The Power and the Glory: Inside the Dark Heart of Pope John Paul II's Vatican

by David A. Yallop

Book Overview

Pope John Paul II was a leader to millions of Catholics at a time of tremendous change. Promising a renewed church, he became a symbol of hope worldwide. Now, four years after his death, calls for his... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786719567
• ISBN13: 9780786719563
• Release Date: March 2007
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf Publishers
• Length: 530 Pages
• Weight: 2.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.7" x 6.4" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

To Be or Not to Be: an intense investigation

Good God! Yallop has done it again. The man's a mastermind. The intricacies of his investigative genius reach, like tentacles of a determined vine, into unimaginable recesses. His premise for this book is to denounce the beatification of Pope John Paul II. He points out in his preface that the fifth step in the beatification process USED TO BE, "if anyone can give any reason why this pope should not be made a saint, please speak now or forever hold your peace," type of thing--that was revoked by Pope John Paul II for the beatification of Mother Theresa. Pope Benedict XVI waived the process for Pope John Paul II. David Yallop makes his case against canonization bravely, boldly, and brilliantly! 1.) The Vatican propaganda machine painted Wojtyla as proactive in the underground movement to assist Jews during and after WWII. Yallop proves that these statements are lies, lies that went around the world, lies that "told often enough become truth." The fact is, Wojtyla never got involved with protecting anyone and always kept a politically correct, low profile. 2.) Although made aware of the corruption within the Vatican Bank in 1978 and the corrupt Bishop Marcinkus, its overseer, Wojtyla kept `business as usual' with Marcinkus in charge of 11,000 accounts. For a bank that was created for the purpose of religious works, 9,351 of those accounts were owned by politicians, diplomats (one of which was the deposed Philippine dictator Marcos), industrialists, editors, Masons (P2) and `privileged citizens' which included five Mafia families laundering money for their illegal narcotics businesses. In 1981 Marcinkus was elevated to Archbishop by Pope John Paul II, figuratively, `Governor of Vatican City,' retaining his position as president of the Vatican Bank. Under John Paul II the Vatican Bank figured in the top ten of international money laundries. 3.) In a `black, money laundering exercise, millions were illegally transferred to Poland, via Bishop Marcinkus, to assist Solidarity. 4.) Opus Dei, the secret society, was prepared to cover the $1.3 billion hole in the Vatican's finances. For this favor, Pope John Paul II granted Opus Dei "personal prelature." Opus Dei s now an official branch of the Vatican, answerable to no one but the Pope. (The DaVinci Code was not far off.) 5.) Under John Paul II, Opus Dei has flourished. One of his first acts after his election was to go to the tomb of the founder of Opus Dei, Escriva, and pray. John Paul II had Escriva canonized in 2002,"more than repaying him for his multi-million dollar `contribution.'" 6.) While condemning apartheid, the Vatican loaned $172 million to the S. African apartheid regime. 7.) Pedophile priests in the USA were dismissed by John Paul II as, "an American problem." These priests were covered for, and shuffled around; Cardinal Law of Boston, a great protector of pedophile priests, was flown to Rome under the protective wing of John Paul II. Letters, protests, and requests for cooperation with

Exploding the mythology of John Paul II

After reading the first chapter of this momentous, and at times shocking book, one concludes that not only few papacies, but few popes have been surrounded by as much myth and misconception as Karol Wojtyla, priest, bishop, cardinal, pope and in the opinion of many, saint. The author combines the ability to write in a clear, easy-to-follow style with formidable research capability. His other works include In God's Name, Unholy Alliance, Tracking the Jackal and Deliver Us From Evil. Even John Paul's most ardent supporters would have to agree that his papacy not without controversy. In spite of the "super pope" media image, critical studies of his papacy and his theology have emerged. Nothing however, comes close to the detailed examination provided by David Yallop. The author's widely acknowledged investigative skills are at their best in his fearless quest to discover the real Karl Wojtyla. He devoted eight years to research, probing deeply into the reality of the man and the papacy that dominated the Catholic Church for a quarter century. This book will shock and enrage the ardent supporters of the late pope yet one must honestly ask if the adulation is for the carefully crafted larger than life image or for the man himself. Yallop's detailed study of John Paul II's personal and public life leave no other conclusion than that the adoring faithful were really enamored of an image and not reality. Even critics of John Paul's reign, characterized by some as "autocratic" and "restorationist" will be uncomfortably surprised at Yallop's well researched and solidly supported de-mythologization of Karol Wojtyla's early years in Poland, first under Nazi and later under Communist occupation. He flattens the notion, created by Vatican spin meisters, that young Karol was an active partisan committed to protecting Jews from the Nazis. Not true, according to Yallop's research. Instead, the future pope "actively attempted to persuade others to abandon violent resistance and trust in the power of prayer." (P. 239). The author interviewed several Jewish authorities who said straight out that there are no records of Wojtyla doing anything to protect or save Jews during World War II. Yallop puts the pope's role in the dismantling of the Soviet Union in a dim light, portraying him as highly cautious and retreating to reliance on prayer rather than decisive action. If one takes this rendition of the late pope's non-role in the demolition of Communism and mixes it with his tacit approval of military dictatorships in Argentina, Chile and El Salvador plus his negative reaction to liberation theology, one wonders at the veracity of the claims that he was a world class human rights advocate. With bold clarity Yallop delves into the two explosive Vatican financial scandals, the so-called Banco Ambrosiano debacle and the Martin Frankel insurance fraud of the 90's. The theme throughout, which puts the pope in the middle of it all, is that money h

Sad but True; Absolute Power Corrupting the Papacy

Never has Lord Acton's dictum been proven more emphatically than in the case of the Vatican. This book, which devout, blind, dumb Catholics will dismiss as a hatchet job, gathers all the evidence of the Papacy's grasping, cloying, conniving schemes to maintain power and wealth at all costs. From a conspiracy of silence on pedophile priests, to cover-ups of John Paul I's death and the Vatican Bank crimes to the continuation of misogynistic policies and the silent collaboration with tyrants of the left and right , the tenure of the Polish Pope is laid bare as an unending series of propagandistic hype, charisma, smoke and mirrors and medieval invocations of failed doctrines. Indeed, this pope must rank as one of the most reactionary of all time, happy to maintain brutal oligarchial status quo in third world countries that struggle for justice in an unjust world, made so by the hypocrisy of institutions like the Catholic Church. Prior to reading this, I held this Pope in some esteem for what I perceived as his proactive work undermining communism. Alas, this book makes apparent that Karol Woytjwa was a passive collaborator, if anything, with fascists and communists. But it seems self-evident that an organization that has beeen around the corridors of power for 2000 years would degenerate into a cesspool of sexual, political, financial and criminal corruption. Little wonder that Dante in his immortal poem made the 13th century papacy a symbol of worldly decadence. Clearly, little has changed. And why should it? As long as the Vatican can hide behind its facade of Christ worship, what politician would have the huevos to challenge God's Vicar on earth? For those who, like to live with their eyes open, read this and pass it on. For the Catholics who have not abandoned this self-serving monster, hopefully this book will force you to acknowledge the unpleasant truth you have so long denied.

The Power & The Glory: The Dark Side of The Wojtyla Pontificate

The Power & The Glory: The Dark Side of The Wojtyla Pontificate Reviewed by William Courson Karol Wojtyla, who was to become known to the world as Pope John Paul II, is one of the most influential and even beloved figures of the 20th century, credited with speeding the demise of Eastern European and Soviet Communism and for speaking out for the human rights and dignity of the disenfranchised, the poor, and the powerless. From the moment of his election to the papacy, Karol Wojtyla sought political influence and a role on the world stage. At the close of the twentieth and dawn of the twenty-first century, he was a leader to millions of Catholics at a time of tremendous social change and religious upheaval. Promising a renewed church, he was the first "media pope" and crossed the globe many times to preach his message. Now, but two years after his death, there are calls for his canonization as a saint and for the award of the appellation "John Paul the Great." According to the author of "The Power and the Glory: Inside the Dark Heart of Pope John Paul II's Vatican," this widely-held view of a heroic and principled leader is but the officially promulgated tip of an iceberg whose submarine mass is one composed of tolerance (at a minimum) of criminality, friendly cooperation with some of the most nefarious political regimes and corrupt commercial empires on the face of the earth, and brutal (and that is not too strong a word) indifference to the needs and aspirations of Catholic clergy and laity. This is a stunning and sobering chronicle of a man wholly dedicated to advancing without regard to human cost the conservative agenda of the most retrograde and plutocratic elements within the Roman Catholic Church. Investigative journalist David Yallop, who also authored "In God's Name: An Investigation Into the Murder of Pope John Paul I" paints a convincing and extraordinarily well-documented portrait of a man who seized the reigns of papal authority with the aim of quashing any and all dissent within the Catholic Church and preserving at all costs that Church's - often illicitly gained - patrimony, whilst installing a dictatorial climate of fear and self-censorship in the labyrinthine bureaus of the Holy See. Wojtyla's blatent cover-up of pedophile priests and bishops, his policies promoting economic and social disparities, his suppression of the popular uprisings of the poor in Latin America, his ban on contraception which drove poverty and disease in third world countries and - what may have been Wojtyla's mortal sin - his clearly demonstrable knowledge of if not involvement in the conspiracy that led to the death of his predecessor - are all brought out of the silent, malarial fog that envelopes the inner workings of the Vatican. David Yallop does not traffic in circumstantial "evidence" and hypothetical constructs of what may have happened or could have happened or probably did happen. He confines himself to demonstrable facts of probative va

A Matter of History

Murder in the Vatican: The Revolutionary Life of John Paul and The CIA, Opus Dei and the 1978 Murders `The Power and the Glory' hangs this pope's dirty laundry out for all to see. His cover-up of pedophile priests, his policies driving a rich and poor society, his suppression of the uprisings of the poor in Latin America, his ban on contraception which drove poverty and disease in third world countries along with dozens of other items of his soiled underwear. I was surprised this book overlooks what may have been John Paul's greatest sin: he may have known of, if not been involved in, the conspiracy that led to the death of his predecessor; a hypothesis for which Lucien Gregoire's `Murder in the Vatican' presents compelling evidence (JohnPaul1 org). Yet, Yallop does not deal with compelling evidence and hypothesis. His world is facts. `The Power and the Glory' is the other half of this pope's biography which has never been written. There are scores of `biographies' of John Paul II that show only his `good' side. In fact, most of them add things that never happened to embellish his `holy' image. Not a one of them hints at any of the things Yallop has to say; the shady side of the man; the facts. Things we know actually happened. Things his many biographers make believe never happened. Most of his followers think of David Yallop as an investigative reporter. I think of him as an historian. Murder in the Vatican: The Revolutionary Life of John Paul and The CIA, Opus Dei and the 1978 Murders