The Making of the Pope 2005 (e-book) (used book) | bookbook.eu

Description

From the author of the classic The Making of the Popes 1978 comes this singularly perceptive analysis of the events and political forces in the Roman Catholic Church that led to the selection of Pope Benedict XVI - and what this choice means for Catholics today.

The 2005 conclave offered a ripe opportunity for change. After twenty-six years under the leadership of the charismatic, socially conservative John Paul II, the Church was at a crossroads: American Catholics were increasingly dismissive of papal authority; Europe, according to the Vatican, was growing more and more secular; the largely conservative Catholics of the Third World appeared to be the Church's future. The college of cardinals faced a daunting task in selecting the next pope from a list of potential candidates that ran as high as twenty just weeks before the conclave. What led them to the controversial choice of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger?

Father Andrew M. Greeley, the sociologist, priest, and bestselling author famous for delving into the political processes of the Church, explains with unique insight the issues and personalities that shaped this epochal decision. Revisiting Rome more than a quarter-century after his chronicle of the selection of Popes John Paul I and II, he explores what has changed and, perhaps more remarkable, what has remained the same in the politicking and media coverage of the heady interregnum period. And he identifies, as only a priest could, the many concerns about the Church's future role not only in the United States but around the globe.

The Roman Catholic Church is among the most ancient, powerful, and mysterious institutions in the world. Its decisions, in many ways, have the potential to affect us all. Catholics and outsiders alike will come away from this fascinating book with new insight into how the Church has arrived at this point, and with a map of the dangers and opportunities it and its new pontiff will now have to face.