Pope Joan (Diane Sawyer looks at FEMALE POPE)

popejoan.com ^ | 1996 [!] | Donna Cross

[theFIRMbss]

"As its title reveals, the novel is based on the life of one of the most fascinating, extraordinary women in Western history--Pope Joan, a controversial figure of historical record who, disguised as a man, rose to rule Christianity in the 9th century as the first and only woman to sit on the throne of St. Peter.

Brilliant and talented, young Joan rebels against the medieval social strictures forbidding women to learn to read and write. When her older brother is killed during a Viking attack, Joan takes up his cloak and identity, goes to the monastery of Fulda, and is initiated into the brotherhood in his place. As Brother John Anglicus, Joan distinguishes herself as a great Christian scholar. Eventually she is drawn to Rome, where she becomes enmeshed in a dangerous web of love, passion, and politics. Triumphing over appalling odds, she finally attains the highest throne in Christendom.

Pope Joan is a sweeping historical drama set against the turbulent events of the 9th century -- the Saracen sack of St. Peter's, the famous fire in the Borgo that destroyed over three-quarters of the Vatican, the Battle of Fontenoy, arguably the bloodiest and most terrible of medieval conflicts. The novel is a fascinating vivid record of what life was really like during the so-called Dark Ages, as masterwork of suspense and passion that has as its center an unforgettable woman, reminiscent of Jean Auel's Ayla, Jane Austen's Emma, and other heroines who struggle against restrictions their souls will not accept."

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Donna to Appear on PrimeTime Live!
(December 2005)

Tune in Thursday, December 29, 2005 at 10PM Eastern to see Diane Sawyer of ABC News interview Donna Woolfolk Cross, author of Pope Joan, about the book, her research and more. Check your local ABC affiliate for more information.

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Movie News! (updated May 2005)

Principal photography for the movie version of Pope Joan is now scheduled to begin in Spring 2006. Casting for the most important roles is now underway.

February 2005

Pope Joan, the movie, has made progress! It is being produced by Constantine Films. Producer: Herman Weigal. Director: Academy Award Winning Volker Schlondorff. Principal photography to begin in 2006

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Pope Joan at Amazon link

[Arthalion]

Actually, what they used to say is "Testiculos habet et bene pendentes", which roughly translates to "He has testicles, and they dangle nicely". Kind of funny actually!

As to the whole debate over whether she actually existed, I'd think that the matter would be easy enough to settle. One of the few things that all of the versions of the legends agree on is that she gave birth in that carriage, and that she was buried in that spot under the street. Since we know exactly which street, and even which part of the street, that the popess was supposedly exposed on, it would be trivial to scan it to see if there's actually anyone buried there.

I don't doubt that the Catholic Church had the ability to bury events they wanted forgotten, and the fact that they had centuries to do it makes it all the more plausible that such an event of this magnitude could have been covered up. Still, I don't think she actually existed. The fact that no OTHER nations outside of Catholic Europe recorded an intermediary pope during this period is a fairly solid indication that it didn't happen. Even Muslim historians briefly mention the appointment and deaths of the Catholic popes, since Christian Europe was one of their main adversaries and the pope was seen as one of their leaders. There's no mention of an intermediary pope in that period, and certainly no mention of one being female (which Muslims would have found to be devastatingly scandalous and would have written about extensively).

[Red Badger]

Pope Joan is an URBAN myth............

[Antoninus]

Here is a brief and true history of Pope Joan:

Following the death of Pope Gendelflorb the Nefarious, the citizens of Rome, were in a quandry for a leader. Who could they chose who would be both grasping and wicked enough to rule the see of St. Peter? They settled on Joan d'Scarafaggio, an Italian matron standing a full 4'10" and weiging 320 lbs. She immediately accepted, and within days had gained complete mastery of the curia, smacking reticent cardinals upside the head with a rolling pin. She is best known for her infallible decrees on the making of canoli and for the canonical definition of the word 'gravy' as meaning a sauce used on spaghetti. She is widely believed to have introduced the tomato to Italy. Pope Joan died in the year 943 when she was struck by a Papal bull.

Actually, my version is probably closer to accurate than Diane Sawyer's.

[Bohemund]

Best wishes!

Same to you!

[karnage]

It's about as true as The DaVinci Code.

[theFIRMbss]

>Actually, what they used to say is "Testiculos habet et bene pendentes"

You know, I have heard folks say Joe Theisman had balls . . . I guess that must mean once upon a time there was a quarterback who was really a girl and the NFL covered it up, but today we still indicate real male quarterbacks by saying that they have balls . . . It all makes sense now!

[theFIRMbss]

>Why is it that the ACLU and MSM decide that Christmas and Easter is the best time to try and depress and slander a chosen religion, which is still a protected right in this country, in order to erode people's beliefs and destroy people's hope?

I think it's because
Christians -- not even Mormons
or Catholics -- don't

track down and murder
people who slander Christ or
Christianity.

We don't strap on bombs
and blow up innocent folks
if we feel slighted.

We are a backward
religion out of touch with
modern world values . . .

[theFIRMbss]

>That's ok... Newsweek has already declared that "The Davinci Code" is going to be "Next Years Hottest Movie" on their cover

I'd bet money that
if Jim Robinson paid out
proper loads of cash,

Newsweek would put him
on the cover and report
that Free Republic

is the greatest thing
since the New Deal . . . Seems to me
it's just a question

of knowing how much
to pay to whom and how to
do it sub rosa . . .

[WV Mountain Mama]

Thanks for the laugh tonight, I really needed it... :)

[infoguy]

...

This is anti-Catholic bigotry, plain and simple.

The Da Vinci Code, and now this garbage.

Shame on ABC.

A "Pope Joan" debunking: The Myth of Pope Joan by Alain Boureau

...

[theFIRMbss]

>This is anti-Catholic bigotry, plain and simple

How many pieces
does TV do revealing
the seamy side of

Islam? Do we read
"novels" of conspiracies
among the Muslims?

Anti-Catholic
stuff I think is driven more
by cowardice than

serious hatred
of Catholics. The "mainstream"
wants to report on

religious matters,
but they're afraid to cover
the noteworthy one

because if they do
there might be consequences.
So they play it safe

and re-hash old crap
about this or that Christian
sect. They're just cowards.

[NYer]

The first "spin off" of The daVinci Code.

Catholic Ping
Please freepmail me if you want on/off this list

[visualops]

The problem with this subject is that the ancient and medival church is not exactly an honest, reliable source.

Westerm civilization can thank that ancient and medieval Church for keeping it intact for centuries after the fall of Rome.

This book is a fiction, and the Church is not the source of the story.

[AlaninSA]

Myth.

Made up.

False.

Likely fattening, too.

[Brian Allen]

<< You Got it!

Mcain beats Hitlary! >>

God forbid either of those dangerous psychotics gets anywhere near the oval office.

[Mrs. Don-o]

On, Antoninus, you're full 'a the mischief!

Actually. Pope Joan was a rather broad-beamed German girl named Hilda von Hinderbinder. Absolutely true, a fertig fraulein from one of those little principalities down on the German/Mexican border, Beaner-Schnitzel. She used to run a Chinese-German restaurant, but an hour later she was hungry for power. Determined to be Pope, she goes to her tailor to get her some clothes to conceal her more prominent feminine characteristics. She is delighted with the results:

"Du has done ein Vunn-derful schjob, Herr Hollzemfrumfloppen!"

Um.... and she ummm... and she wrote an encyclical, "Ist es zutreffende Ariere hat mehr Spaß?" but nobody could understand it because all the verbs were in the last paragraph... And I swear, she was Benedict the 16th's great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandmama.

Ehrlich zum Gott.

[steve8714]

Wait, you forgot Joan..and Hilary.

[narses]

A total fabrication, right up there with the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion". This is religous HATE SPEECH of the ugliest kind.

[narses]

"The problem with this subject is that the ancient and medival church is not exactly an honest, reliable source."


Name ONE "honest, reliable source" that reveals this alleged historical fact that could POSSIBLY have been revealed by a contemporary (or 'primary') source. Just ONE. The FIRST reference to this is HUNDREDS of years AFTER the alleged events.

If your standard is a "honest, reliable source", then you need to apply that to this travesty of history. It is bogus bigotry aimed at the largest Christian community in the world, now or ever. It is an OUTRAGE.

[MillerCreek]

This is just another BS story to tryin and imply Hitlary is "just another" woman.

Sorry to the Dinosaur Media, Hitlary is unworthy of even dog catcher.

THERE ya' go. That's the best review of this novel, A WORK OF FICTION BASED UPON FANTASY, I've read.

In general, everyone should keep in mind that Diane Sawyer is married to the ugly man who directed "Angels in America" among other profanities.