Pope Fiction

Patrick Madrid

Answers to 30 Arguments that Mythed the Mark

"As a Protestant minister, I sincerely believed and enthusiastically taught almost all the papal fictions which this book so deftly unmasks.  In a very readable style, it catalogs and refutes those fictions charitably and completely.  Had it been available when I first began to be drawn to the Church, my journey home would have been years shorter.  Following Mr. Madrid's suggestions, let us pray that countless non-Catholics will read this book and recognize that the stone (rock) which they have rejected is indeed the cornerstone of the true Church of Jesus Christ."
- Rev. Ray Ryland, Ph.D., J.D., Franciscan University of Steubenville

"Throughout the centuries, the papal office has been the focus of many objections and condemnations.  Mr. Madrid addresses many of these seemingly plausible arguments against the papacy, answering each of them with amazing clarity and readability.  In a thorough fashion, each 'papal fable' is exposed for what it is and refuted.  Pope Fiction is a powerful addition to one's library, a book that will never gather dust."
- Deacon David Hess, Co-author, Jesus, Peter & the Keys

"Pope Fiction drives straight to the heart of the issue:  Authority.  It's the matter that most divides Christendom, especially Catholics and Protestants.  This book addresses misconceptions about the papacy with a clear, organized, and readable style.  Coming from an Evangelical Protestant background mystelf, I know these misunderstandings that surround the papacy well - they are legion.  Pope Fiction couldn't be more timely, answering objections one at a time, and clearing the air for the beginning of the third millennium.""
- Stephen Ray, author, Crossing the Tiber and Upon This Rock

"As an Evangelical pastor, I believed and proclaimed many of the misconceptions that are so thoroughly answered in this timely book.  Now, as a Catholic, I'm very happy to see the release of Pope Fiction.  It dispels those common misconceptions so effectively.  Patrick Madrid's presentation of these common myths about the papacy is concise, complete, and includes a welcome tinge of humor.  I highly recommend this book to all those who are looking for truth.  They'll find it here."
- Marcus Grodi, Host, "The Journey Home, Director, "Coming Home Network"

Contents:

• Foreword
• Introduction
• Peter had no special authority
• The Pertos/Patra argument
• Why did Christ call Simon Peter "Satan"?
• Paul's public rebuke of Peter
• Peter had no successors
• The Vicarius Filii Dei  = 666 argument
• The "Whore of Babylon" and the papacy
• Peter never went to Rome
• The modern day papacy doesn't resemble Peter's ministry in Acts
• The papacy is a "medieval Roman invention"
• The "Canon 6 of the Council of Nicea" argument
• The scandal of the bad popes
• Papal infallibilty disproved by false teaching?
• Pope Liberius
• Pope Vigilius
• Pope Gregory the Great rejected the title "universal bishop"
• Pope Honorius
• Three popes reigning at one time?
• The legend of "Pope Joan"
• The papacy and Galileo
• The popes and the Crusades
• Pope Alexander thought he could divide the New World in half
• The popes and slavery
• Pope Sixtus IV and the Spanish Inquisition
• Pope Sixtus V and the botched revision of the Latin Vulgate Bible
• Vatican I on the "unanimous concent of the fathers" on Matthew 16:16
• Bishop Strossmayers' speech denying papal infallibility
• The Sedevacanist argument
• The "Peter Syndrome"
• Pope Pius XII and the Jews
• Conclusion
• A Parting Thought
• About the Author
• Appendix: A chronological list of the popes
• Recommended reading
• Select Bibliography
• Scriptures cited
• Index
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