7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Better than his novel, but..., April 2, 2005
This review is from: Selecting the Pope: Uncovering the Mysteries of Papal Elections (Hardcover)
I finally read this over the past few days and I must confess I'm getting more information out of watching CNN and the networks. Not recommended as your primary source, or secondary actually. But if you have to have every book on this subject, feel free to snap it up.
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9 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Resource., July 27, 2003
This review is from: Selecting the Pope: Uncovering the Mysteries of Papal Elections (Hardcover)
For educators or people interested in how the Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church is elected, this is an excellent resource. Easy to read, with charts to inform what happens in the Church from the day the Pope dies until a successor is chosen. Also includes some of the "major players" and what is the criteria that will be used in choosing the next pontiff. Afterword includes the "Apostolic Constitution" written by Pope John Paul II.
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
There are much better ways to get the same information, April 26, 2005
This review is from: Selecting the Pope: Uncovering the Mysteries of Papal Elections (Hardcover)
A well-informed Vatican-watcher, much read in recent weeks, estimates that there are at least six English-language "quickie" books now being written about the election of Benedict XVI, from authors like Fr. Andrew Greeley and the generally more respected journalist John L. Allen. There were a number of "quickie" books produced before the late pontiff's death too, and in the wake of the last month's events their time has largely come and gone. That's definitely the case with "Selecting the Pope" by Greg Tobin.
Produced in 2003, which even then was apparently considered "the waning days of a pontificate" (p. viii), this book gives a rapid thumbnail portrait of the history and roles of the papacy, the various methods of papal election over the centuries, former and current curial law concerning the process, and "the challenges awaiting the next pope." If that seems like a lot of ground to cover in just over 100 pages, you're right. In fact, if you were or still are interested in more than the most cursory overview of these questions, there are significantly more in-depth references than this one. Personally, I would start by pointing you to the works of the aforementioned John L. Allen.
As a whirlwind guide to the processes to be used (or, that were used) in the election of the pope to follow John Paul II, this is an adequate though far from exceptional resource. There's nothing especially wrong here, and if all you're looking for is a rapid explanation of what happened and why, this is a good enough place to start. It's definitely a fairly quick read (and probably didn't take too long to write, either).
But for insight as to what was going to happen behind the closed doors of the Sistine Chapel, however, all I can do is point out the following, from pages 114-115:
"A curial cardinal is, almost by definition, not *papabile.* Although Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith -- which used to be the Holy Office, and before that the Inquisition -- is a highly regarded theologian and intellectual, he is one of the least likely to be elected pope."
Oh well.
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