GOD’S NEW MAN
John Paul II’s legacy and the election of the new pope
By Paul Collins. Continuum. 256 pages. £14.99
ISBN 0 8264 8015 2
This book looks back on the Papacy of John Paul II and forward at the new Pope Benedict XVI (formerly Cardinal Ratzinger) and what he is likely to do.
It is written by a Catholic theologian and religious affairs commentator, Paul Collins, who has himself fallen foul of the Vatican. The sense of hurt and the corresponding cynicism comes across somewhat in the book from time to time. But nevertheless the book is interesting in that it gives a fairly balanced view of modern Rome from the viewpoint of a disaffected insider.
The re-emergence of heavy shepherds
What would you think if you received a letter from your church leaders that read like this? ‘Are church members …