Wolves Among the Ruins
Part 1: The Prince Dethroned
By A.J. West

This is a powerful, sometimes shocking, book that tells a tale of a slightly alternative reality to the current Catholic Church situation. But there is so much that is accurate and real that Catholics, from traditional to "progressive", will be intrigued and provoked by it.

There is a warning issued for the Prologue of the book as follows: "The Prologue is an intense description of an execution that may be too intense for children and the sensitive."

In that prologue we read of a group that hunts down and kills several American homosexual pedophile priests who have committed atrocity after atrocity under the shield of their Roman collar.

The story itself begins with the death of Pope John Paul II (written before the former pontiff's actual demise). What follows is an intense story, shrouded in mystery that will not only give an intimate view into the scenes behind the Vatican but keep you spellbound.

The hero of the tale is the Spanish Bishop who is unexpectedly chosen as the next Pope when the Cardinals cannot agree on anyone else. Nobody can be sure just where the new Pope's philosophy will take the Church. And when he receives a secret message written to him by Pope John Paul II before he died, the mystery develops.

If you are not a Catholic, this will be an interesting story to read. Like a (more accurate) Da Vinci Code.

If you are a Catholic, this will be a provocative tome that will have you either applauding or denouncing the material. Throughout the story, the traditional Catholics are the good guys and the "Modernists" are the bad guys. That may or may not be your opinion.

The author believes that the "Modernist" views of the past 50 years are more dangerous than a direct attack on Church doctrine because they try to "reinterpret them."

West says that "Through this method they have been able to subvert the faith of millions…This modernist relativism seeks to deny that there are absolutes. Morals, truths and doctrines are all relative."

This is the danger that the young Spanish bishop-turned Pope faces as he and the Church fight for their very survival. And yes, Satan is involved. Fascinating reading.