I am a cradle Catholic raised in Ireland, Italy, and the UK. I have always had a troubled relationship with the church’s obsession with power and sexuality. As a professional historian at the University of Kent, I decided to investigate the Roman Church's political role during the twentieth century. Unlike my previous work, I have now had to consider a time in which I was partly alive and analyse events I lived through. As a liberal Catholic, I cannot claim complete objectivity, but these books and my own research proved to me that a better and more vibrant church that follows the spirit of the Second Vatican Council is not merely possible but necessary.
I feel that stylistically and in terms of passion, this is non-fiction at its best; it reads like a thriller.
Kertzer is a master of narrative, and his indictment of the indifference of the church before the German occupation of Europe and the Holocaust troubled me deeply as a person of faith. Despite being a professional historian, I was impressed by the humanity of his treatment of real people.
His description of the round-up of the Jews of the Rome Ghetto is genuinely moving, highly disturbing, and brought tears to my eyes. My particular enjoyment of the book came from its many archival discoveries in the Vatican Archives.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “The most important book ever written about the Catholic Church and its conduct during World War II.”—Daniel Silva
“Kertzer brings all of his usual detective and narrative skills to [The Pope at War] . . . the most comprehensive account of the Vatican’s relations to the Nazi and fascist regimes before and during the war.”—The Washington Post
Based on newly opened Vatican archives, a groundbreaking, explosive, and riveting book about Pope Pius XII and his actions during World War II, including how he responded to the Holocaust, by the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Pope…
Pollard is a masterful storyteller, and I particularly appreciate his ability to transcend his own feelings and prejudices in order to tell an objective tale about Catholicism during the dark age of fascist and communist dictatorships.
My favourite part of the book is the sober assessment of the papacy’s role when surrounded by totalitarianism and total warfare. He has little time for the myth of Hitler’s pope but is fair when it comes to the Vatican's far-from-happy flirtation with the Ustaše fascist regime in Croatia.
The other element I am chiefly impressed with is Pollard's ability to tell a global story, not just an Italian or European one.
The Papacy in the Age of Totalitarianism, 1914-1958 examines the most momentous years in papal history. Popes Benedict XV (1914-1922), Pius XI (1922-1939), and Pius XII (1939-1958) faced the challenges of two world wars and the Cold War, and threats posed by totalitarian dictatorships like Italian Fascism, German National Socialism, and Communism in Russia and China. The wars imposed enormous strains upon the unity of Catholics and the hostility of the totalitarian regimes to Catholicism lead to the Church facing persecution and martyrdom on a scale similar to that experienced under the Roman Empire and following the French Revolution.
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
Picking up a book on one of Christianity’s most complex and problematic councils is not for the faint-hearted.
I loved O’Malley’s ability to turn this meeting of over two thousand bishops into a gripping narrative about disagreement, debate, and renewal. What could have been a dry book about theology in his hands becomes a brilliant reflection on the internal divisions of the church and its relationship with progress. His careful eye for anecdotes and dignified humour is particularly attractive.
Unlike so many other close-minded Catholics, O’Malley is not scared to admit the politics of the council, its legacy, and its ongoing controversies.
During four years in session, Vatican Council II held television audiences rapt with its elegant, magnificently choreographed public ceremonies, while its debates generated front-page news on a near-weekly basis. By virtually any assessment, it was the most important religious event of the twentieth century, with repercussions that reached far beyond the Catholic church. Remarkably enough, this is the first book, solidly based on official documentation, to give a brief, readable account of the council from the moment Pope John XXIII announced it on January 25, 1959, until its conclusion on December 8, 1965; and to locate the issues that emerge…
Stourton is the best sort of biographer; I appreciate his candour and directness.
Despite clearly admiring the now-Saint John Paul II, he portrays vividly the limitations of this conservative and retrograde pope whose long reign saw the church battle with modernity. John Paul II’s inability to listen to women, engage in genuine dialogue with other faiths, his authoritarianism, and propensity to hide scandals within the church are eloquently examined in this biography.
I particularly like the character sketches and Stourton’s ability to poke some fun at this very dour and remarkably earnest pope. What could have been a dry subject is a vivacious and constructively critical sketch of one of history's longest pontificates.
John Paul was, famously, a bundle of paradoxes; he defied every attempt to put him in an ideological box, and he was equally bewildering to his admirers and his detractors. Edward Stourton unravels John Paul's life, his beliefs, his actions and ultimately places him in context within the Catholic Church of the 20th and 21st Century. A wonderfully, insightful, involving and rewarding look at the life of a man who was not only one of the most important men of the last thirty years of the 20th century but who became, in his last days, a living symbol of the…
A lyrical meditation on the mysterious bonds that connect us across species, across time and across the veil.
Slow Blink is a memoir about more than the weight of loving something you cannot keep. It recounts Louise’s relationship with a stray black cat whose bond with her transcended the ordinary,…
I apologise for recommending an untranslated Italian book on an English-language website, but it is a testament to this book's sheer importance that I do so.
Coco is a Vatican archivist, and his employer is this book's protagonist. Despite this, I admire his honesty and decision not to defend the Vatican. His book destroys two myths: 1. Hitler’s Pope and 2. that the Vatican actively sought to save Jews during the Holocaust. I found this book fresh, beautifully written, and I admire the depth of research. Yet the book seeks to neither condemn nor exalt the Catholic’s role in the Holocaust.
I found Coco’s conclusion that the church neither collaborated with fascism nor actively sought to help those persecuted the fairest and most compelling conclusion about the Vatican’s role during the Second World War. I highly recommend this book and hope it will be translated soon.
«L'immagine migliore per descrivere il silenzio di Pio XII sembra quella di un mosaico di silenzi, una figura i cui contorni appaiono frammentati e deformati se guardata troppo da vicino, mentre assume la sua forma complessiva solo se osservata a distanza.» Durante la Seconda guerra mondiale Pio XII si espresse solo una volta in pubblico usando il concetto di «sterminio» per alludere alla sorte degli ebrei, nel 1943, quando parlò di «costrizioni sterminatrici». Eppure è certo che fosse al corrente delle atrocità naziste: con il recupero e il riordino dell'archivio personale di papa Pacelli, Giovanni Coco ha fatto emergere infatti…
The twentieth century was not easy for Catholicism after the loss of its Italian lands. Bereft of friends and resources, Catholics entered the century fearful of modernity, democracy, and liberal values. My book tells the story of the Roman Church's unfortunate relationship with power, money, and sex from 1903 to the present day.
On the one hand, it is a story of opportunistic alliances with fascism, financial scandals, and the cover-up of sexual abuse. On the other hand, the Second Vatican Council (1963-1965) heralded a process of renewal and regeneration which is still with us. My book examines twentieth-century Catholicism, but it is not just a tale of scandal and vice; it is all a witness to hope, renewal and faith.
An Italian Feast celebrates the cuisines of the Italian provinces from Como to Palermo. A culinary guide and book of ready reference meant to be the most comprehensive book on Italian cuisine, and it includes over 800 recipes from the 109 provinces of Italy's 20 regions.
Malcolm Before X is about finding a way to continue moving forward after everything has been taken from you. While in prison, Malcolm Little discovered the power of reading and found a way to transform his character and become a better man. This half-biography focuses on that transformation, especially his…
