John cornwall ,author of A New life of pope john paul I , would have made a fine devil ,s advocate

when the pope name is one day advanced for shinthood . unfortunately , he will not be chosen , for
john paul himself ,some two decades ago scrapped the custom of having a devocate catholic
question the virtus of a candidate for beatification or canonisation . the old job of devil advovate is
now , effect , parformed by committe.

Devil advocates were supposed to be fair –minded , and in the past , mr . cornwall, a profile write on
catholic matters has at time been anything but fair . as he admits hitler s pope [1999] his
biography of pope pius Xii loked balance . I would now argue , he says in the light of the debates
and evidence following hitler s pope , that pius had so little scope of action that it is impossible to
judge the motives for his silence during the war , while rome was under the heel of mussoliniu and
later occupied by the germans .

Chasted by this experience , mr. cornwall is now a better biography . in this life of john paul Ii he
mistake s . the pope heroism is achievments as well as deplores the mistake . the pope herism is
affiemed . as a young would be priest in occupied Poland , karol wojtly was not intimated by nazi
effort to liquidate the catholic clergy . A priest under communism , he was again courageous .
when that the soviet system imploded , few would dispute that the inexorable and bloodless
process had been intiated by the polish pope .