Absolute Power
How the Pope Became the Most Influential Man in the World
Published on 27. March 2018
384 pages
978-1-5417-6200-8 (ISBN)
Description
The sensational story of the last two centuries of the papacy, its most influential pontiffs, troubling doctrines, and rise in global authority
In 1799, the papacy was at rock bottom: The Papal States had been swept away and Rome seized by the revolutionary French armies. With cardinals scattered across Europe and the next papal election uncertain, even if Catholicism survived, it seemed the papacy was finished.
In this gripping narrative of religious and political history, Paul Collins tells the improbable success story of the last 220 years of the papacy, from the unexalted death of Pope Pius VI in 1799 to the celebrity of Pope Francis today. In a strange contradiction, as the papacy has lost its physical power -- its armies and states -- and remained stubbornly opposed to the currents of social and scientific consensus, it has only increased its influence and political authority in the world.
In 1799, the papacy was at rock bottom: The Papal States had been swept away and Rome seized by the revolutionary French armies. With cardinals scattered across Europe and the next papal election uncertain, even if Catholicism survived, it seemed the papacy was finished.
In this gripping narrative of religious and political history, Paul Collins tells the improbable success story of the last 220 years of the papacy, from the unexalted death of Pope Pius VI in 1799 to the celebrity of Pope Francis today. In a strange contradiction, as the papacy has lost its physical power -- its armies and states -- and remained stubbornly opposed to the currents of social and scientific consensus, it has only increased its influence and political authority in the world.
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Book
04/2018
PublicAffairs,U.S.
€37.50
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Person
Paul Collins is a historian and broadcaster with degrees from Harvard and the Australian National University. He has worked as a religious commentator for Australian Broadcasting Corporation, BBC, PBS, and more; as a teacher of theology and history; and as a Catholic priest. In March 2001, he resigned from active ministry due to a doctrinal dispute with the Vatican over his book, Papal Power. He is also the author of The Birth of the West, published by PublicAffairs in 2013.
Content
- Intro
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Table of Contents
- Dedication
- Abbreviations
- A Personal Introduction
- PART I EXTINCTION?
- Chapter 1 A Death in Valence
- Map of Papal States
- Chapter 2 The "New Consciousness" and "Neo-Ultramontanism"
- PART II FROM "SUPREME POWER" TO SUPREME PONTIFF
- Chapter 3 Tackling a Whole New World
- Chapter 4 "God and the Revolver!"
- Chapter 5 "Obbedire, Obey"
- Chapter 6 Pontificating on Everything
- PART III ROLLING OUT AND ROLLING BACK VATICAN II
- Chapter 7 Good Pope John
- Chapter 8 "Throwing Open the Windows"
- Chapter 9 The Polish Colossus
- PART IV "THE SMELL OF THE SHEEP"
- Chapter 10 "Reform of the Reform"
- Chapter 11 The "Field Hospital"
- Chapter 12 Death and Resurrection
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
