a very pleasant read, with many of the same wry observations I myself have made on more than one occasion. The author provided me with an entertaining experience, and I was also inspired by his evident love of the Catholic Church, despite all the superficial evidence to the contrary. Although I have lived here for about a year and a half now, I learned some interesting tidbits about places I walk by every day, and laughed out loud on more than one page. The book is now making the rounds of all my American friends in Rome. In fact, I received it as a gift from another temporary Roman!

Have you ever wondered just what goes on "behind the scenes" in Vatican City? Well, wonder no longer! When in Rome reveals many innermost and often-hidden secrets buried deep in the depths of the Vatican's cellars. It's an absolutely superb book. The few negative reviewers missed the humor... and concentrated on a few insignificant details. Most of them appear to be ultra-conservative Catholics who won't tolerate the least bit of criticism (even when meant in fun) by the author.

In fact, the author tells his first-hand investigative tale with passion, insight and a great deal of wit -- so much so that he had me bursting into laughter chapter after chapter. Hutchinson pulls no punches and is one of the few honest writers about the Vatican to go directly into the bowels of this treasured city. He plainly loves and admires the Vatican, Italy and even the Italian language -- which he said time and again he wished he knew better. When in Rome is truly a great read to be enjoyed by people of all faiths. It's such a light-hearted, yet fascinating book. Highly recommended.

The late Dr. Malachi Martin has written, in "Vatican", a lengthy, well-sustained "novel" about the intrigues of the Holy See from 1945 until the mid 1980's. However, in many respects, this is not a work of fiction, legal disclaimers notwithstanding. These are real characters, given false names, but functioning much as they actually did in real life. Around this, is a cleverly woven plot of conspiricy, heresy and murder which is fictional (or at least conjectural in the mind of the author!)

It is clear where Martin's sympathies lay -- and they were not with the modern Church. However, as the book was written in the mid 80's, and Martin very obviously expected Pope John Paul II to die in that time frame, (and considering that Martin himself is now dead), it is impossible to conjecture whether or not he had a real person in mind for his novel's ending.

As a public service, here is a brief comparison between Martin's "fictional" characters, and their real-life counterparts:

Papa Eugenio Profumi -- Pope Pius XII (Eugenio Pacelli)

Papa Angelica -- Pope John XXIII (Roncalli)

Papa DaBrescia -- Pope Paul VI (Montini)

Papa Serena -- Pope John Paul I (Albino Luciani)

Papa Bogdan Valeska -- Pope John Paul II

Paolo Lercano -- Michele Sindona

Roberto Gonella -- Roberto Calvi

Cardinal Buff of Westminster -- Cardinal Hume of Westminster

Metropolitan Nikodim -- Metropolitan Nikodim

Brother Reginald of Zaite -- Brother Roger of Tazie

Benjamin National Bank -- Franklin National Bank

"Problem Two" aka P2 -- Italian Masonic Lodge P2

And the list goes on. . .

All the "fictional" popes in the novel lived exactly as long as their counterparts in real life, died at just the right times (although Martin is colorful about who tried to kill whom when), and did many of the same things. Many of the "fictional" criminals did what their counterparts in real life were accused of doing, etc.

So yes, this is a good novel by itself -- but remember that Martin had an agenda in writing it -- and the agenda was not at all hidden.

This is one of those books that you either get very bored with or which you are totally captivated by. Being a book of over approximately a thousand pages, there may be those that say Malachai Martin has gone into too much detail in many areas, however I feel that with that detail comes a very full reading experience. Mr Martin has written a book that - like no other - captures the intricacies of Vatican politics at the highest levels in a way that is fully interesting. I recommend this book to anyone who wants a full, interesting and informative read. Is a shame that this book is out of print!

DV

Malachi Martin often gets a bad rap from some Catholics for writing conspiratorial novels that are set in the Church, however I found this book incredibly informative and I actually felt that it made my faith even stronger. It's hard to know where the 'fiction' ends and reality begins, but this book is incredibly interesting and I'd recommend it. The little details about life in Rome and the way things work in the Vatican are fascinating. To continue a previous reviewer's work, I'll post a comparison of a few more real-life counterparts that relate to Martin's 'fictional' characters:

Fictional name = Real name:

Cardinal Rollinger = Cardinal Ratzinger

Archbishop LaSuisse = Abp. Lefebvre

Msgr. Sugnini = Msgr. Bugnini

Cardinal Levesque = Cardinal Lercaro

Certainly, for those interested in knowing what the teachings of the Catholic Church under the magisterium of John Paul II are, this is an indispensable item. It does, however, raise the question of what happens to the Church when it seeks to take a specific doctrinal and moral stand by setting its teachings in concrete, so to speak. One need only consider the debate that still rages over the definition of the dogma of the Assumption and papal infallibility at the first Vatican Council! As a researcher's tool, I have found this book useful and thought provoking. As a Catholic, I find some of it disturbing.

This book is essential for anyone who wants to know what the magisterial teachings are in regards to the Catholic faith. The in-depth writings will answer just about any question in regards to Catholic beliefs. Also, there are plenty of references to Biblical scriptures and papal documents by which the teachings are supported. Anyone with intentions of being a good Catholic or of researching the Catholic faith should get this book NOW!

This is a first-class history book. Mr. Phelps covers all the bases beginning with the reformation, and continuing all the way to the present.

He uses endless sources, including sources that almost cannot be found in print. Some of these books, such as Cusack's "The Black Pope," cannot be found save in the complementary CD which comes with the book.

Although some of his claims are not backed up with direct evidence (such as that the government keeps hidden technology in Area 51), it is certainly plausible, and fits appropriately with the over conclusions.

Be aware, the Jesuits were the most evil people in history, and we have reason to believe there has been no change. Phelps develops this brilliantly. Be sure to study the Kennedy Assassination!

Vatican Assassins (VA) is a sweeping and sometimes daunting book. I really enjoyed it in spite of it's disturbing revelations, the author's sometimes awkward writing style and on occasion, his questionable conclusions. For anyone with an interest in world affairs - past, present & future - or the political ambitions of the Vatican (which Phelps argues is really one in the same) this is a valuable perspective to gather.

Phelps does a very good job illustrating the ubiquitous nature of Jesuit insidiousness throughout modern political, economic & cultural history. In highlighting the diabolical essence of the order, he sheds light on the unequivocal and nearly universal distain for the Jesuits by heads of state since their inception in the late 1500s. These include Napoleon Bonaparte (who, in his memoirs, called them a military order, not a religious one), Oliver Cromwell, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

Although the rational for many the arguments is well documented, I don't know if the veracity of all of the conclusions can be tested. The book contains endless quotes and citations, yet not everything comes together as tightly as I would have liked (at least after one read). That said, I still think Phelps is on target and proves more than enough of his points to be taken seriously.

The book is well organized however it covers so much territory it's easy to become overwhelmed. This is a function of the subject more than anything else. While it can be considered both an introductory text and more of an advanced study, the average reader will likely need to do additional reading and investigation outside of what Phelps gives (thus the reason for the several full length books included on the CD-ROM that comes with VA).

According to Phelps (and I think he makes his case) ignoring the Jesuits & the Vatican as a political, financial, cultural and spiritual force, is perilous to a free society and free people everywhere. Its a very timely read and is one of those books you'll want to read many times if you take the topic of world affairs (including economic/cultural globalization and the 'War on Terrorism') seriously at all. Definitely buy it.

I was very disappointed in this book, as I expected a book with at least some insights into religion versus science Instead, we are 'treated' to someone who never found what he wanted to do so became a Jesuit whose main and only job now at the Vatican seems to be the keeper of meterorites. Much of the latter part of the book is simply his personal experience in Antartica or somewhere, totally unrelated to the book's title or presumed focus (and the reason I bought it. A real waste of time. And the waste of what was and could have continued to be an important life.

In "Brother Astronomer", Br. Guy Consolmagno describes his life and views as a Jesuit brother who is also a professional astronomer. In this book, the author (who is also the author of "Turn Left at Orion", a highly regarded handbook for amateur astronomers) covers a number of topics: how science is done, the interaction between science and religion, the often-positive role the Cathollic Church has played in the history of science, and an expedition the author made to Antarctics to gather meteriorites. The parts do not always mesh well, which is why I gave it only four of five stars; however, individual chapters are quite good. For example, the opening chapter, which traces a problem in planetary science as a case study of how science is done, would be well worth showing to any teenager who is interested in science; while the chapter on religion and science will be of interest to anyone who has an open mind on the issue of whether "Jerusalem" can have anything to do with "Athens". Well worth reading; highly recommended.

By the way, my wife and I have had the pleasure of hearing Br. Guy speak at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago on several occasions; if you get a chance to hear him speak in person, you won't be disappointed.

Uno pensaría que la Iglesia y principalmente sus más cercanos servidores, los sacerdotes, solo se dedican a los aspectos meramentame espirituales, que si bién son grandiosos, no debmos olvidar que tambien son seres humanos como cualquiera de nosotros y el abrirnos las puertas a estudio de las Ciencias en el enterno de la Iglesia, no unicamente nos permite conocer mejor a sus servidores sino que, sin duda alguna nos acerca más a la espiritualidad, a la contenplación y a la Divinidad. Es por ello que este texto es en mi opinion una puerta mas que para la ciencia para la espiritualidad.

If this book was intended to be a series of mini-biographies of seminarians attending North American College, then it has succeeded in its goal. In terms of the realities of becoming a seminarian, i.e. dealing with vocation directors and bishops who are not always in harmony with the teachings of the Church and the Pope regarding what a priest is or should be, this book completely misses the issue. Only toward the end of the book, when one of the seminarians wishes to incardinate into the diocese of his twin brother, is the veil parted and we see vocations directors and bishops pulling out their daggers and stabbing this seminarian with a series of totally fabricated allegations. If the seminarians portrayed in this books are the cream of the crop, then the priesthood in the United States is really in bad shape. I don't think they reflect favorably on the vocations directors who selected them or on other seminarians. This is especially in regard to those seminarians who are still dating women or who are alone in their own little world and have nothing to do with the other students (e.g. the Vietnamese seminarian).

The book completely misses where the real balance of power exists regarding vocations. Diocesan vocation directors and to a much lesser extent diocesan bishops decide who will be allowed to become a seminarian. You must pass the "political litmus test" of the vocation director regarding what his vision of the Church should be. This usually means that you can not be loyal to the Pope or to the Magisteriam. All the good intentions in the world will not get you into the seminary if the vocation director perceives you as too loyal to the Pope or too obsessed about Church teachings.

In my own case, I was a daily Mass server in my local parish during junior high school, high school, college and my first year of graduate school. Once I got my Masters Degree I applied to be a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. I received a very positive recommendation from my pastor and attended all the meetings with the vocations board of 5 priests and logging over 1,500 miles in individual meetings with each priest who was located throughout the western half of Oklahoma. The decision of the Vocations Director and the Board was that: 1. I was simply looking for something to do until something better came along, and 2. I was simply interested in the externalities of religion. That was the kind of response I got after serving 10 years as a daily Mass server and working on any number of other activities at the parish during the same time.

In 1996-97 I attended several vocations conferences sponsored the the Archdiocese of Seattle, Washington. Archbishop Thomas Murphy was in attendance. One young man asked the Archbishop what a seminarian's relationship with women should be. Instead of giving the Church's traditional answer to that question, namely that a seminarian should confine his dealings with women to his mother, sisters and other female relatives, the Archbishop said that seminarians were expected to be involved in serious relationships with women and that seminarians who weren't would be considered unsuitable for the priesthood. The clear import of the Archbishops statement was that seminarians should be out fornicating to prove that they are "real men." A month later Archbishop Murphy was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer and died 6 months later. I consider this the wrath of God against Archbishop Murphy for trying to lead these young men astray.

Prior to this, Archbishop Raymond Hunthausen had decreed that he was suspending all further sponsorship of the permanent diaconate because he considered it an insult to women and just another all-male bastion of injustice and oppression against women. His attitude about deacons surely extended to priests (after all, there is only one "Sacrament of Holy Orders" and one sacramental theology of holy orders) and would account for the lack of vocations in his diocese.

The book indicates that several of the men are still involved in dating or carrying on romantic relationships with women. The "rule book" for seminarians and vocations director, "The Program for Priestly Formation," produced by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, specifically states that prospective seminarians and seminarians should already have a committment to celibacy and the observance of perfect chastity which would preclude any romantic relationship with women. The fact that these men were accepted as seminarians even with these issues unresolved is a clear failure of the vocations directors. But then again, most vocations directors and bishop in the United States are not in favor of celibacy or a male priesthood.

There is no vocations crisis in the United States other than an artificially created crisis manufactured by the bishops of the United States in their attempt to pressure Rome into lifting the requirement of celibacy and the exclusion of women from the priesthood. Africa and Asia have a surplus of priests who have offered to serve in the United States. The response of the American bishops: Black and yellow priests need not apply because they are all just a bunch of "economic opportunist." That excuse was never used during the last 100 years when up to half of all U.S. priests were Irish immigrants, but then again, they were all white. If the truth were to be known, dioceses receive plenty of applications from qualified American men wanting to study for the priesthood. But most of these applicants are rejected because they are perceived as too conservative and loyal to the Pope. The result, a manufactured vocations crisis. Vocations offices are full of applicants, but almost all applicants are rejected. A book needs to be researched and published which will show that vocation offices filing cabinets are full of applications but that almost all applicants are rejected. The result, the true that the vocations crisis was manufactured and contrived by the American bishops as a display of opposition to the Pope and the Magisterium.

I found Murphy's book an interesting and in many ways inspiring read. The struggles of the individual seminarians who are profiled here are gripping. Even more compelling is the manner in which these men, of varied backgrounds, approached their prayer lives and developed their own approaches to the challenges of celibacy, the loss of their old lives, etc. I heartily recommend it.

As an agnostic --> athiest, I was intrigued by the question, "Why would anyone become a priest?" This book gives a brief glimpse into the possible answers, all of which are very personal and unique.

This is an interesting book with a controversal subject. It does contain many errors in facts that it uses as part of the story line, so the author should do better research ie: southern Indiana is as flat as a pool ( it actually is rolling hills, Northern Indiana is flat). May be controversal to those who are religious for it does show some of the not so pleasant sides of many types of Christian religions. Borders on medical science fiction for a basis to the story. Easy reading, not really scary, but controversal subject.

This is a prototypical high concept thriller. When thirty year old Father Peter Carenza seemingly wields lightning in fending off a mugger in Brooklyn, he is summoned to the Vatican. There we discover that, three decades ago, forces within the Vatican secured a DNA sample from the Shroud of Turin and decided to try to clone Christ. Now their dream is approaching fruition but they quickly discover that they can not control their own creation. And when Peter's behavior starts to become somewhat odd, there's little anyone can do to stop him, not even the Vatican's own ruthless assassin.

It's all exactly as contrived as it sounds, but Mr. Monteleone has fun with his premise. My main objection is that he's entirely too cynical and the portraits of religion and the religious border on bigotry. But taken on its own terms, its fairly entertaining.

GRADE: C

I just finished reading this great novel and, even though I thought the plot was quite ludicrous at first, I definitely got into it and I must admit it was a great pleasure to read it. The ending is superb, couldn't ask for more!