Inside the Vatican: The Politics and Organization of the Catholic Church

Wow, what a book. The author, a Jesuit priest, provides an incredibly detailed look into how the church is organized and how it functions. I think the most profound observation he asserts is that the Church operates on a millenial perspective. It takes years - decades - centuries - to evolve and change, and that is part of the reason for its longevity.

As someone who works in Internet media, I have long judged the church as inept and pokey in its inability to respond to news stories and changes in public opinion. But what the author posits, however indirectly, is that this slowness is a strength from the point of view of outliving idologies and people.

Kings rule and die, democracies blossom and perish, and there remains the church, a show more constant in a transitory world.

Read it and have your eyes opened. show less

Likely a good book in general, but it was profoundly unhelpful for my purposes. Reese managed to fill several hundred pages and mention women perhaps four times - quite a feat, given that women religious significantly outnumbered their male counterparts until the turn of the century, and Reese was attempting an historical perspective. Oh well.

3894. Inside the Vatican The Politics and Organization of the Catholic Church, by Thomas J. Reese (read 30 May 2004) This was published in 1996 but is still full of interesting things, with gossipy details about recent papal elections, and how things go at the Vatican, both during the current papacy and in the near past.