Prefatory Notes

With the attacks of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2001, the significance of religious differences became palpable even to those who live on a continent separated by the world’s largest oceans. What had been confined to the Middle East and the Philippines spilled over into the West rekindling ancient hatreds and modern fatwas. It is against this backdrop that A Second Encyclical is fixed.

The narrative examines the effect of increased terrorism on a modern pope and ultimately the religious world. Spanning forty years, the novel traces the life of a popular French cardinal, Michel Abruzzi, through his tenure as pope, and it recounts the life of Argo Malle who becomes his protégé. While it is a work of fiction, much is drawn from headlines, recent research, and news stories from around the globe.

The narrative alternates between a first person account of Argo Malle by Willow Frederic, a woman he has known since their teens, and a third person account of the evolution of Michel Cardinal Abruzzi of Paris. Both accounts merge at the elevation of the Cardinal to the papacy.

The first encyclical of Pope Michael I is incendiary not only because of its overt condemnation of Islam but its departure from the ecumenism generated by Vatican II. It is the fear of a second encyclical that alarms the Curia, the governing body of the Church, and even, Argo Malle, a leader of the elite Legion of Christ.

A Second Encyclical is a novel of ideas and of the characters that believe in, wrestle with, and ultimately act on those ideas. The rise of secularism in the face of religious violence, religious intolerance among the major religions, Papal infallibility, celibacy in the priesthood, and embryonic stem cell research are examined both with some precision and objectivity.

Finally, while the novel is serious and at times refers to bits of science, history, and art that some readers might find arcane, care has been taken to ensure readability. Readers who invest some effort will be rewarded with a unique and carefully crafted, intellectually stimulating, and emotionally gripping tale from two separate perspectives.

Two Notes:

1. In uploading the ms. to this URL, normal indentations and other orthographic niceties were not copied. I hope these irregularities are not too disturbing.

2. I must thank Dr. John Comerford who helped me througout, especially with the chapter on the election of the pope, the miracle, and the section on Switzerland. And it was his expertise on the chemistry of stem cells which informed Argo's ability in the area. I would also like to thank my daughter Lara for her proofreading and suggestions for revisions.

Anthony Gael Moral