People of God

Pope John Paul II ``lacks the ability to listen,'' charges Lernoux, a correspondent for the Nation and other journals. She further asserts that the Vatican's authoritarian, Eurocentric outlook sets it increasingly at odds with progressive, communitarian churches active in the Third World. In Latin America, the liberation theology movement has been unfairly blamed for widespread opposition to Reagan's policies, contends Lernoux ( Cry of the People ). She plumbs the depths of the conflict between U.S. Catholics and the Vatican and documents governmental surveillance of the Sanctuary movement, which helps Latin Americans find refuge in the U.S. She also explores the Vatican's historic ties to the CIA and the Nazi SS, and the role the Vatican played in helping Nazi war criminals escape. Turning to the ``international Catholic right,'' Lernoux scrutinizes the Knights of Malta, an old-boys' club of the political right that has counted among its members the late CIA director William Casey, Alexander Haig and William F. Buckley Jr. Lernoux also surveys ``cultish,'' ``authoritarian'' Catholic groups in Europe and America, including Tradition, Family and Property, which has ties to the Reagan administration. Important, eloquent, disturbing, explosive, this stirring report maps a global power struggle convulsing the Catholic Church. 25,000 first printing; author tour. (Apr.)