Pope Paul VI created new Cardinals in 20 nations, including
Africa, the Balkans, and Eastern Europe. Holy relics were returned to Eastern
Orthodox churches, and greater dialogue was opened between the church and the
Marxists and Freemasons. Birth control pills were approved by the Pope, and a
Czech Bishop, recently freed from a Communist prison, referred to the burning
at the stake of Jan Huss as an obstacle to religious liberty. Earlier in 1960, Kruschev had stated that he wanted peaceful
coexistence with the Catholic Church. Under Pope John, it would be a relatively
peaceful time, but that would soon change.
The 1960’s were a difficult decade,
and the Papacy wasn’t blind to it. The world had changed, and the once powerful
church was not what it had been. Poland, East Germany, and Czechoslovakia were
in the hands of Communist governments that controlled the church, not the other
way around. In the USA, young Catholics were leaving the church to seek out
their own path, and in Europe, the churches were no longer politically
sacrosanct. Even in Montreal, with a larger than average population of
faithful, the church’s hold on social welfare would soon change.
Roberto De Mattei should be given credit for his unbiased writing.
His book consists of good, solid reporting of events, no bias to be found
anywhere. My only problem with the book is the huge number of names that are
dropped in. Those not familiar with all the people involved may be slightly
confused by it. I would also have welcomed a timeline at the beginning, so that
all the events can be seen in chronological order.
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