THE PASSION OF FULTON SHEEN

by ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 10, 1971

Noonan's book is a rather rambling study of Fulton Sheen -- his personality, his accomplishments, his failings both personal and professional, his relations with popes and presidents, and, finally, his disappearance from public life. It is not by any means a biography, but rather a magazine article generously padded with anecdotes (e.g., concerning Cardinal Cushman, the Kennedys, Pius XII, etc.) that have little to do with Sheen himself. On the other hand, there is virtually no information on the most intriguing phase of Sheen's career -- his fiasco as Bishop of Rochester. If the book has a redeeming feature, it is that it is neither a hatchet-job nor a work of adulation, but a critical -- though largely second-hand -- look at a man who was once a power in the Catholic Church but who fell because ""there was within him a capability to belittle, antagonize, and alienate."" On the whole, however, the book is too thin, in every sense, to bear the weight of publication.

Pub Date: Jan. 10, 1971

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Dodd, Mead

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1971

Categories: NONFICTION