Pontiffs: Popes Who Shaped History

Author Hughes here shines his historical spotlight on 11 popes who influenced the course of Christianity and Western Europe. His selections reflect neither Hughes's favorite nor the most honored pontiffs but rather those whose actions and decisions have helped shape today's world. Readers with an interest in the history of Christianity and particularly in the Catholic Church's diplomatic history will find much that's fascinating. Negotiations with Napoleon and Bismarck, for example, seemed to leave the Vatican in a weakened state, yet it was through some of those very same agreements, Hughes argues, that important Christian principles were established. The chapter on John XXIII, in particular, is inspiring and eloquent, asserting that although many popes have been spiritual people, John was that rarity, a holy man. Throughout his review of the papacy, Hughes also points out periodic conflicts similar to controversies in today's Church, illustrating that, with Catholicism at least, what appears as ancient history always manages still to have a present as well. (Sept.)