The Dictator Pope

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The Dictator Pope
H. J. A. Sire
(as "Marcantonio Colonna")
Original titleIl Papa Dittatore
LanguageEnglish, Italian
SubjectPope Francis
PublishedNovember 2017
PublisherAmazon Kindle (1st ed.)
Regnery Publishing (revised English ed.)
Publication placeItaly
Published in English
December 2017 (1st ed.)
April 23, 2018 (revised English ed.)
Pages232 (hardcover)

The Dictator Pope: The Inside Story of the Francis Papacy (

Catholic admiral who fought at the Battle of Lepanto). Published initially in Italian, and later in English, the book takes a highly critical view of Pope Francis and his papacy over the Catholic Church. The book contends to be "the inside story of the most tyrannical and unprincipled papacy of modern times," arguing that Pope Francis, while presenting himself as humble, rules over the Church through fear and has allied to some of the most corrupt elements in the Vatican. On its 2017 release, the book reached 4th place on Amazon Kindle's Religion and Spirituality bestseller list.[2]

A revised and updated English edition of The Dictator Pope was released both in hardcover and e-book formats by Regnery Publishing on April 23, 2018. An audiobook edition produced by Blackstone Audio was also released the same day.

Content

The book places the political and theological statements made by Pope Francis, as well as his leadership style, into a specifically

Peronist attitude as a kind of ruthless opportunism according to The Spectator.[3]

Topics of discussion in the book include the background to Pope Francis' ascent to the Papacy, mentioning the

2013 Papal conclave, "With Martini dead, and most of the group coming within a hair of the cut-off age for participation in a conclave, time was running out – they knew this was their last realistic chance."[2]

Pope Francis in 2015

The book states that much of the controversy surrounding the

Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith (which Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller protested against).[2] The book asserts that Pope Francis rules the Roman Curia "by fear".[2]

According to

PwC, commissioned by Cardinal George Pell, was suspended in 2016 by Substitute for General Affairs, Archbishop Giovanni Angelo Becciu (under the orders of Cardinal Parolin).[5]

The reception of Pope Francis's papacy by the secular western world, particularly the non-Catholic media is discussed, while the book says that his papacy is less popular with Catholics.[2] This is contended by citing dropping attendance figures at St. Peter's Square for Papal weekly audiences from a high of 51,617 in 2013 to under 10,000 in 2016.[2] The public image of Pope Francis as a humble man is also put under scrutiny.[2]

Reception

The book drew support from conservative and traditionalist-leaning lay publications such as

Superior General of the Society of Jesus, which allegedly stated that a younger Pope Francis was "unsuitable" to be made a bishop because of "character defects". The author responded that it was not a rumour, but first-hand information from a priest who had read the report.[11] Lawler stated that the book "is the product of a great deal of solid reporting", but criticised it for failing to provide evidence for its more extreme or implausible claims. He said that the fact that the work was pseudonymously self-published was likely to limit its readership, and that it suffered from a lack of copy-editing.[10]

Authorship

To conceal his identity, the author of the book decided to write under the pseudonym Marcantonio Colonna, an Italian nobleman who fought at the Battle of Lepanto. The author described himself as a historian who was educated at the University of Oxford, but is now living in Rome.[12][13] "Colonna" said the reason he chose to keep his actual name private is due to the fear of retaliation, but expects to be "unmasked" by opponents eventually.[11] He also said that Pope Francis has been shown a list of six people who they think could have been the author and that a person in England who had been misidentified "received threatening phone calls from Rome".[11] Tess Livingstone of The Australian described in Rome a "frantic witch-hunt" to uncover the author.[4]

On 19 March 2018, the author was revealed to be

Prince & Grand Master.[1] Sire had studied in England at Stonyhurst College (a Jesuit institution) and at Exeter College, Oxford, before establishing himself as a Catholic historian. After Sire was revealed to be the author, the leadership of the Knights of Malta, now under Fra Giacomo dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto, suspended Sire's membership and distanced themselves from his critique of Pope Francis.[1][14] The Order later expelled Sire on November 19, 2018.[15]

Editions in other languages

The Polish edition of The Dictator Pope (titled: Papież dyktator. Skrywana historia pontyfikatu papieża Franciszka) was to be released in the middle of November 2018.[16]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "'Dictator Pope' author suspended by Order of Malta". The Tablet. 22 March 2018. Archived from the original on 1 January 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Dan Hitchens (12 December 2017). "'The Dictator Pope': a mixture of hearsay and insight". Catholic Herald. Archived from the original on 1 January 2018. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  3. ^ Damian Thompson (23 December 2017). "Time is running out for the 'Dictator Pope' as a new scandal hits Rome". The Spectator. Archived from the original on 30 December 2017. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d Tess Livingstone (1 December 2017). "The Dictator Pope book sparks witch hunt in Rome". The Australian. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  5. ^ P. J. Smith (1 December 2017). "The Curial Sidelines". First Things. Archived from the original on 1 January 2018. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  6. The Catholic Thing. Archived
    from the original on 1 January 2018. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  7. ^ Skojec, Steve (5 December 2017). "The Dictator Pope: A Must-Read Book, Available Now". One Peter Five. Archived from the original on 12 January 2018. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  8. ^ Ferrara, Christopher A (15 December 2017). "The Dictator Pope: A Call to Hierarchical Opposition". The Remnant. Archived from the original on 1 January 2018. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  9. ^ Niles, Christine (17 December 2017). "CM Exclusive: Author of 'The Dictator Pope' Speaks". Church Militant. Archived from the original on 23 December 2017. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  10. ^ a b Lawler, Philip F (13 December 2017). ""The Dictator Pope" is sometimes frustrating, but filled with valuable insights and information". Catholic World Report. Archived from the original on 1 January 2018. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  11. ^ a b c Hitchens, Dan (13 December 2017). "'They will unmask me eventually,' says author of 'The Dictator Pope'". Catholic Herald. Archived from the original on 1 January 2018. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  12. ^ Staff Reporter (5 December 2017). "'Dictator Pope' book causes stir in Rome". Catholic Herald. Archived from the original on 1 January 2018. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  13. ^ Di Mattei, Roberto (29 November 2017). "Cardinals Burke, Brandmüller, Müller and the "Dictator Pope"". Corrispondenza Romana. Archived from the original on 1 January 2018. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  14. ^ "'Dictator Pope' author Henry Sire suspended from Order of Malta". The Catholic Herald. 22 March 2018. Archived from the original on 1 January 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  15. ^ "'Dictator Pope' author expelled from Order of Malta". Catholic Herald. 19 November 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  16. ^ "Papież dyktator". papiezdyktator.pl. Retrieved 18 October 2018.

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