The Pope's Red Shoes: Traffic of Political Influence, Riches, Power, and Control by the Catholic Church - Paperback

by Ambrose Goikoetxea Ph. D. (Author)

This is the story of Kathy Thompson, a young Jewish-American woman in search of her own identity in a still male-dominated society, and of Xabier Elurmendi, a young man in the Basque Country who decides to join a seminary to become a priest one day after becoming involved in an automobile accident. Both meet in Arizona, USA, and join forces to fight corruption in high places. They go on to discover the true Buddhist origins of Christianity, to figure out the making of the Jesus "Frankenstein" in the New Testament, exposing the riches of the Vatican, and the sex and crime riddled lives of bishops and Popes in the Vatican's power-thursty hiearchy. Unknowinly, however, they also dicover an international plot to kill Pope Benedict XI and opt for gathering friends and foes to work out a plan to save the Pope. Meantime they must negotiate with unscrupulous and incompetent politicians in the European Union. Romance though is still alive and well. A novel-trilogy politically and religiously incorrect, but revealing and entertaining.

Author Biography

This Basque-American author was born in the town of Biasteri-Laguardia, province of Alaba, Euskal Herria (Basque Country) from a family of carpenters on his father's side (the Goikoetxeas), farmers, monks and nuns on his mother's side (the Martinez), all "liberals" and "Carlistas" on both sides of the family for generations. At the age of six, and right after the Spanish Civil War, the family first migrated to Mexico City where it lived during five years, returned to Basque Country for another five years, and finally migrated to the USA where he lived and worked during the next forty five years. B.S. (Bachelor of Science) in Aeronautical Engineering, California Polytechnic Institute (Cal-Poly), Pomona, California, 1969; M.S. (Master of Sciences), Mechanical Engineering, University of California at Los Angeles, 1970; and Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy) in Systems Engineering and Economics, University of Arizona, Tucson, 1977, USA. He went on to work as a professor at several universities, and as an engineer at several corporations in the USA, for during years until 2004 when he returned from his experience in the "Basque Diaspora" to Basque Country to continue his work, this time applying his skills and experience gained in American society to social needs in Basque society. A brother of his is today a medical doctor in San Diego, California, a sister is an English teacher and social worker at Simi Valley, California, a son is an AIDS clinical investigator at a major hospital and research center in San Diego, California, and a second son is a software engineer and computer systems architect in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Dr. Ambrose Goikoetxea is the author of over 35 papers published in refereed national and international journasl, 5 technical books taught in engineering, information systems, mathematics, economics, and business universities in over 30 universities in the USA, Latin America, China (ROC), and Europe. Additionally, since 2004, he has written and published 5 books on social and political issues, including the novel-trilogy "Women, the New Architects of Society." Founder and Director (part-time) of the Euskal Herria 21st Century Foundation, based in Arrasate-Mondragon since February 2007, an organization that works with citizens to re-build the social and political fiber in Euskal Herria (Basque Country); bilateral projects with Eusko Etxeak and other Basque centers in the USA and Latin America (see web site: www.euskalherriasiglo21.org).