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Loading... His Holinessby Carl Bernstein, Marco PolitiNone. Pope John Paul II was 100% sold-out to God, mystical. The book treats him with reverence in some passages and scorn in others for not "modernizing the Gospel" to fit sexuality, abortion, etc. Presents the Popes as the sole defeater of Communism and very authoritarian in the Church. (  ) ORFisHome | Jul 13, 2009 |  2957 His Holiness John Paul II and the Hidden History of Our Time, by Carl Bernstein and Marco Polito (read 16 Feb 1997) 90% of this book is a joy to read, and tells the dramatic story of the Pope and the fall of Communism. But there is a part toward the end which gives the impression the Pope is losing his touch--and he could well be. The Pope's positions are right, but an over-authoritarian position may be such as to smooth the path to error, and so is to be regretted. (  ) Schmerguls | Jan 19, 2008 | Carl Bernstein and Marco Politi, investigative journalist, argue that Pope John Paul II and President Ronald Reagan conspired to hasten the collapse of Soviet Communism. Some of the evidence they cite includes the CIA's support of the Polish Solidarity Movement and the sharing of American military intelligence with the Pope. There is a brief history of Pope John Paul II's life and his ascendancy to the Seat of Peter. The coverage of the Pope's early life up until his ascension to the throne was very interesting and pretty well done. And we get a brief look inside of the Vatican's political apparatus. Even though I felt that there appears to be an anti-Catholic agenda in the later half of the book, it is worth reading. John Paul II was a gift to the world in our lifetime whose main message was that we could be better than we are. The author seems to forget that the Pope is Catholic first and last. He always did take the highest Catholic stance on matters of faith and morals as would be expected of a pontiff. I found this an interesting and fast read. (  )1  hermit | Oct 4, 2007 | Pope John Paul II was 100% sold-out to God, mystical. The book treats him with reverence in some passages and scorn in others for not "modernizing the Gospel" to fit sexuality, abortion, etc. Presents the Popes as the sole defeater of Communism and very authoritarian in the Church. ( ) IFREF | Apr 25, 2007 | no reviews | add a review
Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (ISBN 0385472374, Hardcover)Two veteran reporters, American Carl Bernstein (co-author of All the President's Men) and Italian Marco Politi have teamed up to present the case that Pope John Paul II worked closely with American political figures to cause the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe. Their conclusions are controversial, but His Holiness provides an insightful look at the connections between governments, the Catholic Church and the Solidarity movement in the Pope's native Poland.(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 14 Feb 2013 13:46:34 -0500) "His Holiness is at once compelling journalism, drama, history, and biography. John Paul II, elected as the first non-Italian pope in five hundred years, readily used his global pulpit to speak out on behalf of human rights and those who were ignored by other world leaders - whether politically or economically oppressed, whether in the Communist or non-Communist world." "Born in a small Polish town where 20 percent of the population was Jewish, and later bishop of the diocese that contained Auschwitz, John Paul II was painfully aware of the horrors of anti-Semitism, and as pope he forced the Vatican to recognize the state of Israel. With an iron will, Wojtyla (whose rise in the Church was accelerated by his studies and writings on sexual practices) set the Catholic Church on an unmistakable theological course in regard to dogma, the role of women, sexuality, contraception, abortion, and the unmitigated power of the pope himself. In the process, he has both divided and uplifted the world's one billion Catholics, and made the Church again a huge force in the temporal world." "Drawing on hundreds of interviews with the key players in Rome, Washington, Moscow, and Warsaw, Bernstein and Politi tell this amazing story, recreating the remarkable character of a boy who turned to God after losing all of his closest family members, and whose unbelievable destiny was shaped by a youth in the midst of Nazi (and later Communist) Europe. The narrative excitement of Bernstein's reporting skills in conjunction with Politi's insightful knowledge of the Vatican and the former Soviet Union (which he covered for Il Messaggero while the Berlin Wall crumbled) reveal the real story behind the end of the cold war and produce the definitive portrait of the great moral leader - however controversial - of our time."--BOOK JACKET.… (more) |
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