In the Christian Bible, Parables are used to to portray theological truths in a fictional melieu. This roman a' clef, serves a valuable purpose in making Opus Dei finances available for easy comprehension. It is a worthy companion to Hutchison's monumental reference opus (pun intended): "Their Kingdom Come," and is even more timely. E.g. The NY Times on August 3,1999, reported that grains found imbedded on the Shroud of Turin indicate that the Shroud is much older than its carbon dating suggested. This 1997 book gave the same imbedded grains hypothesis, and provides an interesting alternative theory: The Shroud of Turin was an exact copy of the authentic Shroud, which has subsequently disappeared. Using this book as a guide, one could hypothesize that the alleged homosexual murder suicide of a Vatican guard and his commander, might be a double murder to forestall publicity about the relationship of the two men. An Italian journalist was preparing a detailed expose at the time of the two men's death. The Calvi, Sidonna, and Calvi's secretary's "suicides" make this "fiction" a most interesting tour de force. Recent events in the Diocese of Santa Rosa, Calif., make this "novel" even more compelling.

Criticize the Catholic Church, and suddenly the lapdogs come out of the woodwork and accuse you the equivalent of anti-Semitism. The anti-Semitism of the intellectual elitists, these trashers of discourse often say. What, exactly, are they trying to protect--or better yet--hide? And why? The Catholic Church has such a long and grotesque history of sins--from papal sex toys, to pederasty, to graft, extortion, and torture--that it is hard to believe that anyone aiming to be Christ-like in their behavior would remain a member of the Church.

But, as this book persuasively shows, the early 20th Century provided no respite from Church-sponsored evils. Many think the Catholic Churched committed "mere" errors of omission during World War II, such as maintaining close relationships with the Nazi Party in Germany, and merely looking away from the horrors of the Holocaust. But it was much worse than that. As Williams shows in albeit simplistic terms, the Vatican took money from scoundrels and devils, assisted Mussolini and his henchmen in both taking and holding power, and more actively worked with fascists in Germany and elsewhere for the singleminded quest to obtain sufficient funds to continue its lavish ways.

Every Catholic should read this.

And then revolt.

This is a great example of the wonderful anti-hero Lovejoy mystery novels. Always at the mercy of whatever female he is "making smiles" with at the moment, he take Italian lessons and goes to Rome to steal an antiquarian piece of furniture from the Vatican. Quintessential Lovejoy, with gangsters, lovers and lots and lots of the lore and lure of antiques. Not to mention great Italian characters and descriptions of Rome as well, in Lovejoy's particularly acerbic style. I'll admit the British slang takes a bit to get used to, but it is a lot of fun.

This appealing, highly readable book does not, as I anticipated, discuss in great detail a religious view of science, nor a scientific view of religion. Instead it presents key aspects of relativity and the quantum and wave theories of light, in a way that makes sense to readers with very little exposure to advanced physics or mathematics. The trick is that it approaches the subject from the perspective of one who understands and cares about the challenges science often seems to pose for devout Christians. Along the way, it becomes clear that there is neither any real conflict, nor any great interdependence, between the physicist's view of the universe and that of mainstream Christianity. The conversational, sometimes humorous style helps the reader concentrate on an inherently difficult subject. Brother Guy's approach does not give the reader all the answers, by any means - but it provides an outstanding basis for educated discussion.

Rizzoli, and the Vatican, have produced a beautiful volume; the colour reproduction, binding, and printing are first rate BUT it seems that no-one bothered to read the text before the book was printed. In a not very careful reading of the text I found a number of glaring errors that cast very serious doubt on the reliability of any information contained in this book. Thus, I cannot give this book more than 2 stars.

I have been in contact with Rizzoli about this matter and they have provided me with some corrected information that I will share on request.

Yeah, maybe someone(nearly everynoe) will think this is an SO Expensive art book. But at first, there are so many details of the original work in this book, and more detail than you standing at the wall of the Sistine Chapel, even if you travel to Vatican, you can't see as clearly as see the pictures on the book; you can see the face of Ave Maria, the hand of Jesus, you will NOT see them with human-to-god view, but equal view. Second, print quality is nearly PERFECT. Third, the book had two volumes, one was filled with colourful illustrations, and the other is a bonus--the study of "the Last Judgement".

I picked up this book at the library while searching for information on the restoration of the Sistine Chapel. Despite the claims of the beautifully designed jacket, this book has nothing to do with anything but Janusczcak's love affair with his own writing. The information relevant to Michelangelo, the Sistine Chapel, Nippon Television, or the restoration process could have been condensed into less than thirty pages. To be fair, I slogged through the entire book, and now I'll never get those minutes of my life back. SAYONARA MICHELANGELO is a celebration of onanistic writing. Facts seem to be nothing more than ornamentation for Januszczak's (deep) purple flights of fancy. This is not a resource for anything but Waldemar's little fantasies, and as a novel, the plot's kinda thin. Save your shekels for one of Amazon's many other fine offerings.

THIS IS A BOOK THAT WILL DEFINETLY TEACH YOU ALOT ABOUT ART. BUT I REALLY DON'T THINK THAT THE AUTHOR REALLY KNEW WHAT HE WAS SAYING. THE BOOK DIDN'T HAVE A REAL POINT

This book is a real sad story, it keeps you reading almost all the time, is not exactly a thriller but is very sad, reading this book you will see how live the people in the Vatican and how they feel.
The story of Isabel and Luca is sad since the beginning of the book, also is the story of Piers Hallet and is only written once, but the childhood of Stephanie was awful.
I won't comment anything of how Luca and Isabel met because I will tell you part of the book, but it was terrible, if you are not in the mood of "crying" while you read, don't read this book.

Once again, Morris West brings to life a clergyman with a troublesome past. Cardinal Luca, burdened with old memories of being molested by Argentine soldiers, comes to town - THE town, La Citta. So does the love of his life, an ambassador's wife. West weaves an elegant web of love and politics (churchly and worldly). As the Pope dies, Luca has to cope with his love's fatal illness, the election of the successor of St Peter - and his own past. Of course, the election turns out more exciting than anyone could guess, with an unexpected turn at the end. As usual, West gives us a thoroughly researched background - this time on the pulling of strings behind the scenes: Maybe this is the way popes are elected; we can not really know. West has a flair for telling about live people in odd circumstances. And he does not let us down.

The emotions and struggles of West's characters are real, heartfelt, and dated to the beginning of mankind. In this way, I always relate to his stories, tantalized and drawn in by his graceful style and--often un-American--sense of dignity. On the other hand, the dialogue tends to flow from pre-ordained scripts, rather than from the down-on-the-street world most of us live in. I usually overlook this stilted quality because of the seductive narrative. His words nearly hum a tune of honor and the quest for truth in a world gone mad. West is one of my favorite authors and I enjoyed this story of Luca and Isabel and the political jockeying within the Vatican, but I wouldn't rate it among his best. I hope he has one more truly original premise to vent in his latter days. Meanwhile, try his nonfiction offering "A View from the Ridge." This man truly attempts to reconcile faith with the darkness of the world around us--and for that he sits high on my list of influential authors.

Rynne offered the world a liberal fantasy of what 'the spirit of the Council' was all about. Acording to him, the council was pastoral, but not dogmatic. How then to explain those dogmatic constitutions on the church and on relevation, with all those troublesome endorsements of Trent and Vatican I? According to him, the council was about openess, freedom, and tolerance. But the Council's claim of the Catholic Church to be the true Church founded by Christ and of the duty for all Catholics to assent to the teaching of the magisterium on faith and morals somehow gets lost.

The book has interest as a relic of mid '60's liberal dreams. But for those of us who have given up our love beads and our sandalwood incense, it's all a bit embarrassing.

For a better take on the Council, read Wiltgen's The Rhine Flows into the Tiber.

A shrewd, candid, wonderfully written insider's account of what actually happened at the Second Vatican Council, the decisive turning point in the history of modern Catholicism. The original version of these stories appeared as a series in "The New Yorker," and brought smiles to the faces and hope to the hearts of thoughtful Catholics all over the country and beyond. The desperate, dishonest, and sneering comments by industrious Catholic rightists, still huffing and puffing about the 1960s, the decade of Vatican II, the Civil Rights movement, the Catholic Peace movement, the efforts to re-energize movements to care about poor people, to secure the rights of women, and to take responsibility for the endangered natural environment, tell you all you will ever need to know about their version of Jesus' "Love one another...." This particular sect of reactionary Catholics has been spewing contempt on democratic values since the late 18th century, while cozzying up to a long line of corrupt aristocrats, fascists, megalomaniacs, and cynical thugs. Being honest about history is the path with heart for Catholics today. Just telling the truth will re-activate the long-stalled renewal of our church. Trust Paul Lakeland, a distinguished Catholic theologian, and trust what the Holy Spirit is accomplishing even in these sad and painful times. And meanwhile--enjoy this terrific, heartening book.

This book is simply a classic, written by a man who was present in Rome throughout the council and had unparalleled connections. The liberal/conservative story of the Council, like it or not, is the true story of the Council, and Rynne was right that at the time the liberals won the day. Of course they did. Otherwise, how explain the strength of the later Curia-driven backlash and the restorationism that has afflicted the Church for the last 25 years? Subsequent attempts to present it differently skew the truth. This is the truth about the Council, even if it doesn't say the last word about its subsequent fortunes. And it is damn well written!

McInerny makes the compelling argument that what has gone wrong with the Catholic Church since Vatican II cannot be blamed on Vatican II itself, but on liberal theologians' subsequent refusals to submit to papal teaching, notably in the case of the encyclical Humanae Vitae. What appears to secular-based thinking as Vatican totalitarianism is the result of the feeling that the Church ought to be run as a representative democracy. McInerny makes it clear that such has never been, and should never be, the case; that to be an anti-papal Catholic makes about as much sense as being a carnivorous vegetarian. He correctly observes that the liberals' calls to disregard the pope's authority amount to a demand that Catholics submit to the liberals' authority instead.

Unfortunately, McInerny falls into much of the same behavior as that which he deplores in the dissenters: overt hostility and lack of charity. Too much of this short book is given over to venting. The same points are made over and over, resulting in an unpleasantly hectoring tone. One very revealing passage shows the author's frustration with what he perceives as the Vatican's excessive patience and restraint in dealing with the mounting protest. (Apparently, the papacy's supporters have as much trouble submitting to it as do its detractors!) The effect of this tone is such that his closing recommendations for Church restoration and healing through "prayer and fasting" seem tacked on and perfunctory. Bearing this in mind, the book's main points are well made, and I look forward to delving into the actual Vatican II documents to see just how much the public perception of the changes in that council's wake are justified by the writings themselves.

The nature of the Church is such that issues can be freely discussed throughout the hierarchy, between laity, clergy and bishops, and, when necessary, the pope will determine what is binding. One can be an American and disregard presidential statements; one cannot truly be a Catholic without willing submission to the pope's teachings. To refuse this obedience is to define oneself, quite simply, as a Protestant. Any charge of totalitarianism is invalid; one is not free to act as one wishes in, or flee, a country with a totalitarian government, whereas no one is compelled to be a Catholic against one's will. Catholics believe that the Church hierarchy is inspired by the Holy Spirit, whether or not its teachings coincide with their own desires, and that consistent efforts to align oneself with these teachings will deepen one's love of God and humanity and thus lead to full acceptance of the salvation won for us by Christ. If such submission seems sheeplike to the secular mentality, it should be remembered that the Lord did not use the word "sheep" as an insult.

WWWWVT is not true to its title. It devotes perhaps two chapters to the Second Vatican Council, and spends the rest giving a background and the public reaction to Paul VI's encyclical, Humanae Vitae. However, I feel that the issues that arise from HV are the same as those due to Vatican II. The problem with authority in the Church is at the frontline of today's liberal Catholic controversy. The dissenting theologians, priests, and bishops turning their backs on Rome is discussed at length in this book. I believe this is a truly orthodox work, and worthy of study by ALL Catholics. This is the first step to reunion within Church and a reconciling between conservative and liberal Roman Catholics.

The book's central argument is that with the publication of Humanae Vitae in 1968, liberal, progressive and modernist Catholic theologians, who had anticipated that Pope Paul VI would change the church's teaching on contraception, were infuriated with the encyclical's teaching, which supported and reinforced the Church's traditional teaching on marriage, family and contraception. Angered, and emboldened by "the cultural revolution that has shaken the West: the radical liberal ideology with its individualistic, rationalistic, and hedonist cast," these theologians openly, aggressively and maliciously revolted against the Church's Magisterium.

Progressive and modern theologians have maintained this position for thirty years, ridiculing and criticizing all letters, teachings and encyclicals of the Church and Magisterium. They espoused questioning all Magisterial authority while asserting their authority to dissent, and the lay Catholic right to "decide everything according to their own conscience." Additionally there have been shameful liturgical abuses that were never anticipated or promulgated by Vatican II, yet all done under the 'spirit of Vatican II.'

Dr. McInerny asserts that Vatican II affirmed and restated the traditional teachings of the Church and all prior councils. What went wrong at Vatican II is "not with the documents that were promulgated, but the false interpretations of them in the post conciliar period." Concomitantly, the dissension of so many theologians has thoroughly confused the Catholic laity and the confusion and dissension infected every aspect of the Church's life and teachings during the past 30 years. Dissent became good, more dissent was better!

What is the crisis in the Church? "The crisis consists in a conflict of authorities. And that crisis has become progressively more complicated. Catholics who took the word of the theologians that they could practice contraception, later had to take their word that they could defy the Magisterium and remain loyal Catholics. Soon they were at ease with their malformed consciences. Their ears grew evermore deaf to the Church's voice as expressed in Vatican II and in so many subsequent pronouncements."

Finally, the intuitive professor states that the crisis can be resolved by referencing Pope John Paul II's encyclical Veritatis Splendor. Christ gave the Church as the means of salvation and the Holy Father the task of teaching to each person who desires salvation. McInerny affirms that we need a change of heart and "that it will be by following Mary's wishes as expressed to the children at Fatima that the promise of Vatican II will be fulfilled. She advised prayer and fasting ... that will drive out the demon of dissent and fill the Church once more with the great hope and optimism of Vatican II."

After reading it not once but twice to figure out what the author was trying to focus on. I came to conclusion that its a typical Serbian Propaganda tool. Most of the facts have been altered and if you pay attention the number of Serbian victims stated in this book grows larger and larger as the reading goes on. The book is a compilation of fictional facts that were developed in former Yugoslavia durring the 50's and 60's in the height of Communisit rule. Durring the last 10 years the issues revolving around Jasenovac have come to light. Serbian photo editing of archives and the stories that were written about this matter have been uncovered and have come to be falsifications. This book is just a tool of the Serbs to fuel a hatred of Croatia and Bosnia peoples durring the 70's that lead to the wars in the 90's. Its hard to stomach bad history writing and propaganda that is stated in his book. I hope that the Serbian people could finaly realize the truth about this matter and realize the 700,000 victims is well exagerated and that the mixture of religous and political propaganada is not a good tool to use. Any person killed over nationality or religions is wrong also using peoples death to benifit your interest is also wrong. The 65,000 Serbians killed in Jasenovac is not condoned or justified but in no means close to the numbers stated in his book.
Hopefully the Serbian People will finally admit the Massacre of hundreds and thousands of Croats after the Second World War. Maybe Vladimir should research that topic.

This is an important book for everyone to read, but especially for Catholics. After all, this is not something you will learn in CCD. Truth always has the ability to shine in the light, and expose the darkness of lies, hatred, and murder. As a baptized Byzantine Catholic, graduate student, and lover of truth, history, and philosophy this book receives my highest recommendation. Read the book, check out the references, follow the research, and by all means prove the facts for yourself. Heed this warning, "By their fruit you will recognize them. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit." Matt. 7:18. As a follow-up to this book, I would also recommend Avro Manhattan's "The Vatican's Holocaust". The evidence is strong and history records the truth. Do you really think God cares if it was 1,000,000, 700,000 or 350,000 that were murdered in the name of religion? Every single victim was loved by God. A Roman Catholic attempted cover-up will not work. Judgement Day is coming. Don't be left in the dark, "The Yugoslave Aushcwitz and the Vatican" deserves five big stars!

I always had an idea of the forces at work during WWII, but not to this level of detail. WWII buff will love it!