The Vicar of Christ - Softcover

Murphy, Walter F

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0345305841 ISBN 13: 9780345305848

Publisher: Ballantine Books, 1982

Synopsis

This book is an unusual, fascinating and well-written observation of the life of a man who was first a war hero and Medal f honor winner from the Krean War, then Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, thirdly a monk, and finally, elected Pope. His overly exciting life is described by three men who 'knew him well.' The first narrator is a Marine, telling of their time together in Korea. The second, a Constitional scholar and Supreme Court Justice appalled at the new Chief Justice, narrates the second phase. The third is a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church; fat, kind but distracted. The Marine cares for him the most, the Supreme Court Justice condescends and despises him, and the Cardinal is much more interested in food than his subject. But Declan Walsh was a man who earned the Medal of Honor while ordering the death of his best friend, ruled pragmatically and energetically on the Court but lost his wife to death and neglect, and became a miraculous healer assasinated for challenging the powers that rule the secular world. A good read!

About this title

About the Author

WALTER F. MURPHY taught constitutional law to generations of students at Princeton, where he held the chair of McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence first occupied by Woodrow Wilson. Born in Charleston, South Carolina, Murphy served as a Marine in Korea and won a Distinguished Service Cross and a Purple Heart, eventually retiring with the rank of colonel. He graduated from Notre Dame and George Washington University and earned a PhD in political science from the University of Chicago. His novels include 'The Roman Enigma' and 'Upon This Rock: The Life of St. Peter.'

Edition details

• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Publication date: 1982
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0345305841
• ISBN 13: 9780345305848
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback