Rating: 
Summary: Not history
Review: The work is simply not the work of history it purports to be.The author rarely uses primary sources and leans heavily on secondary sources (many of them with a clear anti-Catholic odor.) The constant switch to autobiographical musings does nothing to advance the argument.
Rating:
Summary: Dishonest
Review: This alleged work of history rests on a series of distortions clearly fueled by anti-Catholic prejudice. A glaring example is the author's use of an alleged quote by John XXIII. According to the author, John XXIII said in response to criticism of Pius XII's alleged "silence" during World War II: "What can you say about the truth?" In fact, John XXIII never said such a thing and the author clearly knows it. In an earlier work Carroll cites this fictional quote as a fabrication. As Carrol knows (but nowhere tells the reader), John XXIII repeatedly said that his own actions in rescuing Jews (when he was Vatican ambassador to Turkey in WWII) was done with the express permission and encouragement. John XXIII strongly supported the canonization of John XXIII on such grounds. The book is full of such fabrications. How can anyone take this ... seriously?
Rating:
Summary: The human factor
Review: One reviewer mentioned Òhuman natureÓ as an explanation for atrocities in general. It doesnÕt really wash. People act the way they act because they are told to do so. As a rule people prefer Òto follow ordersÓ and knowing to have the law on your side is even better. Do I really need to remind of the Òtorture-box experiments?Ó It took a chairman Mao to unleash the appalling episodes in the cultural revolution. Even battle hardened conquistadors and crusaders asked for absolution after a massacre and for indulgences before. I have no illusions about human wickedness, but this doesnÕt change the fact that a catalyst is needed to put it in motion and biblical religion, Islam, and the Catholic Church have proven to be the most effective catalysts prior to the introduction of nationalism and modern political ideologies. Few institutions influenced so profoundly secular legislation and our views on right and wrong as the Catholic Church. Only in times of political impotence the leopard hid his spots and covered up with rhetorical exercises to the tune of Òin brennender Sorge.Ó But at the exact same time in occupied Yugoslavia, when public opinion had other things on its mind, the papal legate actively participated in the massacres of Greek Catholics. The recent events in former Yugoslavia are a late aftershock of the Ustashi murders in the early 1940s. The Catholic church is too big an organization, too old, and politically too wise, to play her cards off hand. But historyÕs verdict is: Òguilty as charged.Ó
Rating: 
Summary: americanism?
Review: Excellent , but not complete. Coming from an american writer , I would have liked to see a chapter on the condemnation of "americanism " by the church , and also the answer to the question of Why did the antisemitic teachings of the Church did not occur , or did not take hold in the USA? I was disconcerted at first with the references to Carroll's life in the book , but then came to enjoy them .Learning does not happen when in a library , but when one lives thru an experience that is understood also at an intellectual level. I remember being stunned when I discovered the statues of the Blind jewish religion on all the Gothic Cathedrals in Europe.A woman , blinded by a shawl , with a falling crown on her head or by her feet.Notre-Dame de Paris, Reims Cathedral etc...Talk about not letting go !
Rating: 
Summary: Failure of Courage
Review: This book is one man's attempt to reconcile his deeply felt Catholic beliefs with what he knows to be true about the Chursh's history of persecution of the Jews. The book is brave and (for the most part) well written. Carroll provides detailed evidence of the history of the relations between the Roman church and the Jews. He looks at most aspects of this relationship unflinchingly. The book is full of detailed, and supported, narratives of theological arguments within the Church, as well as with personal reminiscences which show how the attitudes of the Chursh played out in one person's life. However, I still find the book troubling. As one of the negative reviews of this book points out, the author frequently uses the phrase "If only...". Carroll recounts several "theological turning points" where the losing side was supporting a theology which would have moved the Catholic Church in a different direction regarding its dogma on the topic of Jews. He seems to be saying that had the Church made a different choice at any one of these points, it could have simultaneously been the same Church he loves so much and ALSO have avoided much of its tainted relationship with Jews and Judaism. I disagree. Some of these "if only..." moments are such a radical departure from the path that history actually followed that it is impossible to believe that a different choice would have left Catholic dogma unchanged-except-for-this-one-little-thing. Carroll is in the difficult position of loving a religion which he can see clearly has persecuted and destroyed many innocent people. He is unwilling to reject the religion, and this book grows out of his desire to somehow reconcile a clear-eyed view of the past with a deep and abiding love for most parts of the present-day Church. As a result, he fails to fully grasp why the current's Pope's statements on the Jews and the Holocasut have not fully satisfied many outsiders. Moreover, he suggests adjustments to the present-day liturgy which will eliminate the anti-Jewish content, without adeqautely confronting how these changes will fundamentally alter the underlying narrative on which the beliefs of the Roman Catholic chursh are based. From my perspective (as a non-Catholic), this book looks like a thorough indictment of some of the most crucial dogmas of the Church, followed by a prescription for change which does not adeqautely account for the effects of such change. A Church which changed itself in the ways Carroll recommends would be radically different than the Church that exists today. Whether that's a good thing or not, I do not know. But I do know that what he proposes is a deeper change than he seems able to recognize.
Rating:
Summary: A Monumental Historical Review - A Great Read!!!
Review: This is, without a doubt, one of the best historical narratives I have ever read. It is eminently readable and gripping; It was hard to put down this voluminous and sweeping history of a very troubling relationship. Mr. Carroll writes with great skill, sincerety, honesty and courage on a problem that should be troubling to all men of good faith as it surely is troubling to him personally. I found the interweaving of the historical narrative with his personal history and reflections very refreshing and illuminating. It underscores his personal struggle with the subject matter and his sincere effort to make amends and correct the many wrongs committed by Catholics against Jews over the last two millenia. This is, of course, a tall order but it certainly is a good start. Despite his critical review of the Church's history vis-a-vis the Jews, he does not abandon his faith as a Catholic. Quite the contrary, his faith seems to be invigorated and strengthened. The many viciously critical reviews of this book on this page are testimony to Mr. Carroll's courage and to the fact that many people have difficulty facing this troubling history honestly and squarely. This book is a must-read!!
Rating:
Summary: Forgetting History
Review: Carroll gives no weight whatsoever to the historical record of anti-Semitism prior to the Christian era, i.e., the Roman persecution of the Jews prior to the Constantine's merger of Church and empire, especially the destruction of the Second Temple and the Diaspora, the enslavement in Egypt under the Pharohs, the Babylonian captivity, etc. To lay all the burden of historical anti-Semitism at the doorstep of Christianity wholly detracts from the author's main premise, even before reaching what are apparently the historical omissions and inaccuracies of this volume. None of these problems with the book, however, excuse the actions of the Church and its leadership in its role in the Augstinian dicta that "Jews should survive, but not thrive."
Rating:
Summary: Thin on the top
Review: The entire book rests on sleight-of-hand. The author rightly points out that Christians have and do commit anti-Semitic actions. But Christians also have abortions, steal, maim, and engage in racism. To prove his point the author would have to show that the authorities of the Church encouraged anti-Semitic violence. But he fails to do so. He systematically suppresses the many Church condemnations of anti-Semitism. He even has to admit some of the sources he does quote actually condemned the popular anti-Semitism of the period. This is not a scholarly work. It is certainly not an accurate presentation of the Catholic Church's teaching on Judaism.
Rating:
Summary: Catholic Church and Its Role in Anti-Semitism
Review: A wonderful, complete and very well-written, well documented history of the Catholic Church and its role in Anti-Semitism. From the days of Jesus' life to modern times, this book examines the Crusades, the Inquisition and the lives of most of the Popes and the role that these events and people had on the Christian treatment of the Jews. When they were given every reason to do so, why didn't the Jews convert en masse? When did religious anti-semitism change to cultural anti-semitism? Was there a natural and predictable path from Constantine to Hitler's final solution? These and many more fascinating questions are developed and answered in Mr. Carroll's excellent book. As an ex-priest and life-long Catholic, Mr. Carroll combines a personal memoir with scholarly investigation to produce a gripping, erudite history that reads almost like a novel. Don't miss it!
Rating: 
Summary: A book to make you think...
Review: James Carroll makes extensive use of primary sources in drawing up this troubling history of Christian anti-Semitism. The most obvious primary source, consulted over and over again, is the New Testament. He reports conflicting attitudes within the Church. (If there had been no conflicts over anti-Semitism, that would have been pretty disturbing!) Are we denying the blood-libel? That up into the twentieth century, prominent Christians and Vatican spokesman routinely accused the Jews of drinking the blood of Christian children as part of the rites of Passover? Are we denying the pitiful historical tale of Pope Innocent IV desperately trying to stop his own archbishop during the slaughter of the Jews of Vienne? Are we denying that there was such a slaughter, and that persecution of the Jews as "Christ-killers" was just part of "Business As Usual? Negative reviewers of this book seem to concentrate on attacking James Carroll's person (the "ad hominem" argument), or else attacking his methods. For some reason, they seem unable to attack his main thesis, which is that Christians have been persecuting Jews for 2,000 years. And not just Jews. Christians have also been persecuting gay males for 2,000 years...but Carroll doesn't want to get into that can of worms. Perhaps the quickest summary of this book's message is simply to state that God belongs to all mankind, and that the Christian religion committed an awful mistake when it arrogated God to itself and declared that no other religion could have Him. All the negative reviews fade into insignificance when we open Malcom Hay's book, "Europe and the Jews," and read just five pages from Chapter Five (or any other chapter). Time to learn your history, folks.
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