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133 of 140 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A work of monumental importance, September 17, 2003
This is a difficult book to digest for faithful Roman Catholics like myself. It is the story of a wonderful priest who loved the poor and wanted the church to improve the quality of life for Catholics. Pope John Paul the First was a man who would not seek to impose christian solutions on non-Christians; he was someone who was sensitive to social problems and open to dialogue; with a commitment to the search for unity; a good pastor, a good shepherd in the way that Jesus was; a man who sincerely believed that the church should not be out of date but be a relevant, nurturing factor in the lives of Catholics worldwide. The press called him the "Smiling Pope." However, in reality Albino Luciani who wished to be called Pope John Paul the First and became the first double name in the history of the papacy was a man of enormous faith. What a shame his 33 days as pope in 1978 was the shortest stint since Pope Medici Leo XI in 1605 who only served 17 days. In all likelihood, he had the inner strength and intelligence to be the greatest pope in the history of the Vatican. To this end, "In God's Name: An Investigation into the Murder of Pope John Paul I," by highly regarded journalist David A.Yallop is a work of monumental research and importance. The author dares to point a finger at the financial corruption within the Vatican. He names names...Michele Sindona, Roberto Calvi, Lucio Gelli, Cardinal John Patrick Cody of Chicago and Bishop Paul Casimir Marcinkus in Vatican City all coducted illegal activities. And Albino Luciani was determined to put an end to it. This well-written book is difficult to put down. Quite naturally it is officially condemned by the oligarchy in the Vatican. However, I think it is important for all interested in the pursuit of truth to read this compelling book and drawn one's own conclusion. The evidence is hard to ignore. The conclusion is based on facts. It is truly hard to imagine but I am know convinced that Pope John Paul the First was murdered because he dared to promote positive change and rid the Vatican of corrupt banking practices. Highly recommended. Bert Ruiz
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55 of 61 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
can a leader really rule?, March 24, 2005
This review is from: In God's Name: An Investigation into the Murder of Pope John Paul I (Paperback)
When I first started reading the book, I thought well,it might be interesting to learn some more about the vatican. I didn't know it was going to be so breathtaking. I remember I heard my father comment when pope John Paul I died that he has definitely been murdered. I was young at the time and knew nothing of the ways of our world. After reading In God's Name, I have no doubt that there was a murder. Mr. Yallop's certainly knows how to conduct a research and more importantly, how to write his conclusions without passion (although his feelings do transpire and his positions with respect to corruption and crime are very clear).
However, for myself, the important part of the book was the description of Pope John Paul I. The life of this charismatic man, this priest of Christ, is simply beautiful. And the Catholic Church has lost with his death its chance to become what it never should have ceased to be: the church of the poor. This book for me was full of the spirit of papa luciani. And the corruption, the crimes, were set on one side, and this true priest on hte other. And somehow, He weighed much more in the balance.
Corruption and crime, wars all around the world, conflicts in the middle east area moved by the interest of the few, all this is the reality of our daily life. To know that we can do little to avoid a war because it would be bad for business bears a great dose of despair in itself.
But then, the good news will not come from the leaders. Only from the humble and poor men and women who dedicate their lives to relieve other people's pain and suffering. The leaders will never be allowed to be that. In a way, maybe papa luciani should never have become pope. It was his death sentence because a chief of state will never be allowed to go against the current.
Am I pessimistic? maybe but then I am from Lebanon and I have seen what corrupt leaders are able to do to a country.
I think this book is very well written and the investigation thoroughly conducted.
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
When the politicking that goes on when a pope is elected turns to murder . . ., November 19, 2007
Until 1983, the Vatican's strategy suppressed the record of the liberal 33 day pope and the circumstances of his mysterious death. In 1984, David Yallop did a riveting job in proving the case for murder. In 1985, the Vatican issued a biographical brief which was published by anonymous clergy in Catholic countries. It painted him out to be a man who ignored the issues of his day and spent his life on his knees. Nothing is further from the truth. For twenty years he had been a rampaging locomotive running about the Vatican, the courts and Parliament of Italy struggling for human rights for the oppressed, the reason he had risen to the papacy.
Many books have been written about his unwitnessed death. I would give only two of them five stars. The 2007 edition of 'In God's Name' and the 2010 edition of 'Murder in the Vatican' (see link below) by Lucien Gregoire. Be sure to get the latest editions as, being investigations, older editions of these books don't tell the whole story.
Whereas no one will walk away from either of these books without the conviction this man was murdered, there is a difference. Yallop claims the Pope was murdered because of his involvement in the Vatican Bank. Gregoire too involves the Vatican Bank in what he calls "The Vatican-Contra Affair." Yet he goes further: he proves two Opus Dei bishops, who rose to high rank shortly after the Polish pope was elected, conspired with the CIA and British Intelligence in the murders of John Paul and a dozen of his closest allies involved in the war on poverty in the fall of 1978.
Yet, the credit goes mostly to Yallop, for had he not written his book, all the others would have never written their books.
Murder in the Vatican: The CIA and the Bolshevik Pontiff
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