The Franciscan by WR Park Series: The Franciscan Trilogy #1
Publisher: WR Park Publishing Group (2015)
Paperback (337 pages)
Via: Publisher
Rating:
Reading Challenges: Read 2015
Synopsis
“The pope is not infallible.” When the newly elected Pope Francis utters this bold and unprecedented statement, he captures the attention of the world’s population. His reforms leave no corner untouched as he strips away the mask so long held before the face of the papacy. Bringing with him and open-minded candor rarely seen by public figures – he’s an inspiration to his followers – and a threat to those who oppose him.
“When I penned this novel about a fictitious Pope Francis fourteen years ago, I never envisioned that a future pope would select the name, Pope Francis I. This novel’s Pope Francis is a bold and courageous pope whose sweeping reforms reversing ancient Vatican edicts place his life in grave danger. The world can only hope and pray that today’s Pope Francis, as bold as he is, will be fruitful in his endeavors and have a lengthy and healthy reign,” said WR.PARK.
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This book is set sometime in the future. Throughout the book there are mentions of a Third Vatican Council which occurred some years previously.
The novel starts with the conclave to elect a new pope. Cardinal Buldini, head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, schemes to get Domenico Masone elected. Buldini thinks he will be able to control Masone but that doesn’t happen.
Immediately after being elected, the new Pope Francis (Domenico Masone) announces that after a month of seclusion he will have a message from the Lord for the world. So the new pope and his Franciscan brothers busy themselves searching through the secret Vatican archives. During this month, one Franciscan is killed in an assassination attempt and another commits suicide because he was forced to betray Dom.
The novel is very fast paced. The majority of the action takes place in dialogue. It reminds me quite a bit of a screenplay at sometimes as the dialogue itself is setting the scene.
There are some theological issues that the fictional Pope Francis advocates that I, however, cannot agree with. As a faithful Catholic, I will follow the direction of Holy Mother Church and if, in time, various Church doctrines are changed or dismissed, I will follow the direction of the Church. There were some points in this book that had me going “Umm… not so much.”
That said, this was a very good novel. The characters were believable and the setting was accurate. I enjoyed reading this book. The ending was not what I expected but at the same times it really fits.
Which Reading Challenges?
- You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge
I received this book for free from the publisher for review consideration.
This in no way affects my opinion of the title nor the content of this review.
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