Witness to Hope : The Biography of Pope John Paul II
by George Weigel
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Book Summary Information
Author: George WeigelEdition: Paperback
Format: Bargain Price
Published: 2005-03-31
ISBN: N/A
Number of pages: 1056
Book Reviews of Witness to Hope : The Biography of Pope John Paul II
Book Review: An indispensable book
Summary: 5 Stars
Witness to Hope is a very important book. Whether one is a Catholic, a Protestant, a non-Christian or an atheist/agnostic, one cannot understand the 20th Century without understanding the enormous influence of Pope John Paul II. In Witness to Hope, Mr. Weigel provides the reader with a comprehensive view of John Paul as a man, a priest, a profound thinker, and a humble servant of Christ. The portrait that emerges is extraordinary. John Paul II was one of the most brilliant thinkers of the 20th Century, and Mr. Weigel does an excellent job of making John Paul's rather difficult theological and philosophical writings understandable for the average reader. Witness to Hope successfully presents John Paul's profound ideas regarding the nature of God and the nature of the person comprehensible to the ordinary reader. Beyond this, Mr. Weigel provides a compelling picture of John Paul as a warm, loving human being; an accomplished actor, poet, and playright; a courageous opponent of fascism and Marxism; and an outstanding administrator and church leader. Mr. Weigel also does the reader a great service by explaining the importance of the history of Poland for understanding John Paul. Like most American readers, I know very little about Polish history, so Mr. Weigel's fascinating discussion of Poland and its impact on John Paul the man, John Paul, the thinker, and John Paul, the servant of Christ is one of the best attributes of this comprehensive and brilliant biography. Anyone who wants to understand the 20th Century must understand the contributions of John Paul II, and this biography is a very valuable guide to this extraordinary figure. Despite the sometimes difficult subject matter (the book makes demands of the reader's mind, as it should!), Mr. Weigel's writing style is clear and lively. Reading Witness to Hope is like reading a very great novel, with the important difference that its main character was a real, living human being, whose story will inspire the reader and also make her or him a little wiser, and, I believe, a better person.
Summary of Witness to Hope : The Biography of Pope John Paul II
George Weigel, author of Witness to Hope, will be giving a series of lectures in Oxford, London, Manchester, and Birmingham in mid-February. The definitive, authoritative biography of Pope John Paul II, with unprecedented co-operation from the Pope, including access to the Holy Father's papers. A groundbreaking portrait of the Pope as a man, philosopher, religious leader and political figure destined to become a classic. The authoritative biography of one of the singular figures --some might even argue, the singular figure of the twentieth century. John Paul II's life is filled with drama; his life is also replete with challenging ideas, whose power comes in part from the sensational character of Wojtyla's life and the integrity with which he has lived it. Even his critics concede that John Paul II occupies a unique place on the world stage at the end of this bloody century, and that he has put down markers that no one can ignore or avoid as humanity turns into a new millennium fraught with both possibility and danger. This book includes previously unpublished primary-source documentation of an historic quality. The Pope is a man of prodigious energy, and has played a crucial, yet heretofore unknown role, in this century's most momentous events, including the fall of communism, the Holy Sea/Israel negotiation of 1991-92, the disintegration of the Nicaraguan, Chilean, and Paraguayan regimes during the 1980s, and the unprecedented papal visit to Cuba. This biography explains how it is that this "man from a far country," as he describes himself to the Roman crowds on the night of his election, had done all of that, and what his accomplishments might portend for the future of both the Church and the world. Tues 18th Feb - The Chaplaincy (sp?), Oxford Wed 19th Feb - Westminster Cathedral Thur 20th Feb - Manchester University Fri 21st Feb - Oratory, BirminghamWitness To Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II by George Weigel is as comprehensive a biography of its subject as can be hoped for while the Pope still lives. Weigel, a journalist who came to the Pope's attention after the publication of his book, The Final Revolution: The Resistance Church and the Collapse of Communism, wrote Witness To Hope with his subject's encouragement and assistance. Weigel had unprecedented access to the Pope's correspondence (with, among others, world leaders including Mikhail Gorbachev). He reports lengthy conversations with many members of the Pope's inner circle, and he occasionally reveals vivid details of the Pope's daily life (for example, at the beginning of each day, the Pope's adviser's hear moans and groaning from John Paul's solitary prayers in his private chapel).
According to Weigel, the Pope told him that other biographies "try to understand me from outside. But I can only be understood from inside." Unfortunately, Weigel's method for understanding the Pope "from inside" depends on psychological conjecture ("It may help to begin by thinking of Karol Wojtyla as a man who grew up very fast") and is weakened by his extreme eagerness to praise his subject ("the man with arguably the most coherent and comprehensive vision of the human possibility in the world ahead"). More troubling, Weigel does not ask some of the really difficult questions about this Pope--regarding his involvement with sects such as Opus Dei, for example, or the relationship between his innovative "theology of the body" and his conservative stance on homosexuality, or even the vicissitudes of prayer life. Witness To Hope is a valuable book because it reports many facts that others have not reported. But for incisive analysis of this Pope's theological and political significance, or for insight into his spiritual life, readers will have to wait until the principals in his life story are free to speak more frankly with some future biographer. --Michael Joseph Gross
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