Product Description

This work tells the story of the Catholic Church's confrontation with communism, from the French Revolution onwards, but with particular emphasis on the post-War period. It sets out new evidence of how successive Popes unwittingly helped communism expand. Interwoven with this narrative is the life-story of Karol Woytyla, who as Pope John Paul II is the first Eastern European Pope to sit on the throne of Peter.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #197943 in Books
• Published on: 1998-10-01
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 1.36 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

From Publishers Weekly
That the Catholic Church played a role in the collapse of Communist rule in Eastern Europe has been widely acknowledged. Just exactly what that role was has been more widely debated. Journalist Luxmoore and Warsaw University lecturer Babiuch--whose father was a prime minister of Communist Poland--offer an ambitious, far-reaching account of the epic struggle between the Vatican and the Warsaw Pact. Drawing from an extensive and wide-ranging bibliography, the authors trace Euro-Communism to its roots in the discontent following the French Revolution and chronicle its antagonism with the Church up to the present. Although they claim to give "equal weight to the views and experiences of people on both sides of the old Iron Curtain," their pro-Church bias is revealed in the work's overall tone. Their portrayal of John Paul II--who dominates the last half of the book--is critical but generally flattering. Recent reports of secret accords and intelligence sharing between the pope and the U.S. are glibly dismissed as "unlikely and unproved." Somewhat short on details surrounding the actual dismantling of Communist control in Europe, the book instead focuses on the church-party relationship itself and how successive popes and premiers viewed each other and their respective ideologies. The section on Liberation Theology ("one of the twentieth century's most dynamic ethical initiatives") is brilliant and incisive as it contrasts papal treatment of Marxism in Europe vs. Latin America. This important study raises many questions about religion and government and their often competing interests.

Copyright 1998 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review
Reviewed in the Journal of Church and State
Highlights: "Well-organizedan important reading on the Cold War. It gives an interesting perspective on the spiritual dimension of the global rivalry between the East and the West, and between communism and capitalism."

About the Author
Jonathan Luxmoore is the Warsaw correspondent of the National Catholic Reporter and the Tablet. Jolante Babiuch is a lecturer at Warsaw University's Institute of Sociology and director of the Center for Company Ethics at the Institute for Social Sciences. Jolante Babiuch is a lecturer at Warsaw University's Institute of Sociology and director of the Center for Company Ethics at the Institute for Social Sciences.