Pope John XXIII

Penguin Lives

by Thomas Cahill

The author's trademark blend of profound insight and extensive knowledge provides a fascinating history of the Catholic Church and the papacy by focusing on Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli as Pope John XXIII, who awed the world with the seminal and unprecedented change he brought about due to his concern for humankind. 35,000 first printing.

Genres: Biography, History, Nonfiction, Religion, Catholic, Spirituality, Christianity

176 pages, Hardcover

First published January 14, 2002

About the author

Born in New York City to Irish-American parents and raised in Queens and the Bronx, Cahill was educated by Jesuits and studied ancient Greek and Latin. He continued his study of Greek and Latin literature, as well as medieval philosophy, scripture and theology, at Fordham University, where he completed a B.A. in classical literature and philosophy in 1964, and a pontifical degree in philosophy in 1965. He went on to complete his M.F.A. in film and dramatic literature at Columbia University in 1968.

In anticipation of writing The Gifts of the Jews, Cahill studied scripture at Union Theological Seminary in New York, and spent two years as a Visiting Scholar at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, where he studied Hebrew and the Hebrew Bible. He also reads French and Italian. In 1999, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Alfred University in New York.

Cahill has taught at Queens College, Fordham University, and Seton Hall University, served as the North American education correspondent for The Times of London, and was for many years a regular contributor to the Los Angeles Times Book Review. Prior to retiring to write full time, he was the Director of Religious Publishing at Doubleday for six years. He and his wife, Susan, also an author, divide their time between New York and Rome.

—Wikipedia

Reviews

[booklady · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you buy into Cahill's agenda, Pope John was the only good pope of the last century ... or more. Not being a papal authority I can't refute many of his allegations against the other recent popes especially Pius XII and Paul VI but I find his offhand assessments highly prejudicial and suspect. That aside, it was a romanticized and extremely condensed view of Angelo Guiseppe Roncalli's life which I found dissatisfying on the whole, but then I haven't been overly thrilled with any of the bios in this series.

Don't get me wrong, I love Pope John XXIII, I just think there has to be a better biography out there about him. And certainly there has to be one which doesn't praise him at the expense of his colleagues. As I came to understand the heart of this holy man, I believe the very last thing he would want would be to disparage the others who struggled so hard to uphold the integrity and sanctity of the Chair of Peter as the author has done in this book.

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After watching the near epic film John XVIII I am hungry to learn more about this incredible man. I never had any idea what a wonderfully loving, holy and saintly man he was. Usually he is mentioned in disparaging terms as a 'poor peasant farmer's son' or 'an interim pope' or, most damning of all, the 'one who called the Second Vatican Council', as if that was the end of all that was good in the church.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was disappointing because it was so biased. Before beginning his biography of Angelo Roncalli (later Pope John XXIII, who convened the Second Vatican Council), Cahill writes a brief history of the papacy. This is where the bias is first evident. Cahill presents the church hierarchy and the institution of the papacy, pre-Roncalli, as doing almost no good in 2000 years. With a very, very few exceptions, it is as if the popes did nothing to further the Gospel or promote Christianity. At best, they were ineffective and out of touch: at worst, the Borgias and other such popes.

Then, you reach the part actually about Roncalli, and the contrast is astonishing. Roncalli's young life is described in the most idyllic of terms, and Cahill's psychoanalysis uses this as the basis for making everything about Roncalli seem saintly. Any perceived shortcoming is treated with the gentlest, most sympathetic touch. Throughout, the story is one of Roncalli as the authentic image of a priest, bishop, or pope, struggling against the system and reactionary forces; it is pretty clear that the author sees none of these as authentically Christian. In the short section at the end about the church, post-Roncalli, Cahill becomes absolutely unhinged when discussing the papacy of John Paul II (Ratzinger is called his "Grand Inquisitor").

Cahill's sympathy towards Roncalli is almost never manifested toward other historical figures (save the few social justice-minded church figures mentioned in the book, including, interestingly, St. Charles Borromeo, the namesake of my parish). This permeates his writing and makes his judgments suspect. The irony of this struck me in what I thought was one of the more fair treatments in the book: papal action during the Holocaust. According to Cahill, Pius XII (then pope) failed to condemn the holocaust and tried to maintain neutrality out of a desire to protect Catholics and Italy. Nonetheless, he ordered bishops to do what they could for Jews in their diocese, he ordered Rome's convents and monasteries to hide Jews, and under his watch, Italy was among the most successful countries at protecting Jews from being sent to concentration camps. To his credit, Cahill notes all of this. During World War II, Roncalli was Apostolic Delegate to Turkey and Greece; in this role, he helped the Jewish Underground save thousands of refugees. For all this, Cahill labels Pius XII a "moral pygmy" and makes Roncalli a hero. Certainly Roncalli's actions were heroic, and certainly the church should have done more to condemn the Holocaust. But apart from Pius XII's failure to use his pulpit, Pius and Roncalli's actions sounded pretty similar as Cahill described them.

Cahill fails even to try to engage with the theological debate, or to find merit and reason in opposing viewpoints. His is a world of stark blacks and whites. It's not that I disagree his points, necessarily; but I can't trust him for history.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

I changed my tag from "history" to "non-fiction." I was expecting a biography, but instead what the author delivered was a long essay (the author himself acknowledged such in the end notes). Years ago, I bought three books in the Penguin Lives series and this is the first I read. Perhaps the author was only fulfilling the intent of the publishers, since the books I own are all too short for real biographies.

I enjoyed the portion of the book discussing Angelo Roncalli's life (aka John XXIII). Cahill's opinions of the man and his papacy were consistent with what I had read from others, so in addition to the details of his life being interesting in their own right, the author's opinion wasn't difficult to swallow. Unfortunately it seemed like Roncalli's life consumed less than half the book, with the rest being a discussion of the papacy before and to some extent after John XXIII's tenure, and those are the parts I found less appealing.

In general, Cahill's comments about his favorite popes (Leo XIII and Benedict XV in particular) were consistent with those of others I read. His opinions of the popes he disliked (especially Pius XII and John Paul II, who was still alive at the time Cahill wrote the book) were very much different than my previous reading on Pius XII and my own experience having lived through JPII's papacy. As an aside, while I think there are legitimate arguments to be made about Pius XII's response to Nazism, Cahill gave him a pass on that topic and instead attacked him from other directions.

The book took a lot longer to read than I expected, mostly because I spent a lot of time musing on the statements that surprised me. For the most part, I found them unconvincing. I will admit I could have been swayed by the polemical nature of Cahill's attacks. Underlings of popes he didn't like were "flunkies." He seemed to know his subjects' inner thoughts even without access to diaries: "Wojtyla felt himself to be gifted with infallibility long before he became pope." Even granting that this is an essay rather than a biography, I thought the author went outside the bounds of reasonable argument and into the realm of a Fox News or MSNBC talking head. Not for me.

[Shiraz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this both an interesting history of the papacy and its influence, but also a deeply moving biographical account. Even more than Cahill's other books, it clearly has an agenda and more than anything else provides the clearest view of Cahill's own beliefs. I actually wished there was an update for the current papal situation available. However, I found it well argued, moving and bittersweet and calling for a Catholicism that I could support. Perhaps most important for me while reading this was gaining a better insight on the fluctuation of church theology and by extension gaining a better understanding of the connections of the Catholic side of my family to certain aspects of the church.

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

John XXIII is a wonderfully written historical book on the pontiff. It is an illuminating look at the office which he held and the life he led prior to and during his reign. It also details the life of a continually good person and highlights much that can be learned from him.

The first quarter of book is dedicated to the history of the papacy - objective warts and all - which gives context to the world and the city-state that John XXIII faced politically and socially. But while the writing brilliantly captures the pontiff and the era in which he served, the author seemingly places his subject on a pedestal whereby anyone who opposed the pontiff's policies had an ulterior, non-Christian motive. The author also criticizes his next four successors as not measuring up to John XXIII. This makes the content seem off-balance and a bit biased.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too one-sided, even for Cahill, this casts every other Pope in history (save one) as an abysmal, power-hungry failure of a spiritual leader, the better to contrast with the shining, brilliant splendor of Pope John XXIII. While it provides insight into the life of a great man in a great time of Catholic history, he sets the story against an unfair backdrop colored by his own theology and cynicism. I think it is a decent read for anyone that is somewhat familiar already with Church history, but not for those using this as an introduction. Still, I enjoyed reading about one of the most beloved Popes in modern history and look forward to reading more about him and Vatican II.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best of the Penguin Lives series...the author starts off by using over a third of the book to give a history of the Papal institution, which is fascinating...this sets up the reader to understand exactly why and how John XXXIII was such a refreshing departure from papal tradition, why he was so beloved by his people, and why the actions he undertook with Vatican II were so extraordinary...

A great biography (from an author whose books I usually find quite tedious)...

[Nate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thomas Cahill (How the Irish Saved Civilization) gives a very readable, and at times critical, summary of the papacy in general, and John XXIII's life. He was a very unique pope who nearly single-handedly propelled the Catholic Church into the modern era, and instead of reactionarily condemning the cultural developments of the 20th century, he tried to discern what the Holy Spirit was doing in history.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this as part of a book club. I had no idea who Roncalli was until I read it. I can see where my parents, particularly my mother, got their inspiration in raising their children. It's too bad the work that Roncalli started never reached its full potential.

[Ben Lariccia · Rating 4 out of 5]

You get the history of the papacy in addition to John XXIII's bio. He's my favorite pope, a good man with insights on how to reform a church that badly needed it and still does.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actually I am currently listening to this book on tape. Fascinating!

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the author himself states, this is more an biographical essay than a full-on biography...but considering its short length, it is immensely successful. The history of the Papacy, told with damning conciseness, and with only a few bright lights in the darkness...John XXIII being the most hopeful and the most recent. It makes for fascinating -- and depressing -- reading.

[Jim Swike · Rating 2 out of 5]

Took too long giving a history of other popes, disappointing. Maybe you will feel differently. Enjoy!

[Beth Medvedev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of interesting things to learn about popes in general, but also uneven.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

The American writer Thomas Cahill is a character in his books. Cahill writes in a conversational style that makes his book very readable. This writing style of Cahill is very evident in his 2002 biography of Pope John XXIII. Cahill was raised in the Roman Catholic tradition. The biography of Pope John XXIII is also a papal history of the Roman Catholic tradition. Cahill’s history of the papacy illustrates the importance of Pope John XXIII in the history of Roman Catholic tradition. Pope John XXIII was made a Saint in 2014. Cahill’s book was written during the papacy of Saint John Paul II. The last two chapters of Cahill’s biography are a history of the papacy after the death of Saint John XXIII in 1963 until 2002. I enjoyed the section about when the future John XXIII was a diplomat for the Vatican in Bulgaria, Turkey, and France. The book does not have a bibliography but does have a section entitled “Notes and Sources” (Cahill 238-240). The importance of Saint John XXIII is that he was an organizing and ideological force behind the Second Vatican Council that was in session between October 1962 and December 1965. Cahill greatly admires Saint John XXIII. I thought Thomas Cahill’s biography of Pope John XXIII was a well-done biography of Pope John XXIII. I was convinced by Cahill’s biography that Saint John XXIII was a pope to admire.
Works Cited:
Cogley, John. 2023. “Saint John XXIII.” Chicago, Illinois: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc. (Saint John XXIII | Pope & Vatican Reformer | Britannica).

[Rick Ludwig · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who has enjoyed most but not all books by Thomas Cahill, I was interested in how he would treat this topic. He gave a detailed background of the papacy, the man who became Pope John XXIIi, and both his immediate predecessors and successors through Pope John Paul II. I found the book enlightening and not filled with papal hero-worship. If anything Cahill made a point of bringing out every wart on the papacy from its inception onward. But his identification of Angelo Roncalli as an exceptional individual who stood out from his predecessors and successors, was clearly delineated and strongly supported by the actual events recounted. I doubt this book will sit comfortably on the bookshelf of many in the Catholic hierarchy, but it would have been welcome in the library of the Angelo Roncalli described within. As with all biography, one must consider the motives of the author and how that might have, even subconsciously, colored the narrative. Although Cahill tried to present a balanced narrative, he did not always succeed. I was especially surprised by the harshness of his criticism of Pope John Paul II, which seemed inconsistent both with other accounts that I have read and with the overall legacy of his papacy. But this is a book about John XXIII and not really his successors and as that it is an exceptionally engaging and enlightening read for a non-catholic such as me. I will view the life and legacy of Pope John XXIII much differently going forward.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it. It was an easy read with tons of names thrown in to do further reading with.

I didn't like that there were no notes because one of the facts in the book does not correspond with the Wikipedia entry and I'd like to know the source of the story of John's first Good Friday prayer.
According to the book, John changed a very offensive prayer ("Let us pray also for the Jews: that almighty God may remove the veil from their hearts; so that they too may acknowledge Jesus Christ our Lord.")

to

Let us pray
For the Jewish people,
The first to hear the word of God,
That they may continue to grow in the love of his name
And in faithfulness to his covenant.

Every repetition of this story on the internet cites this book as the source and this book names no sources.

Even without that story, it is clear that John was amazing and stands in sharp contrast to Catholic leaders before and since.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is in two parts: one a general history of the papacy; the second a biography of John XXIII. Cahill is a practicing Catholic (I assume) and a great fan of John XXIII - but not of any of the recent popes. You certainly come away appreciating John but Cahill maybe goes a little overboard on his opinions of the church when you are expecting a straight-forward bio and not a lecture.

I have read other books in this series on Jane Austen and Mellville that I liked much better.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Closer to 2.5 stars.

This author has some obvious biases regarding the papacy and the Catholic Church. I didn't care for his "brief history of the Church" nor his opinions about Paul VI and John Paul II. However, the middle portion of his book describing the life of John XXIII was engaging and enjoyable reading. However, the half of the book not about John XXIII causes me to give out a lower overall rating. If you just read the sections on John XXIII, I'd give those 4 stars.

[Danny Bigioni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cahill uses many big words so his books are difficult to understand. But if you struggle through, you can learn a lot. He definitely has strong opinions on religion, but he's qualified to hold them. So while I respect the lower rated comments, I appreciate the effort the author put in. Great job and worth the read.

[Bonnie Carruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a biography, the first chapter is a short history of the papacy. The rest is a informal memoir of a remarkable man and priest. The chapter on the Second Vatican Council shows the behind the scenes maneuvering of the Curia.

[Karlton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very concise overview of the history of the papacy and the life and ministry of Pope John XXIII. It's marred only by the over-critical tone its description of the papacy of John Paul II.

[Elizabeth Whelan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Criticized for being biased. Depends on how one views role of church. If social justice is a priority, John was one of the greats.

[Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Biased, but honest about it. Good for Intro to history and of modern Catholic 'politics', as long as you are fine with a bit of Catholic bashing.