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Title details for The Two Popes by Anthony McCarten - Wait list

The Two Popes

Francis, Benedict, and the Decision That Shook the World

by Anthony McCarten
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THE STORY BEHIND THE SCREENPLAY OF THE TWO POPES, THE MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING ANTHONY HOPKINS AND JONATHAN PRYCE (PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED AS THE POPE).
From the Academy Award-nominated screenwriter of The Theory of Everything and Darkest Hour comes the fascinating and revealing tale of an unprecedented transfer of power, and of two very different men - who both happen to live in the Vatican.
In February 2013, the arch-conservative Pope Benedict XVI made a startling announcement: he would resign, making him the first pope to willingly vacate his office in over 700 years. Reeling from the news, the College of Cardinals rushed to Rome to congregate in the Sistine Chapel to pick his successor. Their unlikely choice? Francis, the first non-European pope in 1,200 years, a one time tango club bouncer, a passionate soccer fan, a man with the common touch.
Why did Benedict walk away at the height of power, knowing his successor might be someone whose views might undo his legacy? How did Francis - who used to ride the bus to work back in his native Buenos Aires - adjust to life as leader to a billion followers? If, as the Church teaches, the pope is infallible, how can two living popes who disagree on almost everything both be right?
Having immersed himself in these men's lives to write the screenplay for The Two Popes, Anthony McCarten masterfully weaves their stories into one gripping narrative. From Benedict and Francis's formative experiences in war-torn Germany and Argentina to the sexual abuse scandal that continues to rock the Church to its foundations, to the intrigue and the occasional comedy of life in the Vatican, The Two Pope glitters with the darker and the lighter details of one of the world's most opaque but significant institutions.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    January 29, 2019

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9781250207913

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9781250207913
      • File size: 4495 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Kirkus

      January 1, 2019
      A tale of two popes.Novelist, screenwriter, and playwright McCarten (Darkest Hour: How Churchill Brought England Back from the Brink, 2017, etc.) provides a sensationalized examination of the Catholic Church's two most recent leaders. The groundbreaking decision by Pope Benedict XVI to resign the papacy in 2013 led to widespread speculation and gossip about his motives, and the author digs into many of those theories. Describing Benedict at one point as "a frail and confused old man drowning in shallow waters while those closest to him watched," McCarten is largely dismissive of Benedict as anything aside from an academic. Though he occasionally takes pity on the former pontiff--e.g., noting that his desires to go into seclusion went unheeded by his predecessor, John Paul II--the author mainly describes him as lacking any interpersonal skills and being utterly disconnected from the real world or the church he was called to lead. Benedict was a strong defender of orthodoxy, so his resignation came as a surprise; indeed, "the most conventional man in the Catholic Church [did] the most unconventional thing in its modern history." McCarten sees in that decision a mixture of guilt over failures to stem the church's sex abuse scandal and overwhelming inability to lead in the light of his own shortcomings and the Vatican's continued scandals. Though the author is obviously more aligned with Pope Francis' progressiveness, he does not spare the newest pope from scrutiny. He provides a disconcerting report of Francis' career in Argentina, strongly suggesting that he was complicit, even if only through silence, with the brutality his nation faced in the late 20th century. Ultimately, though intermittently intriguing, this book is just another average addition to the well-saturated genre of Vatican intrigue works. Since the author fails to provide much new information or analysis, serious readers will want to look elsewhere.Only slightly better than a tabloid look at papal controversies.

      COPYRIGHT(2019) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Formats

  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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