Three Popes and the Cardinal: The Church of Pius, John, and Paul in Its Encounter with Human History

by Malachi Martin

This book is directly concerned with twentieth-century man as an unwitting participant in a fundamental change affecting the very form and life of human society as it has been known for over two thousand years. More often than not, that change is expressed in terms of a crisis. That contemporary man is in crisis is universally recognized, but until now no writer has encompassed the enormous breadth of historical vision and depth of contemporary insight required to define that crisis in terms of man himself. Until man's crisis is reduced to the terms of man himself, no solution is possible. Three Popes and the Cardinal takes as its central springboard a moment in time when one man, a pope, saw emerging in his civilization what all of us see now—and beyond it. We cavil and pale at what we see; he did not Into the great rush of history John XXIII sought to interject a greater rush of basic truth, an infusion of the spirit —not to stop that history, but to transform it as it flowed. His vehicle for the transformation was the Vatican Council. One of his chief architects was Augustin Cardinal Bea, who spanned the era of the preceding pope, Pius XII, as well as the succeeding pope, Paul VI, and who served all three. But John and his Council failed. John died, and the Council was itself transformed by the tide of history it might have moved. What was John's vision? Nothing so sophisticated or so limited as ecumenism, whose banner is so frantically waved today. What was John's gamble, and why does its failure touch all men now? To understand this is to bring into perspective not only the church and the papacy as inherited by John from Pius and as passed on to Paul; it is also to bring into perspective the totality of the general human dimension that has brought us to that trapgate of history John so tellingly foresaw.

Genres: History, Religion, Nonfiction

300 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1972

Reviews

[booklady · Rating 4 out of 5]

It isn’t often an author rewards you on the next-to-last page of a work of non-fiction—well at least it hasn’t been my experience anyway.

However, for me, one of best parts of Malachi Martin’s Three Popes and the Cardinal was a quote he included from Pope Paul VI’s Apostolic Letter, Octagesima Adveniens (A Call to Action) on the occasion of the Eightieth Anniversary of "Rerum Novarum: Encyclical Letter of Pope Leo XIII on the Condition of the Working Classes":

‘There is an urgent need to remake at the level of the street, of the neighborhood or of the great agglomerative dwellings the social fabric whereby man may be able to develop the needs of his personality. Centers of special interest and of culture must be created or developed at the community and parish levels with different forms of associations, recreational centers, and spiritual and community gatherings where the individual can escape from isolation and form anew fraternal relationships.’

The author had just spent 294 pages trying to convince me—you—us—that this man has no business being pope. In fact, his chapter is entitled, “The First Un-Pope”.

No doubt, what Giovanni Battista Montini, Pope Paul VI envisioned and wrote about didn’t come to be in his lifetime, but then I think Jesus had a few setbacks in His day too; the point being, Christianity cannot be judged by the same standards of ‘success’ we set for a business or social function.

As I mentioned when I did my initial review, I read this book as background for a film series I’m doing for our church on Pope John Paul II, (Karol Wojtyla) in honor of his beatification this past May. We'll be showing films on JPII and two of his predecessors: John XXIII (Pope) and Pope Paul VI.

Malachi Martin’s book actually deals with John XXIII (Roncalli), Paul VI (Montini), Pius XII (Pacelli) and Augustin Cardinal Bea but as it was one of the few books I could actually find on Paul/Montini I decided to read it. There is dearth of information available about Paul VI—overshadowed as he was by his famous predecessor, John XXIII, and successor, JPII.

As it is, the book, Three Popes and the Cardinal, isn’t about the men themselves so much as it’s about the failure of Vatican II—in the eyes of author. The trouble with Malachi’s assessment is its prematurity. He is writing in 1972, a scant seven years after the council concluded. Granted the state of the Catholic Church and the world was at a low point, but was the council to blame? Had the Church read or understood any of the documents produced by the council? The author doesn’t mention those. Had the Spirit of the Council, been implemented? Ecumenical councils often require decades for their full impact to be realized, and this even back when the world was smaller, communication slower and more tedious, cumbersome. Perhaps we think because we have lightning fast technology and touch-of-the-button information nowadays, it also means we have instant understanding, but alas the human mind still works at the speed it always did. In fact, could it be because we have more information to absorb and religious ‘news’ is of a lower priority today than it used to be, that the Spirit the Fathers of Vatican II hoped to impart to the world through their writings will take even longer to reach the minds and hearts of the intended?

In any event, the book is provocative, and fast-paced. I recommend it regardless of where you see yourself in the post-Vatican II issue, so long as you can hold on tight and don’t mind getting wet—the river races very fast and it’s an exciting ride! Mr. Martin is a no-holds barred writer. I thought some of his comments unnecessarily included for shock value, but perhaps that’s just me. I did appreciate his fascinating Christian history in the playful, ironic way he emphasized how power, the lack of it, gaining it, losing it, trying to keep it motivates so much of what the Church has done over the centuries. I’ve never heard/read/seen Church history described quite that way and it brings out things I’ve never thought of before. I think Martin has some excellent points. I don’t think any of it is quite as simple as he puts it however. Still, as I wrote above, it makes for thought provoking reading!

For more information on some of Pope Paul VI's impact on the post-conciliar world, check out: Pope Paul VI Institute and POPE PAUL VI AS PROPHET: HAVE HUMANAE VITAE'S BOLD PREDICTIONS COME TRUE?

[Tom Barmaryam]

Prophetic and incisive...the Language is Malachite. At times Sarcastic.

[James Murray · Rating 3 out of 5]

My least favorite of his works and an incredibly difficult book to read.
Honestly, I think part of the issue was a cross between him possibly being stoned while writing and just over using adjectives and any other word he could find to fill space within the chapters.
Ultimately, he is extremely pessimistic and the ending is definitely a whimper not a bang.
I will say, The topic is fascinating, especially in light of recent rumors coming out of Rome, and some of his opinions I have not heard before.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before his traditionalist phase, Malachi Martin had an, "ALL have sinned and come short if the glory of God " phase. I much prefer this phase.