Catholicism: A Global History from the French Revolution to Pope Francis [Hardcover]

A magisterial history of the centuries-long conflict between progress and tradition in the worlds largest international institution. [McGreevy] does a remarkable job of explaining how the epic struggle between reformists and traditionalists has led us to the present moment in the Roman Catholic Church. [McGreevy] is well placed to offer perspective on the Church as an institution at once teetering and thriving...[he] approaches it with an evenhandedness rare in the field. Beautifully written& a sweeping study that casts into relief, on a global stage, the paradoxes and contradictions of Roman Catholicism& This book reads beautifully, and even the seasoned expert in Catholicism will learn a great deal. A gripping story of how one of the worlds most important institutions has evolved over the past two centuries. McGreevy spans the globe, from the Philippines to Indonesia to Canada, providing welcome polyphony to a story that can often feel hermetically European. We hear the voices of those who dedicated their lives to the poor; we hear the voices, too, of those who suffered at the hands of the Church.?This is, by far, the best single-volume history of the modern Church currently available. This is an excellent book that thoroughly lives up to its ambitions. Given the hyper-specialization of so much academic history these days, the accomplishment here is even more notable: a readable, thorough and judicious treatment of a global institution over more than two centuries. One of [ In this appealing, easily readable and amply noted volume, McGreevy identifies phases in the development of Catholicism over the past two-and-a-half centuries with the overriding interests, themes or controversies for each period in his view& a truly engaging and substantially reliable narrative on how Catholicism has arrived at its current phase as a global Church. This new survey of global Catholic history achieves what its ambitious subtitle promises. It is a remarkable accomplislS(