Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes; Second Edition [Paperback]

Part of the benefit of reading this book is that one not only learns the socio-historical elements of the papacy - and it should be remembered that the papacy is the most administrative and political element of the Roman Catholic church - but the development of the theology behind the papacy. The primacy of the bishop of Rome emerges as the most historically contentious issue. Duffy notes that the 2nd century Church Father Irenaeus gives the Church of Rome a place of primacy in his writings, but that the idea of the pope being successor of St. Peter the apostle is not documented until the 3rd century. The tensions between the bishop of Rome and the bishop of Constantinople begin to develop more after Constantine moves the center of the Roman Empire from Rome to Constantinople, wedding politics to religion in Constantinople in a new way.

Duffy writes that until Charlemagne, the Church of the East was not only the hotbed of the heresy, but also the hotbed of political dissidents; that such political-religious friction should exist in the capital of the Roman Empire, given the new union of religion to politics, is not surprising. Duffy tries to sort through the various political-religious controversies of this time period, but it becomes obvious that splitting religion from politics in the ancient Roman empire is difficult, if not impossible to do. The history of the papacy between 1054 (the Great Schism between the East and the West) through Napoleon is largely corrupt, however. Once the empire split in two, Rome becomes the political-religious center of the West and the papacy's spirituality degenerates as it is continually thrown to the highest bidder. The Reformation and the religious wars of the 17th century appear to be inevitable. The fragmentation of Europe into nation-states, although largely political, was not without theological ramifications.

Interestingly enough, the distance between the spiritual and secular-political elements of the papacy happens with the theological development of papal infallibility during Vatican I. The official teaching steered clear of the radical views of the Ultramontanists, who held that everything the pope taught was infallible - that revelation was "on tap", as Duffy puts it. Vatican I still gave to the papacy (the office, not the pope as an individual) a level of primacy and honor that has long been claimed by the bishop of Rome, but it rendered the pope's "infallibility" only in matters pertaining to faith and morals (therefore, not politics, science, art, etc.), of concern to the whole church and in consultation with other bishops; the pope will be guided by God should he speak "ex cathedra" - from the chair of Peter. Duffy immediately notes that this has only happened one time, on the issue of the assumption of Mary into heaven (which the vast majority of Christians have believed since at least the second century). Despite the controversy that this doctrine has brought about, Duffy's coverage of it causes it to seem rather anti-climactic.

The book may end seeming a bit dated to some, as the last chapter only goes through 1997 (with a passing reference, oddly enough, to 2002). Duffy covers the highly controversial papacy of Pius XII with a good bit of critical sympathy and then proceeds to discuss the period of Vatican II and what a watershed event it was. He notes the theological changes, the political tensions and the changes that occurred between popes John XXIII and Paul VI as the latter continued to convene the council. He concludes with the current pope, John Paul II, noting his philosophical brilliance, his desire for reunion with the Eastern Orthodox Church and his conservativism regarding the theology of the papacy. He notes that John Paul II is a complex figure, at once a humanist and theologically conservative, defying the simple labels of "liberal" or "conservative". Although John Paul II's full history has yet to be written, Duffy provides an excellent trajectory from where he has gone to where he is likely to go by the end of his life.

My only complaint with the book is that Duffy shows something of an ambivalent attachment style to most of the popes after 1054. While a "liberal" such as John XXIII garners heavy praise from him, other popes less conducive to the modern era are denigrated. The question is, "what makes the modern era so great and why should modernizing trends be seen as necessary and/or good?" In many ways, I agree with Duffy, but would also prefer to not have a pope praised at one point and then berated only a few pages later; at points Duffy sounds like a broken record as he oscillates between the two for one pope after another.

In the end, though, this is a very well written book. The appendices - a list of the popes, a glossary and how a pope is made today - are helpful. The history of the papacy is a thick one and Duffy does not make light of this, including at the end of his book a bibliographical essay that details secondary and primary sources that further illuminate each time period he covers. For a fuller understanding of Western political and/or religious history, historical theology and/or Roman Catholicism, this is a find edition to include in one's library.

The book has many fine illustrations--well-chosen and very well reproduced. For the mosaics of Theodora and Justinian in San Vitale, the figures are clearly delineated and the colors vibrant. Later illustrations, such as the portrait of Innocent X by Velazquez and David's panorama of Bonaparte's coronation, are equally good. Many non-artistic illustrations have great historical value, especially the Risorgimento and Kulturkampf propaganda pieces. Often illustrations ornament a text, but these genuinely supplement it. Duffy has also provided seven maps, a glossary of terms and a good bibliography. Errors are few (Constantine died in 337, not 347).

The book is best suited to a survey of church or papal history. Those teaching just the Early Christian period will probably prefer the work of our late colleague Robert Eno, The Rise of the Papacy (1990), but if one does not wish to read or assign a book-length study of the early papacy, chapters one and two of this book will meet the need.

Finally, many thanks to Yale UP for keeping the price so moderate for a book with so many illustrations.

Joseph F. Kelly