WHAT THE VATICAN DOESN'T WANT YOU TO KNOW: The lies. The conspiracies. The cover-ups. The truth. Deep behind the walls of the world's holiest site is a dense network of lies, corruption, and conspiracies fueling the Vatican's vast and unchecked influence on world events. From the Holy Orders that defied the commandment "Thou Shalt Not Kill" to the scandals splashed across international headlines, the Vatican is no longer shrouded in mystery, legend, and secrecy. It's all here: - The shocking and unsolved murder of the corrupt Vatican financier known as "God's Banker" - Real-life exorcism-and shocking rumors of Satanism - The Vatican's startling views on extraterrestrials and end-of-world prophesies - The Vatican's hidden ties to Nazi Germany and the Mafia - The bizarre rituals of the ultraconservative Opus Dei - The Vatican's ruthless 500-year war with the Freemasons - Pope Pius XII's anti-Semitic indifference to the plight of Europe's Jews and the Holocaust - And much more This utterly fascinating, unflinching account is the most definitive expos ever written about the most secretive institution in the world.
If you love a conspiracy (and who doesn't) you will find this book worthy of reading. It presents lots of facts, and some speculation from the long and not always noble history of the church of Rome. The conclusions are left to the reader. It is nicely written and compiled into chapters that generally flow together quite well. There is probably no new information provided in this work, but it is collected and presented well. One can see that actual facts about the Vatican are more interesting and exciting than the fiction and untruths presented by Dan Brown in his poorly constructed and hateful books. H. P. Jeffers does not attack Christianity or even Catholics. He just presents well know historical facts and odd coincidences surrounding the center of the Church of Rome. One error in the introduction of the book does stand out. Mr. Jeffers suggests that the Church has been plagued with problems and wrong doings since the first Pope Peter. Actually there is no biblical evidence that St. Peter ever was the leader of the Church. The head of the Church has always been Christ. The earlist human leader in the Church appears to have been James the brother of Jesus. It was he that Peter, Paul and the other Apostles sought council of disagrements that developed. For the first 200 plus years of the early Christian church the leaders were Jewish. Just as Jesus was Jewish -- so were the Apostles. They considered themselves part of the new Jewish religion. Later, in the third century the church of Rome thought itself to be totally seperate from Judiasm and became very antisemetic. This is when the Roman Catholics an organization that gorged itself on power, politics and money that led to corruption. This corruption was not (and is not now) a part of all those who practice this religion. This corruption is found in any organized church or religion that puts their own goals and aspirations above those who seek only to worship, praise and honor God.
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