Witness to Hope; The Biography of Pope John Paul II

New York: Cliff Street Books (An Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers), 1999. First Edition [Stated], Second Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. xiv, 992, [2] pages. Illustrations (some color). Notes. Bibliography. Index. Slight wear to DJ edges. Minor edge soiling. Inscribed by author on title page. George Weigel (born 1951) is a Catholic neoconservative American author, political analyst, and social activist. He served as a Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Weigel was the Founding President of the James Madison Foundation. He is the author of a best-selling biography of Pope John Paul II, Witness to Hope, and Tranquillitas Ordinis: The Present Failure and Future Promise of American Catholic Thought on War and Peace. Weigel achieved much fame for writing Witness to Hope, a biography of the late Pope John Paul II, which was also made into a documentary film. He is a member of the advisory council of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. Weigel writes and serves on the board for the Institute for Religion and Public Life, which publishes First Things, an ecumenical publication that focuses on encouraging a religiously informed public philosophy for the ordering of society. From a Publishers Weekly article: Weigel's massive work aspires to be definitive: it is subtitled ""the,"" not ""a,"" biography of John Paul II. Weigel, a Catholic layman and a fellow at the conservative Ethics and Public Policy Institute in Washington, D.C., enjoyed the cooperation of the pope and access to top Vatican officials, so the book is rich in new detail. Determined to explain this papacy from the "inside out," Weigel successfully focuses on John Paul's trademark ideas: Christian humanism, the inner connection between freedom and truth, and culture as the driving force of history. As a guide to the pope's thought, Witness to Hope is invaluable. Yet as biography, it is often defective. Weigel frequently dismisses John Paul's critics rather than debating their ideas. The author's strong pro-Americanism leads him to misrepresent the pope as opposing a "third way" between capitalism and socialism and to treat his criticism of the Gulf War as a rare misjudgment. John Paul is a towering 20th-century figure. The book is well written and Weigel's command of the material is impressive. Derived from a Kirkus review: Weigel has studied and written about Karol Wojtyla, better known as Pope John Paul II, for two decades. Here he records the colorful events of the pope’s life. After discussing Wojtyla’s origins in Wadowice, Poland, Weigel gives an account of his work in avant-garde theater, his study in a clandestine seminary during WWII, his consecration as a bishop in 1958, his election as the first Slavic pope. Weigel pays close attention to his role in the collapse of communism, his writings and teachings and his international travel. John Paul II has believed that the Church has an obligation to safeguard human freedom. The pope has held that modern anxiety, malaise, and restlessness can only be quelled through Christ, so, as John Paul II’s Church has worked for human freedom, it has also evidenced a commitment to spreading the Gospel message. This biography is sure to be the definitive work on Pope John Paul II for years. Condition: Very good / Good.

Keywords: Pope John Paul II, Roman Catholicism, Vatican, Theology, Poland, Abortion, Holocaust, Religious Freedom, Human Rights, Karol Wojtyla, Anti-communism, Agostino Casaroli, Ecumenism, Jews, Moral Theology, Priesthood, Joseph Ratzinger, Roman Curia, Solid

ISBN: 006018793X

[Book #84896]

Price: $100.00

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