Europeans hold a huge advantage in electing the Pope, regardless of the number of Catholics they represent. Sin ser una obra maestra a la altura de su trilogía sobre Cicerón, creo que es lo suficientemente interesante como para enganchar a muchos lectores. No one is supposed to want the job, but once you have it, it’s yours for life – unless you’re German, of course, in which case you can cut and run when the scandals get too much. Lomeli empenhou-se arduamente na missão confiada — desvendou traições, chantagens, compras de votos,. The book was interesting in a religious historical perceptive and does deliver a great read about one of our Historical religious institutes.

Atheists and other non-believers should also find it a good read/listen, however, for their own enjoyment, they would benefit if they had formerly participated in, or recognised, the activities of the earlier Christian churches: the Roman Catholic Church, the Orthodox Catholic Churches, and “High”** versions of the Anglican, Church of England, and Episcopalian Churches. No, a month – 17 September, to be exact, after the Mass to commemorate the Impression of the Stigmata upon Saint Francis – the longest period he had gone without a private audience since the Pope had been elected. For those readers who are Christian and might be concerned about a challenge to their faith, you need have no fears. As I’ve traveled around Europe, the people of those nations are well aware of the impact the decisions made by the President have on their lives. While I think most readers will guess that the least likely candidate will make it in the end, the twist when it came was unexpected (at least to me).This assessment makes Jacopo uneasy because it feels like a deviation from what he feels his real purpose should be. So as undemocratic as this recent United States presidential election feels, it is without contestation way closer to representing the wishes of the people than the process used to determine the leader of the Catholic church. We spent one wonderful day in the Vatican Museums, gorging on some of the world’s greatest art (and not one work by a woman). In this case, it's the election of a new pope; the sympathetic Cardinal Lomeli is our protagonist, observing the the power play as potential candidates come to the fore, have their hopes dashed, and/or are scuppered by scandal. I have read other books about the Conclave so I had the basics down but Harris made it sing in a way that other books haven't.

The process involved in the election of a Pope is something I have given little or no thought to in the past which is why I found this book extremely interesting.There is no mocking of the Roman Catholic religion, though we are occasionally reminded of some of its institutional failures. It was the ignorance of the reader rather than the fault of the book, but I initially struggled to understand all the terms, places, and activities that were littered throughout. He lowered himself carefully to his knees on the brightly polished parquet floor, cupped his hands together in prayer and rested them on the side of the counterpane.