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Absolute Power

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Absolute Power

By: Paul Collins
Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
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About this listen

The sensational story of the last two centuries of the papacy, its most influential pontiffs, troubling doctrines, and rise in global authority

In 1799, the papacy was at rock bottom: The Papal States had been swept away and Rome seized by the revolutionary French armies. With cardinals scattered across Europe and the next papal election uncertain, even if Catholicism survived, it seemed the papacy was finished.

In this gripping narrative of religious and political history, Paul Collins tells the improbable success story of the last 220 years of the papacy, from the unexalted death of Pope Pius VI in 1799 to the celebrity of Pope Francis today. In a strange contradiction, as the papacy has lost its physical power - its armies and states - and remained stubbornly opposed to the currents of social and scientific consensus, it has only increased its influence and political authority in the world.

©2018 Paul Collins (P)2018 Hachette Audio
Christianity Europe Religious Studies Middle Ages Socialism Funny Imperialism Soviet Union Latin America Capitalism

Critic Reviews

"A thoroughly researched but tendentious history in support of a call for a radically different papacy and church." (Kirkus Reviews)

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