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The outbreak of the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution at the turn of the nineteenth century transformed the world and ushered in the modern age, whose currents challenged the traditional political order and the prevailing religious establishment. The new secular framework presented a potential threat to the papal leadership of the Catholic community, which was profoundly affected by the rush towards modernization. In the nineteenth century the transnational church confronted a world order dominated by the national state, until the emergence of globalization towards the close of the twentieth century. Here, Coppa focuses on Rome's response to the modern world, exploring the papacy's political and diplomatic role during the past two centuries. He examines the Vatican's impact upon major ideological developments over the years, including capitalism, nationalism, socialism, communism, modernism, racism, and anti-Semitism. At the same time, he traces the continuity and change in the papacy's attitude towards church-state relations and the relationship between religion and science.
Unlike many earlier studies of the papacy, which examine this unique institution as a self-contained unit and concentrate upon its role within the church, this study examines this key religious institution within the broader framework of national and international political, diplomatic, social, and economic events. Among other things, it explores such questions as the limits to be placed on national sovereignty; the Vatican's critique of capitalism and communism; the morality of warfare; and the need for an equitable international order.
Table des matières
I Introduction: Rome and the Powers in the Modern Age
II The Papacy Between Revolutionary Upheaval, and Restoration, 1789-1849
III Rome Grapples with Liberalism, Nationalism, and Sectionalism, 1849-1878
IV The Papacy Confronts Social Issues, Modernism, and International Relations, 1878-1914
V Benedict XV, the World War, and the League of Nations, 1914-1922
VI The Vatican in an Age of Totalitarianism and Anti-Semitism, 1922-1939
VII The Vaticans Impartiality, Silence, and Internationalism during World War II and Beyond.
VIII The Papacy and the Cold War: The Confrontation between Catholicism and Communism
IX The Second Vatican Council, Aggiornamento, and Accommodation with the Modern World, 1958-1978
X The Contemporary Papacy, Shuttle Diplomacy, and the Collapse of Communism, 1978-2005
XI Quo Vadis Benedict XVI?
XII Conclusion: Continuity and Change in Papal Policy
Select Bibliography
A propos de l'auteur
Frank J. Coppa is Professor of History and Director of the university's doctoral program in Modern World History at St. John's University. He is an Associate Editor of the
New Catholic Encyclopedia. An expert in Modern European, Modern Italian, and Papal history he has published widely in all three areas. He is the recipient of numerous grants including Fulbright and National Endowment for the Humanities as well as University grants. He has served as general editor and contributor to
The Dictionary of Modern Italian History (1985),
The Encyclopedia of the Vatican and Papacy (1999),
The Great Popes through History (2002), and
The Encyclopedia of Modern Dictators (2006) among others. Most recently he has published
The Papacy, the Jews, and the Holocaust (2006).
