1 0 The Catholic News & Herald Book Review
“Pope Fiction” answers myths and misconceptions about the
Reviewed by Patricia Zapor Catholic News Service If playing Scripture-citation hockey with fundamentalists is your idea of a good time, “Pope Fiction” was written for you. Patrick Madrid, editor-in-chief of the Catholic apologetics magazine Envoy, has compiled detailed “answers to 30 myths and misconceptions about the papacy,” as the subtitle reads. Many of the chapters provide
“Pope Fiction” By Peter Madrid Basilica Press (San Diego, 1999) 338 pp., $14.99.
highly specific rebuttals of Scripturebased claims put forth by those who insist the Catholic Church misinterpreted the Bible in establishing the papacy. For instance, one chapter devotes 13 pages to analyzing the origins and possible interpretations of the Greek, Aramaic and Hebrew terms used in Matthew 16:18 with the phrase, “you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.” Most American Catholics don’t find themselves consumed by the quandary of whether the word Jesus used for “rock” was more accurately reported in Greek Scriptures as “petros,” meaning “small rock,” or “petras,” meaning “large rock,” and whether Matthew actually wrote in Greek or Aramaic. Yet that’s the kind of debate that Madrid relishes in these chapters, where he attempts to provide explanations nonscholars can use to answer some of the favorite Scripture-thumping arguments against the papacy. There have been plenty of scholarly discussions on the scriptural foundations of the church. For quick reference, the “Catechism of the Catholic Church” explains this core teaching and refers to its theological basis. But for contemporary Catholics without the time or energy to read the work of theologians or who want a little more thorough explanation than the sections on church structure in the catechism, Madrid provides a middle ground.
May 19, 2000
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For those who don’t get involved in debates about the church with fundamentalists, these sections of “Pope Fiction” might provide interesting background that you missed while sleeping through ninth-grade religion classes. Others will find Madrid’s dissection of anti-Catholic treatises — like the numerological argument that the pope’s official Latin title adds up to the satanic number 666 — to be condescending and tiresome. This particular chapter does include an interesting explanation of the truth behind an argument against the church used by some Seventh-day Adventists. But in getting there, Madrid resorts to a smirking, insulting tone that pervades his book. “Alas, if only this gentleman’s Latin were as good as his imagination,” he says in countering one Adventist writer. That’s an unfortunate side-effect of Madrid’s attempt to use a light, breezy tone to make his material appealing. Amid helpful discussions of topics like whether there was a “Pope Joan,” and the origins of the Crusades and the Spanish Inquisition, Madrid crosses the line between a light tone and condescending pompousness. His explanations may be accurate, but it’s hard to believe many people will be convinced of that when he takes such glee in being insulting while debunking their beliefs. Also, at times, Madrid is so intent on explaining some of the darker chapters of church history that he comes across as justifying horrific actions. He notes, for instance, that the executions carried out during the Inquisition were not at the hands of the church authorities themselves, but by the civil government, and that the actual number executions was arguably exaggerated — as if either explanation makes the events less dubious. It does help to have someone provide an explanation of these parts of the church’s history, but readers of “Pope Fiction” should be wary of Madrid’s belittling approach. As his magazine, Envoy, is fond of pointing out, apologetics doesn’t have to be dry and academic. But perhaps a book aimed at a general audience also should be more careful about using gloating as a tool for evangelization. t Zapor covers federal government is-
Word to Life May 7, Third Sunday of Easter, Cycle B Readings: 1) Acts 3:13-15, 17-19 Psalm 4:2, 4, 7-9 2) 1 John 2:1-5a 3) Gospel: Luke 24:35-48 By Dan Luby Catholic News Service Peace. Terror. Doubt. Joy. Disbelief. Wonder. “Mixed feelings” hardly describes the dizzying roller coaster of emotion that rocketed the disciples in this week’s Gospel from the stomach-churning descent into doubt to the neck-snapping curve around the edges of fear, to the awe-inspiring pinnacle of joy which was their encounter with the Easter Jesus. I used to imagine, as a child, what I would do if the Lord appeared to me. I pictured myself happy, eager to display my virtuous deeds like some vain Boy Scout showing off a particularly impressive array of merit badges. I imagined Jesus smiling kindly at me. And though I knew it wasn’t likely — I’d never seen it in pious pictures or heard of it at home or church — I harbored the hope that, if I kept being a good boy, there might be a pony in my future soon. I
did not imagine mixed feelings. Now, with many more miles on my heart and soul, with flesh that’s been bruised a time or two, and bones that sometimes creak and ache for no good reason, I find the picture of that emotionally volatile scene in the Upper Room compelling and real. The fact is that when things have gone disastrously awry, when someone we love has been brutally hurt, and our hopes have been dashed and our shallowness and inconstancy mercilessly revealed, the unexpected arrival of the wounded loved one is bound to provoke a storm of emotion. The good news is that, having failed our friend, our friend does not fail us. Patient, persistent forgiveness heals us of our fear and empowers us to be truer, more compassionate, more willing to risk our comfort and safety in the service of demonstrating not our brittle virtue, but the mercy of God. Questions: What part of the Gospel message do you occasionally hear with mixed emotions? What’s one concrete way you can testify to the power of forgiveness?
Weekly Scripture Readings for the week of May 21 - 27, 2000 Fifth Sunday of Easter, Acts 9:26-31, 1 John 3:18-24, John 15:1-8; Monday, Acts 14:5-18, John 14:21-26; Tuesday, Acts 14:19-28, John 14:27-31; Wednesday, Acts 15:1-6, John 15:1-8; Thursday, Acts 15:7-21, John 15:9-11; Friday (St. Philip Neri), Acts 15:22-31, John 15:12-17; Saturday (St. Augustine of Canterbury), Acts 16:1-10, John 15:18-21 Readings for the week of May 28 - June 3, 2000 Sixth Sunday of Easter, Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48, 1 John 4:7-10, John 15:9-17; Monday, Acts 16:11-15, John 15:26-16:4; Tuesday, Acts 16:22-34, John 16:5-11; Wednesday (Visitation of the Virgin Mary to Elizabeth), Zephaniah 3:14-18, Luke 1:39-56; Thursday (Ascension of Our Lord), Acts 1:1-11, Ephesians 1:17-23, Mark 16:15-20; Friday (St. Marcellinus, St. Peter), Acts 18:9-18, John 16:20-23; Saturday (St. Charles Lwanga and Companions), Acts 18:23-28, John 16:23-28