London, England, Nov 22, 2004 / 22:00 pm
A new biography of Pope John Paul II, which attempts to document the Pope’s “intellectual decline” has serious flaws in fact and reflects the author’s uncompromising bias, says Damian Thompson in a review for Britain’s Daily Telegraph.
“The Pope in Winter” was written by John Cornwell, well-known journalist and author of “Hitler’s Pope” about Pope Pius XII. A baptized Catholic, some critics say his recent writings indicate that he is anti-Catholic.
This is the first biography of John Paul II “to argue that he has done more harm than good,” says Thompson.
While the reviewer praises Cornwell’s 15-year-old work, “A Thief in the Night,” which dismantled the conspiracy theories surrounding the death of Pope John Paul, this current work seems to be the result of sloppy journalism. It includes series of accusations and draws conclusions, which are not founded on historic fact.