Contact: Christine Valentine-Owsik, Valentine Communications, for: Ignatius Press, 215-230-8095, valencom@aol.com 

SAN FRANCISCO, May 11 /Christian Newswire/ -- World-acclaimed British novelist, journalist and playwright, Piers Paul Read - best known for his 1970s international bestseller about the horrific plane crash involving the Uruguayan rugby team, Alive, The Story of the Andes Survivors - has written a new political-theological thriller which looks at the dramatic inner workings of the Catholic Church.  It is a tale of intrigue, espionage, terrorism, subterfuge and mass murder which could spell the end of the longest continuous government in the world - the Papacy. 

Read will be in the U.S. beginning May 12 for a book and media tour; further detail on the book and his itinerary can be found at www.DeathOfAPope.com.

The Death of a Pope (Ignatius Press, 225 p., hardcover) intertwines truth with fiction, surrounding the authentic backdrop of the death of Pope John Paul II and the subsequent conclave-election of Joseph Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI.  And because it touches upon many hot-button issues in the Catholic Church and world today - the AIDS epidemic in Africa, the errors of "social Catholicism" and liberation theology, secular hostility, and even dissident forces within and undermining the Vatican - the book is likely to stir controversy.

As a master fiction writer, Read says he is "a realist and uses actual events and institutions to add verisimilitude to his story." After 21 books and numerous literary prizes, he is likely headed back to the bestseller lists with this one.

The novel's multi-leveled plot spotlights a Spanish ex-priest who seems the model of compassion for the poor, and who is on trial for supposed terrorist activities connected with his worldwide charitable outreach. He attracts the interest of a young British reporter as she seeks to learn the truth about him.  Meanwhile, subversive forces conspire in the Vatican (even within the College of Cardinals) to overthrow the Papacy during the transition from John Paul II to Benedict XVI. 

Combining vivid characters, high drama, love, betrayal, faith and redemption, The Death of a Pope races toward an unexpected and unforgettable conclusion - and the story ultimately provides great insight into the working and teaching of the Catholic Church. 

The 68-year-old Read reveals that the theme for Death of a Pope originated in the admittedly radical Catholic views of his youth, further realized during a trip he took to El Salvador in 1990 where he saw that many Catholics supported the Communists.  "Two visions of what charity demands of a Christian confront one another on the issue of the AIDS epidemic in Africa" - and that confrontation gave him the idea for the novel.

"The themes in Death of a Pope are Catholic ones ... you could say it's about the battle between liberal and conservative Catholics," says Read.  "When I was young I was a zealous exponent of liberation theology.  As I grew older, I like to think I grew wiser and came to see how 'social' Catholicism, however superficially appealing in the face of the suffering caused by poverty and injustice, in fact falsifies the teaching of the Gospels."

Accurately predicting that Cardinal Ratzinger would succeed Pope John Paul II, Read said, "From the mid-1980s when I first became aware of then-Cardinal Ratzinger with the publication of The Ratzinger Report, I have admired him for his patent holiness, his intelligence, his lucidity, his coherence, his charm, and the quiet courage with which he insists upon unpopular truths." 

Read cites the example of condoms and AIDS in Africa, a controversy reignited by the media's reporting on Pope Benedict XVI's recent remarks during his trip to Africa.  Journalist Polly Toynbee's charge, "The Pope kills millions through his reckless spreading of AIDS", is repeated in the novel.

The Death of a Pope explores the conflict between the moral absolutes of traditional morality and the goals of certain forms of liberation theology, which support the use of violence to achieve their ends.

"Piers Paul Read has managed to combine sheer storytelling power with great learning and insight about the inner workings of the Church to fashion an entertainment of the highest order. If John le Carré took on Vatican politics, his book of suspense might aspire to be much like this one," says Ron Hansen, author of The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and Mariette in Ecstasy.

British literary biographer, Joseph Pearce (author of The Quest for Shakespeare), says, "The Death of a Pope is a faith-driven theological thriller, narrated by a storyteller of the first order - as refreshing as it is rare among the bedraggled ranks of contemporary novelists."

"The versatile Piers Paul Read, who has distinguished himself in many genres, returns to what can be called the ecclesiastical thriller.  If the mystery looks to the past to explain a crime already committed, the thriller aims to prevent something from happening. When that something is a terrorist act, planned for the Vatican, drama is assured ... To say more would rob the reader of his pleasure.  The Death of a Pope is a great Read - in every sense of the term," declares Ralph McInerny (author, The Father Dowling Mysteries).

San Francisco-based Ignatius Press, founded in 1978, is one of the largest Catholic publishers in the world. Ignatius Press is the primary English-language publisher of Pope Benedict XVI. Dedicated to publishing and distributing information on the Catholic faith, Ignatius Press publishes over 40 books each year (with over 1,800 titles in print), and produces and licenses many fine films for distribution in North America. .  Its author-roster includes some of the foremost names in the Catholic Church.  Ignatius Press is also the publisher of Catholic World Report and Homiletic & Pastoral Review magazines.  www.ignatius.com