Reginald Cardinal Pole: The Last Archbishop of Canterbury

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Our Price:  £12.99(VAT Free) –+ Add to Basket Author: Michael Hutchings Product Code:  B1622 ISBN:  9780955070716 Publisher:  St Joan Press Format:  Hardcover Pages:  116 Availability:      In stock, immediate despatch Share Tweet

There is no better way of examining the truth of what happened at the Reformation than by looking at the life and times of Cardinal Pole. Michael Hutchings achieves the rare success of a book that is thoroughly scholarly and accurate but at the same time reads like a thriller, all in 116 pages. This new book on Pole also makes a disturbing comparison with the public stance of many of our contemporary bishops. The life of Cardinal Reginal Pole - 1500-1558 - is most edifying. Had he been put to it, he would certainly have rejoiced in martyrdom and he would be in our list of saints. Hutchins quotes others on Cardinal Pole and he is able to quote an enthusiastic writer about Pole, none other than a certain Cardinal Ratzinger who has since changed his job. Hutchings quotes the then Cardinal Ratzinger in Church, Ecumenism and Politics on Pole's stand for unity and papal primacy; "in the actual case of England, the denial of the Papacy means transferring to the State the Church's external order, the system of a State Church and, along with this secular domination over the Church, the disappearance of martyrdom. In turn this means that for Pole the martyrs are the unequivocal indication of where the Church is to be found - and here we touch on the real reason, both psychological and theological, which turned Pole into a defender of the Papacy." Aren't we fortunate to have a Pope with such an understanding of English history? And do not these words have relevance to the current condition of the Catholic Church in England? Beautifully presented hardbound, with watercolour illustrations by Madeleine Beard, themselves based on ancient documents. The cover has a fine colour reproduction of a notable work of art: the portrait of Cardinal Pole by Sebastiano del Piombo. The book is on high quality paper and is well printed. It is a required purchase for any Catholic school library.