Dark Mysteries of the Vatican [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

_Dark Mysteries of the Vatican_ (2010) by H. Paul Jeffers is an interesting compilation of some of the inner secrets of the Vatican. While the book does take a distinct approach to the Vatican, I do not feel that the book is necessarily anti-Catholic, but rather examines some of the inner secrets of the Vatican. The book considers many important issues concerning the Vatican including the history of early Christianity, Vatican book bannings, the role of organizations such as Opus Dei, the Vatican banking scandals, the Swiss Guards, the Vatican's stance on extra-terrestrial life, the archaeological finds concerning the Vatican, and the role of prophecy for the Catholic church and the Vatican.

The book includes the following chapters -

Introduction: Keys to the Kingdom - explains the role of Saint Peter as being given the keys to the Kingdom by Christ himself. Explains the role of the papacy as the continuation following Saint Peter. Notes the importance of such figures as Galileo and his problems encountered with church officials.

Thou Shalt Not Read - explains the importance of the Index of Prohibited Books for the Vatican, notes the selection of the Gospels and the early Christian texts including the Gnostic Gospels, explains the problems encountered by the church with Galileo, notes the importance of _The Da Vinci Code_ which has been prohibited by the church.

The Truth About the Templars - explains the importance of the Knights Templar and their relationship to the church. Explains the role of the Office of the Inquisition and further developments from the Templars such as the freemasons and the Rosicrucians of the European Enlightenment.

Vatican Treasures - notes the importance of the Vatican's treasures and monetary holdings. Explains the value of the Vatican museum and tries to consider the net worth of the Vatican and its treasures.

Naughty Priests - explains the problems of the paedophilia scandal for the church. Notes the problem of sexual activity among some priests for the Vatican.

Murder in Holy Orders - explains the fact that some of the early popes were actually murdered. Notes the problem of political intrigue for the papacy.

The Mystery of the Pope's Banker - explains the role of Roberto Calvi, noting the importance of the P2 masonic lodge, and the mysterious death of Calvi in accordance with ritual masonic murder.

From Russia With Malice- notes the relationship of the church with Russia, explains the importance of Pope John Paul II in helping to bring an end to Soviet communism, explains the role of the KGB and the infiltration of KGB subversives into the Catholic church.

Opus Dei: The Pope's Cult - explains the role of Opus Dei as the pope's cult, notes the claims made about this organization and some of the untruths concerning this organization.

The Papacy and the Nazis - notes the problematic relationship of the papacy to the Nazis and certain members of the Catholic church with the Nazis.

Spooks and Rats - explains the role of the pope's spies as well as the relationship of the papacy to former Nazis.

A Fit of Madness - explains the role of the pope's Swiss Guards as well as the mysterious murder of a member of the Swiss Guards.

Vatican Espionage - explains some of the role of the Vatican in espionage as well as the relationship between the Vatican the Mafia.

The Devil You Say - explains the role of exorcism particularly as it concerns the role of Vatican exorcist Father Amorth.

Myths, Rumors, and Presidents - explains the relationship of the papacy to certain American presidents including JFK (a Catholic), Carter, and Bush.

And God Created Aliens - explains the Vatican's belief in the possible existence of extra-terrestrial life as well as beliefs about the Vatican and UFOs, notes the role of the archaeological finds under the Vatican.

The Vatican and the End of the World - notes the theories concerning the end of the world and the Vatican as they relate to the Third Secret of Fatima and the prophecies of Saint Malachy.

This book provides much interesting and secret material concerning the Vatican and its role in world politics. I found it very interesting in its unearthing of many of the mysteries concerning the Vatican and did not really find it to be anti-Catholic in intent.

The subject of this book deserves more attention. The author goes down a road few others have explored and this is the worth of this book. Overall, an interesting read, yet, its historical inconsistencies unfortunately will bring the nitpickers out in droves. I look forward to a revised edition.

By a long shot, the most thoroughly researched book in Vatican affairs Murder in the Vatican: The CIA and the Bolshevik Pontiff proves the conspiracy that masterminded the Vatican bank scandal was the same conspiracy that engineered the murder of John Paul I. It also presents the most complete record of how the IOR (Vatican Bank) was able to circumvent Italian and international monetary controls for decades and carry on clandestine dealings from drug money laundering to the Vatican bank scandal of 1979-81 which funneled hundreds of millions to the Contras and is able to continue to be involved in these kind of covert operations today.

Although readable, this book is superficial, more like a Reader's Digest version than a National Enquirer expose. Much of its contents are already well known, and the rest don't shake you up much, aside from the surprising number of Popes who have been murdered. There is more hankypanky going on there than this book admits. There is a chapter on Vatican art treaasures but no word of its vast holdings in Wall Street, its chapter on Naughty Priests is not extensive enough, and there is no mention of Satanic rituals in St. Peter's as described by the ex-Jesuit Malachy Martin in his later books. An hour spent with Eric Jon Phelps' postings on Google on the subject of Vatican conspiracies will take you far deeper into the darkest of mysteries this book hardly hints at.