Forget "Angels & Demons" - Read "Death of a Pope"

I've been hearing Catholics say good things about Piers Paul Read's new book "Death of a Pope". This just goes to show you that it is possible to write compelling fiction about the Church without attacking her at every turn.

Here's the book jacket description:

Juan Uriarte, a handsome and outspoken Spanish ex-priest, seems to be the model of nonviolence and compassion for the poor and downtrodden. So why is he on trial, accused of terrorist activities? His worldwide Catholic charitable outreach program is suspected of being a front for radicals. The trial is covered by Kate Ramsay, a young British reporter, who sets out to uncover the truth about Uriarte and his work. She travels with him to Africa to see his work first hand but soon finds herself attracted to him.

Meanwhile an international conspiracy is growing, one that reaches into the Vatican itself. When the death of Pope John Paul II brings about the conclave that will elect Joseph Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI, a terrorist plot involving blackmail, subterfuge, and mass murder begins to fall into place... a plot that could spell disaster for the Catholic Church and the world.

Piers Paul Read's powerful tale combines vivid characters, high drama, love, betrayal, faith, and redemption in a story of intrigue, church espionage, and an attempt to destroy the longest continuous government in the world the Papacy. The Death of a Pope races toward an unexpected and unforgettable conclusion.

Amazon has it. Right now, in fact, it's only two spots behind Dan Brown's new book (hint, hint). Ignatius Press has also posted the full itinerary of his (impressive) ongoing book tour. I see that he's coming to DC at the end of the month.

"Death of a Pope" is near the top of my list of to-read books after my studies this semester end. It will be a nice change of pace, I think, to read about popes without having to make sure that I have their dates of reign and major written works memorized. ;)

Your Take: The Top 3 Catholic books on Amazon

Right now are....

• American Babylon: Notes of a Christian Exile by Richard John Neuhaus (his last book)
• The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist by Matt Baglio (which we've talked about)
• Practicing Catholic by James Carroll (this one I think has some serious warning signs)

Has anyone read any of these three books? Have you read any good new Catholic releases lately? And what's all this about the Kindle? (I filled out the form to have AmP content included on it but no response yet.)

A surprise book from Pope Benedict on Saint Paul?

AmP reader Heidi notified me about this soon-to-be released title by Pope Benedict which had escaped my notice. We are, of course, in the Year of Saint Paul. Maybe an appropriate Easter gift?

Saint Paul by Pope Benedict XVI

"In this book, Pope Benedict XVI, a profound spiritual leader in his own right and a first-rate theologian and Bible commentator, explores the legacy of Paul. Pope Benedict follows the course of the Apostle s life, including his missionary journeys and his relationship with the other apostles of Jesus such as St. Peter and St. James, and Paul s martyrdom in Rome. Benedict also examines such questions as: Did Paul know Jesus during his earthly life and how much of Jesus teaching and ministry did he know of? Did Paul distort the teachings of Jesus? What role did Jesus death and resurrection play in Paul s teaching? What are we to make of Paul s teaching about the end of the world? What does Paul s teaching say about the differences between Catholic and Protestant Christians over salvation and the roles of faith and works in the Christian life? How have modern Catholic and Protestant scholars come together in their understanding of Paul? What does Paul have to teach us today about living a spiritual life?"

Here is a short review of the book. It's currently #329 on Amazon - let's give it a boost!

I also can't fail to take this opportunity to mention this weekend's conference "Lessons from St. Paul for the New Evangelization". Check it out!

Tip: Ignatius Press Blowout Sale!

Always good:

In case you aren't on the Ignatius Press catalog mailing list (sign up here) and didn't know, Ignatius Press is having a BLOWOUT SALE on dozens of books and other items, including works by Joseph Ratzinger, G.K. Chesterton, Hans Urs von Balthasar, Thomas Howard, Francis Cardinal Arinze, Adrienne von Speyr, and many others. The prices are good through August 31st. - Ignatius Insight Scoop

Also look for their forthcoming book on Catholic voting from Archbishop Chaput:

Few topics in recent years have ignited as much public debate as the balance between religion and politics. Does religious thought have any place in political discourse? Do religious believers have the right to turn their values into political action? What does it truly mean to have a separation of church and state? The very heart of these important questions is here addressed by one of the leading voices on the topic, Charles J. Chaput, Archbishop of Denver.

Chaput argues that our public life must be considered within the context of its Christian roots. American democracy does not ask its citizens to put aside their deeply held moral and religious beliefs for the sake of public policy. In fact, it requires exactly the opposite.

As the nation’s founders knew very well, people are fallible. The majority of voters, as history has shown again and again, can be uninformed, misinformed, biased, or simply wrong. Thus, to survive, American democracy depends on an engaged citizenry—people of character, including religious believers, fighting for their beliefs in the public square—respectfully but vigorously, and without apology. Anything less is bad citizenship and a form of theft from the nation’s health. Or as the author suggests: Good manners are not an excuse for political cowardice. - IIS

"Praying with St. Paul" a Magnificat-produced best-seller

From the press release:

Magnificat USA, the publisher of the monthly prayer booklet and worship aid Magnificat, announces that its new book, Praying with Saint Paul has become a best-seller, with more than 54,000 copies sold in its first two months of publication. A fourth printing of the book, published in celebration of the Special Jubilee Year to the Apostle Paul, is now underway.

A handbook of daily reflections on the Letters of Saint Paul in the New Testament, Praying with Saint Paul answers the call of Pope Benedict XVI that “special publications on Pauline texts will also be promoted in order to make ever more widely known the immense wealth of the teaching they contain, a true patrimony of humanity redeemed in Christ.”

Praying with Saint Paul was edited by Fr. Peter John Cameron, O.P., editor-in-chief of Magnificat. You can purchase it on Amazon.com.

What a fantastic idea! I'm glad to see it is doing well and hope word of it spreads quickly.

AmP Report: Onward Christian Soldiers book launch

On Wednesday I attended an official book launch hosted by InsideCatholic of Deal Hudson's new book "Onward Christian Soldiers," in downtown Washington DC, and which featured a short speech by Senator Sam Browback.

About the book:

Many books have been written about the so-called Religious Right in American politics. Deal Hudson's new book, Onward, Christian Soldiers: The Growing Political Power of Catholics and Evangelicals in the United States, published by Simon & Schuster, documents the surprising role of Catholics in the creation of the religious conservative movement. Hudson conducted dozens of interviews with religious and political leaders to explore the history and significance of Catholics in the conservative movement. He looks not only at Catholic contributions beginning in the 70s but also the specifically Catholic controversies that arose along the way.

Bill Donohue's endorsement:

Hudson has written an insider's jewel on the political and cultural dynamics that have affected presidential politics over the past several decades. It is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in understanding the intersection of politics and religion in the twenty-first century. Professors and pundits alike will repair to this book for years to come."

The event was recorded by C-SPAN, and I'm told that the video will be aired as part of their Book TV series in the next 2-3 weeks. In the meantime, here is a short video of Hudson answering a question about John McCain and the religious right:

I've uploaded a few photos from the event to the AmP Flickr page.

For the response to a question I posed to Senator Browback during the Q&A session about John McCain's continued support of embryonic stem cell research, click here.

Deal reports on the IC blog that they sold all the books which were available for purchase and signing. I hope to read the book once I get some spare time from classes and preparations for the pope's visit.

Don't be unnerved by what you'll be hearing about Mother Teresa

Seen today on the DrudgeReport:

SECRET LIFE OF MOTHER TERESA: Newly Published Letters Reveal 50-Year Crisis of Faith ...

Which links to this article in Time magazine: "Mother Teresa's Crisis of Faith."

The article is a review of a new book that Doubleday is releasing on September 18th, entitled "Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light." The book "consisting primarily of correspondence between Teresa and her confessors and superiors over a period of 66 years."

I should be receiving a review copy of this book from Doubleday soon.

Suffice it to say for the present that the Time article looks to have missed the mark severely re: the spiritual draught in Mother Teresa's life that the book describes. I would recommend reading the book itself instead, or, in place of that, a competent review of it by a Catholic spiritual master once it has been published.

The Time article, on the other hand, certainly in its title and first few paragraphs, falls into the temptation of trying for shock value rather than honestly addressing the deep spiritual issues that the book discusses. And sadly, article titles and the first few paragraphs of those articles are the most often read, and generally contribute most to the public's general perception of an issue, the "knee-jerk" response of a media-soaked culture to a topic.

A clear error from the first page: the author frames Mother Teresa's request that her personal writings and correspondence be destroyed (a common act, which she shares with people like Pope John Paul II), as a decision that was motivated by embarrassment about her spiritual trials. This kind of mistaken conclusion tells me that the Time author is reading the book through an incomplete secular perspective and simply does not have enough knowledge of the long tradition of Christian spiritual experience/writing that he needs for insightful analysis.

You can bet, however, that Time's take on this topic will become the party line for the mainstream media; a state of affairs which could leave many folks confused about Mother Teresa's saintly character and legacy.

So be prepared.