The Good Pope

Book excerpt: “John XXIII was, in the best possible sense, a revolutionary—a Pope of modernization who kept in continuity with the church’s past, yet made even the most enlightened of his 20th century predecessors seem like voices of another age.” —Time magazine “The story of Good Pope John is always worth telling….Greg Tobin tells it very well. As we wait for better days, this story will help to keep hope alive.” —Thomas Groome, Professor of Theology and Religious Education at Boston College, author of Will There Be Faith Published in the 50th anniversary year of the historic Vatican Council II, The Good Pope by Greg Tobin is the first major biography of Pope John XXIII, a universally beloved religious leader who ushered in an era of hope and openness in the Catholic Church—and whose reforms, had they been accepted, would have enabled the church to avoid many of the major crises it faces today. Available prior to John XXIII’s likely canonization, Tobin’s The Good Pope is timely and important, offering a fascinating look at the legacy of Vatican Council II, an insightful investigation into the history of the Catholic Church, and a celebration of one of its true heroes.