To Kill the Pope : An Ecclesiastical Thriller [Bargain Price] [Hardcover]

Tad Szulc (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 30, 2000

In May 1981, in the middle of a motorcade in St.Peter's Square, Gregory XVII, the beloved but often controversial French pope, is shot three times at close range. The would-be assassin is quickly caught and identifies himself as Agca Circlic, a Turk belonging to an Islamic terrorist group. But the recovering Gregory XVII, who has both deep faith and a philosophical turn of mind, is not satisfied, and sets out to discover who really wants him dead. He contacts Tim Savage, an American Jesuit and a former member of the CIA, who soon discovers that the plot to kill the Pope originated not in the Middle East, but close to home...TO KILL THE POPE is a fictional treatment of the real-life assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II. In the course of researching his acclaimed biography of the Pope, Tad Szulc uncovered details about the presumed conspiracy that he was reluctant to reveal, out of deference to his sources, details that could have proven disruptive to the Roman Catholic Church. This information, including actual CIA testimony before United States Senate committees, the Agency's internal reports, and findings by Italian courts and Interpol, forms the basis for a shocking thriller that sheds new light on a key event in recent history.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Tad Szulc, a veteran foreign and diplomatic correspondent for The New York Times--as well as the author of a critically praised biography of John Paul--has better credentials than most thriller writers to decipher the truth behind the 1981 attempt by a Turkish national to assassinate Pope John Paul II. In To Kill the Pope, Szulc draws a veil of fiction over the actual investigation into the assassination attempt, which was instigated by the Vatican after the Italian government and worldwide intelligence services dropped their inquiries. While the author stipulates that the characters in the book are composites of actual persons, he also says that many are pure invention, which confuses any reader who might attempt to separate fact from fiction. Some of Szulc's fictional trappings are minor quibbles, like renaming Pope John Paul II "Pope Gregory" and making him a Frenchman rather than a Pole. But readers may be left wondering whether the blame the author affixes to a band of right-wing French Catholics, disturbed by the increasingly liberal tone of the Holy See after Vatican II, is an accurate appraisal of what really happened in 1981.

Szulc's protagonist is an American Jesuit scholar named Tim Savage, whose wartime CIA service in Vietnam prior to his vows makes him a logical choice to carry out the investigation. Already based in Rome, Savage is an expert on Muslim history and theology. Since speculation about the actual assassination attempt indicated the possible involvement of Muslim fanatics, Savage is doubly blessed with the right stuff for the mission. Although he receives his assignment directly from the Pope's private secretary, his investigation leads him to suspect that Monsignor de Sainte-Ange was deeply involved in the first attempt on the Pope's life, and is ready to try again. Savage's meeting with the excommunicated French archbishop, whose followers seek the destruction of the Mother Church, is the raison d'être for a fascinating excursion into the role of heresies in the Catholic religion. But the growing affection he feels for the nun assigned as his control, and the ensuing affair between them, is a less interesting diversion. Szulc is in command of his facts; one wishes he'd told this story in a more straightforward way, without the clumsy artifices apparently required to protect his sources in the church hierarchy. --Jane Adams --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

An assassin's bullet wounds Pope Gregory XVII, who instructs a Jesuit priest to find out who's behind the murderous plot in Szulc's plodding fictionalization of the mystery surrounding the 1981 assassination attempt on the life of Pope John Paul II. The Jesuit detective is ex-CIA agent Tim Savage, who became a priest after suffering a crisis of conscience while operating death squads in Vietnam. Savage soon realizes that the would-be assassin was a front man for a much more insidious secret group conspiring to kill the pope. Tracing this conspiracy proves improbably easy, since everyone from Turkish terrorists to Muslim imams to Catholic archbishops readily provide clues. Savage's findings are eventually buried by the Vatican, but not before some convenient accidents give the bad guys their just deserts. Szulc (Chopin in Paris), a New York Times foreign and diplomatic correspondent from 1955 to 1972, states in the book's afterword that he uncovered the real-world conspiracy to assassinate the pope while researching material for his 1995 biography of John Paul II. He chose fiction to reveal the truth to the world, he says, "in order to honor commitments of discretion to my principal sources." A noble intention, perhaps, but the resulting book has neither the integrity of journalism nor the drama of accomplished fiction. Static dialogue flattens the characters, and suspense flags. Unless readers have a working knowledge of recent French and Vatican politics, the revelation of the figures behind the assassination attempt will fall largely on deaf ears (especially since Szulc doesn't provide a key matching characters to their real-life counterparts). In addressing such a dire subject with a coy allegory, Szulc masquerades (alleged) fact as fiction, and does a disservice to both. (July)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• ISBN-10: 0684837811
• ASIN: B0000645XX
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,946,953 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I enjoyed the book, whether you do will depend on........, May 22, 2000

By 

taking a rest - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: To Kill The Pope: An Ecclesiastical Thriller (Lisa Drew Books) (Hardcover)

whether or not you are willing to go outside the book for information. Only scholars will have the knowledge to follow the precise, abundant and very dense historical detail that is the alleged cause of the attempt on the life of the Pope.

Had I confined myself to the contents of this book I would perhaps be writing a one or possibly two star review. Even now I could write my thoughts from a solitary star, or a five star quincunx. If the last word irritates this book may not be to your liking.

What is this book, fiction, historically based fiction, or the truth as far as it is possible to relate today. From the Afterword, "To Kill The Pope" is a work of fiction. And then later on the same page, "The fictional form was adopted for "To Kill The Pope" in order to honor commitments of discretion to my principal sources".

Mr. Tad Szulc is eminently qualified to write on the topic of the attempt on the life of Pope John Paul II. He also is clearly a man who has an extensive historical grasp of the Catholic Church in it's present, ancient, and all of its forms contained therein.

As I reached the halfway point I was ready to put this aside for when I had nothing else on my reading list. Luckily the Internet intervened and with a bit of research the book came into good focus, and would only improve with more effort. I have some website addresses that I will be happy to share if the reader is interested. These sites allowed the identification of some individuals, living and dead, from the information the Author provided, as well as some understanding of the Histories and facts that you will be buried in if they have no familiarity to you.

A sampling of references; Council of Ephesus in 449AD, 16th Century Council of Trent, affirmation of Trent by St. Pius X in 1903, Vatican II, which amongst other actions did away with the Latin Tridentine Mass, as well as the direction the Priest faces when Celebrating the service.

You will go back to the Crusades, read debates pertaining to an "ius bellum" "just war", the Commandment of not murdering as opposed to not killing. The difference is as important as the latter version is wrong. Schisms and heresies, and the "integrists" that populate them, Cathars, Waldenses heretics, The Messalians of Armenia, Priscillians in 4th century Spain, Paulicians, Bogomils, and even Joan Of Arc are brought to bear on the reader.

This is a 317-page book that could have run to 1,000 pages. Your enjoyment of it will be directly related to the knowledge you bring with you, or search for along the way. There is material that will give offense to some Catholics, and Natives of at least one Country. The concept of "Comparative Fundamentalisms" can be taken lightly, or seriously, and that will determine who is taken aback by the ideas it contains.

This is a great piece of work. It is NOT a casual read, it is NOT light Historical Fiction of which there is much available, some of it excellent, some of it is wretched.

To get enough from this book to really enjoy what the Author has crafted requires information you already have, or are willing to hunt down. This book made me work, and I felt well rewarded. Mr. Szulc has displayed dozens of topics and historical figures that I look forward to reading more about.

If you give the Author his due by expending extra time on this work you will be pleased that you did. This is not lightweight, this is not mediocrity, it is what you make of it.

I heartily recommend you enter headfirst!

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Historical Fiction or Roman a' clef? A good read either way., August 11, 2000

By 

M KIRK-DUGGAN "Reverse Mike" (El Cerrito Fellowship, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: To Kill The Pope: An Ecclesiastical Thriller (Lisa Drew Books) (Hardcover)

The book arrived on Monday; I finished it on Wednesday. It is definitely a page turner of the first order. Does it answer the question of Why a Turkish gangster member of a Fascist group called the Gray Wolves was almost successful in assassinating Pope John Paul II in 1981? Maybe, maybe not. One is tantalized by the author's afterword, when Szulc states that his plot is truth, albeit the protagonists are either fictional or composites "to protect his sources." Unfortunately, there is no "Freedom of Information Act" to compel disclosure of his basic source document, and the CIA copy of the Vatican's investigative report would be unavailable as well. Does one need a scholar's knowledge of Roman Catholic history to enjoy this book to the fullest? Not at all, since Szulc fills in the blanks with admirable succinctness, albeit he is overwrought with the details of the the Roman violent suppression of the Cathar heresy/schism: he repeats the dates/facts at least six times without embellishment. Knowledge that it was the CIA that spread the disinformation charging that the KGB used the Bulgarians to have a right wing Turk assassinate the Pope is not mentioned. This by itself indicates that Szulc was in debt to the CIA for the details of his plot. Since the CIA and the FBI are both heavily loaded with conservative Catholics of the Opus Dei cult, this leak to Szulc is unsurprising. I could not rate it with five stars, since the minor liet motif of a romance between a late vocation Jesuit and a most attractive nun just doesn't work. But perhaps, because it is true, this romance is banal. This summer is truly the season of fictional imaginings surrounding historical events of recent vintage. Consider "The Confirmation" which is derived from the appointment of Gates as head of the CIA, and of course, "American Rhapsody" which surrounds the graffitti of Monica Gate with imagined pop psychology stream of consciousness. Szulc has not marred this ecclesiastical thriller with such cheap imaginings. His years as a reporter for the NY Times give him a crisp, complete no nonsense style, which makes this "expose" eminently readible.

If this is as accurate in broad brush as Szulc claims, then one wonders about the reactions in Rome and Southern France. The timing of publication is exquisite: it obviously triggered the release of the Third Secret of Fatima, despite Szulc's omission of any mention of it. One hopes that the paperback edition will include annotations. This review refers to the hardback version.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simple , you like it or you hate it and .., February 9, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: To Kill The Pope: An Ecclesiastical Thriller (Lisa Drew Books) (Hardcover)

It depends on how you feel towards the Catholic Church , it is obvious that some of the fiction may have mistakes , but who cares , the point is the factual plot to kill the pope , and the simple conclusion that it must come from someone that will benefit from it and is very displeased with the ongoing dramas ,mysteries and others surrounding the Catholic Church , in short , if you are a church follower , you do not want this written down, if you are not , go for it , a very interesting plot , and very real.... leave the fanatism aside.