4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What an extraordinary tale., August 17, 2005
This review is from: The Fisherman's Net: The Influence of the Popes on History (Paperback)
The Fisherman's Net brings back images of Antony Quinn in the Shoes of the Fisherman. This book is not however, a novel. It is a quirky overview of the papacy from the angle of its influence on most things except religion. Rather surprising but the author, Irish priest Fr. Michael Collins craftily weaves the story in and out of the Church's history. It is really the tale of saints and sinners. I enjoyed the book very much.It has a nice flow, but does not go too deep into the issues. A bit like Thomas Cahill's book How The Irish Saved Civilization. This is a cracking good read, although it seems to leave out more than it puts in. Maybe that was the editors choice. HOwever, it really made me think a lot about the papacy, especially after reading the Da Vinci Code.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Mediocre, January 16, 2007
This review is from: The Fisherman's Net: The Influence of the Popes on History (Paperback)
The book is easy to read, and somewhat educational, but it seems to me that the author (a priest) is somewhat anti-papal and almost Protestant in his view of the papacy. Firstly he focuses mostly on the bizarre and wordly actions of the popes (if they had any) and doesn't focus too much on ecclesiastical doings and teachings. If anything bad can be said about a pope, the author will say it. This paints the picture that the popes between 600 and 1860 did nothing but purchase, politik, and party. The author also selectively chooses information to make the popes look bad. He will only tell one side of a story and not give a balanced viewpoint of history.
Several things that disturbed me:
(1) He mentioned the slave trade (enslaving South American natives and Africans) several times and writes as if the Pope did nothing to stop it. The facts don't show this as the Popes were condemning enslaving people almost as soon as it started in the new world and colonial Africa.
(2) He complains about the Popes calling crusades even though he acknowledges the constant aggresive behavior of the Muslim invaders in North Africa, Spain, and Eastern Europe.
(3) He says that Pope Clement XII condemned freemasonry because it preached secrecy and religious toleration. This is quite a ridiculous half-truth. He's leaving out the fact that freemasonry is a revolutionary pagan cult that teaches that all religions are equal (except the Catholic--that one is not at all equal).
(4) The author paints the picture that Martin Luther never uttered a heresy and never acted rashly, rather it was the popes who mistreated him and rashly condemned his teachings. The opposite is true.
(5) The author insinuates that Pope Gregory XIII was most enthused after thousands of French Protestants were massacred, when the truth is that the Pope had no idea that civilians were massacred and was under the impression that armed rebels were defeated in battle. The Pope, when he learned the truth, was much disturbed by the bloodshed.
I could go on. I'm not even an academic and yet I caught all these half-truths. I cannot at all recommend this book: far too many inaccuracies and jaded tales.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
