Pope Dreams

Pope Anthony is dead. But then, on the night of his funeral, each cardinal has a dream in which they meet the next Pope. Their dreams reflect their own personal interests and desires, as all dreams do, but only the two Irish cardinals recognise the Pope in their dreams as one Peter MacDonald, a married father of six and a lay pastoral councillor active in the Dublin Archdiocese.

The cardinals' decision on how to respond to this miraculous revelation could change the Roman Catholic Church for ever.

Pope Dreams: Pope Peter the Improbable is a satirical novel exploring the juxtaposition between the doctrinal Church hierarchy who promote themselves as the conduit to a puppet-master God, and their progressive congregations who recognise a universal God that inextricably connects everyone and everything.

In his first novel, Stephen D'Agata uses comedy and satire to expose the Pope and cardinals as only mere mortals who do not have a monopoly deciding on moral and social values - and could learn a thing or two from their humble congregations.