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Inside the Vatican: The Politics and Organization of the Catholic Church Kindle Edition
There are one billion Catholics in the world today, spread over every continent, speaking almost every conceivable language, and all answering to a single authority. The Vatican is a unique international organization, both in terms of its extraordinary power and influence, and in terms of its endurance. Popes come and go, but the elaborate and complex bureaucracy called the Vatican lives on. For centuries, it has served and sometimes undermined popes; it has been praised and blamed for the actions of the pope and for the state of the church. Yet an objective examination of the workings of the Vatican has been unavailable until now.
Drawing on more than a hundred interviews with Vatican officials, this book affords a firsthand look at the people, the politics, and the organization behind the institution. Thomas Reese brings remarkable clarity to the almost Byzantine bureaucracy of congregations, agencies, secretariats, tribunals, nunciature, and offices, showing how they serve the pope and, through him, the universal church. He gives a lively account of how popes are elected and bishops appointed, how dissident theologians are disciplined and civil authorities dealt with. Throughout, revealing and colorful anecdotes from church history and the present day bring the unique culture of the Vatican to life.
The Vatican is a fascinating institution, a model of continuity and adaptation, which remains constant while functioning powerfully in a changing world. As never before, this book provides a clear, objective perspective on how the enormously complex institution surrounding the papacy operates on a day-to-day level, how it has adapted and endured for close to two thousand years, and how it is likely to face the challenges of the next millennium.
Praise for Inside the Vatican
“Reese does an admirable job of lifting the veil of secrecy surrounding the Holy See to examine the nuts and bolts of the operation . . . [He] paints a revealingly human portrait of Vatican life . . . Ultimately, this is the merit of Inside the Vatican: Reese gets it right. And in [such] a place . . . that’s no easy task.” —Greg Burke, Time
“[Reese] paints a clear, largely dispassionate and often compelling picture of Vatican operations and, in so doing, highlights the tensions that tear the church.” —Diego Ribadeneira, The Boston Globe
“[T]his is a useful and even valuable study of the institutional centre of the Roman Catholic Church, and of the relations between the centre, and the worldwide network of local churches which go to make up the Church catholic. Dr. Reese . . . brings impressive qualifications and experience as a political scientist to this [study] . . . It is the special virtue of Dr. Reese’s study that he succeeds where many have failed in providing an analytic, critical and comprehensive account of how [the Vatican] works.” —Seán Mac Réamoinn, The Irish Times
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherHarvard University Press
- Publication dateFebruary 19, 1998
- File size1817 KB
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Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Review
“A Jesuit at home, as you would expect, in theology, history and current affairs, Thomas Reese conducts an insider’s tour of the Vatican. With a papal election near, this is a handy…guide to the politics of a faith in mid-struggle between ancients and moderns.”―The Economist
“What goes on behind the Vatican’s walls has long been a mystery to much of the outside world. Everybody knows about the white smoke that signals the election of a new pope by the College of Cardinals; but what kind of politicking and debate is there? How are ballots cast? How are cardinals chosen anyway? Reese, a Jesuit scholar who is a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University, answers these questions and many more, explaining everything from the pope’s many roles…to how the Vatican runs its finances.”―Washington Post Book World
“Thomas Reese undertakes the Herculean task of trying to penetrate the shroud of mystery surrounding the Vatican. Remarkably, Father Reese, a Jesuit and senior fellow at Georgetown’s Woodstock Theological Center, has managed to pull if off. In relatively concise fashion, he paints a clear, largely dispassionate and often compelling picture of Vatican operations and, in so doing, highlights the tensions that tear the church.”―Diego Ribadeneira, Boston Globe
“Any journalist who has tried to cover the Vatican will appreciate the Rev. Thomas Reese’s book on the politics and organization of the world’s oldest―and one of its most secretive―institutions… This even-handed and meticulously researched study of Vatican City and the papal bureaucracy couldn’t come at a better time.”―Don Lattin, San Francisco Chronicle
“[T]his is a useful and even valuable study of the institutional centre of the Roman Catholic Church, and of the relations between the centre, and the worldwide network of local churches which go to make up the Church catholic. Dr. Reese…brings impressive qualifications and experience as a political scientist to this [study]… It is the special virtue of Dr. Reese’s study that he succeeds where many have failed in providing an analytic, critical and comprehensive account of how [the Vatican] works.”―Seán Mac Réamoinn, Irish Times
“Reese has given a precise description of the Vatican as an organisation―or rather three interlocking organisations, one dealing with the spiritual administration of one billion Roman Catholics and 4,000 bishops, one running the Vatican mini-state and one supporting the extensive foreign policy work of the Pope. In this book…the sources are mainly anonymous…[but] anonymity adds to its authority and interest. Reese is good on Vatican bureaucrats and good at the questions. His sources tinkle with gossip and loyal criticism of the papacy… [I]t is a thorough book.”―Roger Boyes, The Times
“Father Reese’s work stands out in a number of ways. It is intriguing but not gossipy. It offers critique without slipping into polemics. It provides a wealth of detail about the institution, yet never lets the human element slip from view.”―John Thavis, Catholic News Service
“[This] is a very useful reference for those who want to know how the Holy See operates… Without a doubt, Reese’s treatment of papal elections will be a very valuable reference tool when the successor of John Paul II is elected… Reese’s style is clear, concise, and nonjudgmental… [He] gives a balanced picture of the structure, procedures, and people of the Vatican.”―Daniel F. Hoye, Commonweal
“Perhaps the best examination of the ‘politics and organization’ of the Catholic Church’s headquarters.”―Contemporary Review
“Thomas Reese has included…fascinating anecdotes in his study of life inside the Vatican kingdom.”―Kieran Cooke, Financial Times
“[An] excellent [book].”―Michael Walsh, National Catholic Reporter --This text refers to the paperback edition.
From Publishers Weekly
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
From Library Journal
-?John Moryl, Yeshiva Univ. Lib., New York
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product details
- ASIN : B0BSLBXPNH
- Publisher : Harvard University Press (February 19, 1998)
- Publication date : February 19, 1998
- Language : English
- File size : 1817 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Sticky notes : On Kindle Scribe
- Print length : 330 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: #920,919 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #204 in History of Catholicism
- #475 in Christian Papacy
- #489 in Roman Catholicism (Kindle Store)
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The book is packed with information, perhaps too much. I found myself skimming at times. I was particularly intrigued by Chapter Six, in which the author describes some of the faceless bureaucrats who toil inside the Vatican. If you dislike meetings and committee work, you would hate it there. And sadly, much of the work in these obscure offices seems geared to arriving at predetermined conclusions, suppressing dissent, and avoiding change. The system has been remarkably successful at maintaining itself for close to two-thousand years, through a variety of challenging circumstances. But what of the future? Don't expect radical change, at least, not soon. The church operates on a time-scale of centuries.
Author Thomas J. Reese writes well, making a difficult subject accessible, and with flashes of wit and humor. If you're looking for a serious introduction to the inner workings of the Catholic church, this would be a good place to start, and I recommend it. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber.
Rev Reese's PhD thesis converted into a book. Although somewhat dated (1998) it still lays out the Byzantine bureaucracy of the Vatican, intricate financing and financial hi jinks, political infighting.
Read this and you will then begin to understand the massive job Francis faces. Most likely the overhaul of the Vatican won't get completed during his time in office, but sooner or later it will.
If these are things you've wondered about, this is the book for you. Reese approaches these things as though he were an anthropologist or a management consultant, with a keen eye for the nuances of interpersonal relationships within the Vatican bureaucracy. My only complaints are that the amount of detail can be overwhelming, and Reese sometimes gets bogged down in a wooden style of writing. It's best to start reading this book in the middle, because the beginning is rather dry. On the other hand, the anecdotes are a strong plus. To give one example, the story of John Paul II reprimanding the Archbishop of Denver to his face creates a mental image that is hard to forget.
The last chapter is the most provocative, where Reese suggests reforms that are both logical and unrealistic: He argues that Vatican administrators should not be allowed to become cardinals, which in papal elections would cause a monumental power shift toward those who are in closer touch with the laity. Reese suggests priests play a major role in selecting bishops, as was the case before the 1800s, in contrast to the current practice in which the pope appoints ultraconservative bishops who can't relate to anyone in their diocese.
According to Reese, the underlying problem is that the Vatican is more interested in doctrinal purity than keeping people in the church. Meanwhile the laity are voting with their feet, gravitating to pastors who ignore papal instructions, or leaving the church altogether.
Top reviews from other countries
amount of corruption and cover up.