Description

The story of Roman Catholicism has never followed a singular path In no time period has this been more true than over the last two centuries Beginning with the French Revolution extending to the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s and concluding with presentday crises John T McGreevy chronicles the dramatic upheavals and internal divisions shaping the most multicultural multilingual and global institution in the world

Through powerful individual stories and sweeping birdseye views Catholicism provides a mesmerizing assessment of the Churchs complex role in modern history both shaper and follower of the politics of nation states both conservator of hierarchies and evangelizer of egalitarianism

Throughout this essential volume McGreevy details currents of reform within the Church as well as movements protective of traditional customs and beliefs Conflicts with political leaders and a devotional revival in the nineteenthcentury the experiences of decolonization after World War II and the Second Vatican Council in the twentieth century and the trauma of clerical sexual abuse in the twentyfirst all demonstrate how religion shapes our modern world Finally McGreevy addresses the challenges faced by Pope Francis as he struggles to unite the over one billion members of the worlds largest religious community