The Vicar of Christ

This is an authorized and unabridged 35th anniversary edition, republication of the original, acclaimed 1979 work -- now featuring a substantive 2014 Foreword by Justice Samuel Alito and a modern, convenient presentation. This book is an unusual, fascinating and well-written observation of the life of a man who was first a war hero and Medal of honor winner from the Korean War, then Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, thirdly a monk, and finally elected Pope. His overly exciting life...
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This is an authorized and unabridged 35th anniversary edition, republication of the original, acclaimed 1979 work -- now featuring a substantive 2014 Foreword by Justice Samuel Alito and a modern, convenient presentation. This book is an unusual, fascinating and well-written observation of the life of a man who was first a war hero and Medal of honor winner from the Korean 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. A constitutional 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, assassinated for challenging the powers that rule the secular world.