Pope Fiction: Answers to 30 Myths

This book offers a tour-de-force refutation of 30 different biblical and historical arguments raised against the papacy. Using Scripture, Church history, and common sense (with a dash of wit added for good measure), Patrick Madrid explains why these commonly believed “pope fictions” simply don’t hold water. Biblical and historical aspects of  the papacy covered in Pope Fiction include: the vast and wide biblical evidence that Simon Peter was the first pope the persistent “Pope Joan” myth about a ninth-century female pope, the popes’ involvement in the Crusades and Spanish Inquisition, what the New Testament reveals about Simon Peter’s role in the early Christian Church, the attitude of the early Church toward the bishops of Rome, the claim that there were once “three popes” reigning at the same time the scandal of bad popes, the Galileo Affair, the papacy’s track record on slavery, the Seventh-day Adventist myth about the bogus “Vicarius Filii Dei” being an official papal “title” claimed by the popes historical issues pertaining to the papacy, specific examples of popes who allegedly taught error, the facts surrounding Pope Pius XII’s attitude and actions toward the Jews during the Holocaust. And much more! Includes a comprehensive index of names and subjects and an index of all Scripture references cited. Arranged in 30 tightly focused chapters, Pope Fiction provides a balanced, comprehensive overview of the major arguments against the papacy and provides the biblical, historical and commonsense responses to those arguments. Pope Fiction is engaging and charitable, yet challenging and hard-hitting. Fr. Ray Ryland, a former Protestant minister and now a Catholic priest, says, “In a very readable style, Pope Fiction catalogs and refutes those fictions charitably and completely. Had it been available when I first began to be drawn to the Church, my journey home would have been years shorter.” Catholic author David Hess (Jesus, Peter, & the Keys) praises its “amazing clarity and readability.” Former Protestant minister Marcus Grodi (now Catholic and host of the popular EWTN show “The Journey Home”) describes Pope Fiction as “concise and complete with a welcome tinge of humor. I highly recommend this book to all those who are looking for truth. They’ll find it here.” Special Notes: 352 pages,  soft cover