Product Description

Hans Kung describes the history of the Roman Catholic Church from its origins in St Paul's Rome, through the disputes of the medieval era to the modern world. He examines the historic tension in the Church between pluralism and exclusivity; how the role of the Pope has changed; the motivations of the great reforming pontiffs; the evolving functions of the bishops and cardinals; the church's enthusiasm for missionary activity; the origins of the Marian cult; and how the shock waves of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation can still be felt today. The book concludes with a searching assessment of how the Catholic faith confronts the immense challenges - from science, from the empowerment of women, from those seeking reform of the Church's strictures against abortion and contraception - in the new millennium. 'The sweep is vast and the tale told with pace and passion' Financial Times

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #266183 in Books
• Published on: 2002-06-20
• Original language: German
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Hans Küng is well known as the scholarly enfant terrible of the Catholic Church. This "turbulent priest" was active in the Second Vatican Council and made his name questioning traditional church doctrines as papal infallibility. In 1979, amidst a great furore, the Vatican censured his writings as being inconsistent with the teaching of the Catholic Church.

It's not surprising then, that Küng's latest book is not so much a 'short history' of the Catholic Church as a justification of his disagreements with its hierarchy, projected back through time. In eight major sections Küng chronicles the early days of Christianity, then takes us through the church's relationship with the Roman Empire, charting the rise of the papacy, the full flowering of its power in the Middle Ages and its eventual corruption. He then goes on to outline the papacy's decline in the face of the Reformation and modernism, and finishes with an extended criticism of the modern papacy. Küng outlines the key events in the European history of the Catholic Church, but he never mentions the Church outside Europe. In addition, the whole history is angled to support his anti-papal, de-centralist agenda.

While one may lament such a subjective and narrow approach, Küng should be praised for his desire that the Catholic Church adapt to modern needs, and for his call that she be faithful to the essential principles of the Christian faith. Standing on its own The Catholic Church is a highly subjective and incomplete offering, but read with other excellent histories of the papacy and Christianity, such as Eamonn Duffy's Saints and Sinners, Chidester's Christianity, and Bokenkotter's Concise History of the Catholic Church it provides an interesting counterpoint. --Dwight Longenecker

About the Author
Born in 1928 in Switzerland, Hans Kung was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 1954. In 1962 he was named by Pope John XXIII a consultant for the Second Vatican Council. He played a central role in the writing of Vatican II, which in 1965 radically modernised key areas of Catholic teaching. He has since the early 1960s questioned traditional church doctrines. In 1979 the Vatican banned his teaching as a Catholic theologian, provoking huge international controversy, and in 1980 a settlement was reached that allowed him to teach under secular rather than Catholic auspices. Dr Kung is the only living Weidenfeld and Nicolson author with an entry in the ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA.

Customer Reviews

one side of the issue
Hans Kung surely knows what he is talking about. This book however sounds quite angry, much more so than the more moderate and deeper "Christianity", which is of course much thicker.

The one problem I have after reading his book is that if there was nothing more to church history than all these negative facts, it would not have survived 2000 years. Histories of the church seem all to focus on politics, power and intrigues. What about thinkers, philosophers, theologians and "regular folks" who really kept religion alive?

I am still looking for a more balanced history of the church. Kung's "Christianity" was, I felt, more balanced.

Utterly Honest & Stunning View From An Insider
Kung paid the price for this book. He had his teaching authority taken away by the Inquisition (Yes ... it still operates !). If you want to have a balanced view of the history of the Catholic Church you have to take this book into the equation. This does not mean that the Catholic Church is some kind of horror story, it is totally valid for many many members, but at the same time there are some skeletons in the cupboard, and Hans Kung has had the courage to open the door at least part of the way. Full marks for his courage in speaking the truth as he sees it, and he is a Catholic priest !

A must for Catholics & Non-Catholics alike
Kung's latest work of dazzling honesty about the workings of the Catholic Church through the ages. All the sham, hypocrisy and viciousness laid bare to the world, as well as the generosity of spirit of some Popes. If you ever wondered how all these dogmas managed to appear on the scene, like papal infallibility and the assumption of Mary, despite having absolutely no Biblical authority, this is the authoritative book. There are others, but they are usually written by bitter and twisted Protestants with an axe to grind. Here it all is, and written by an established Catholic theologian. Kung's books have already attracted the attention of the Inquisition (Oh yes ! I didn't know that was still going either ! They'd burn Kung at the stake if they could !) and he has had his authority to teach taken away for his trouble. I suspect he will be having another interview with the Inquisition after this book, as it is strongly critical of the Catholic heirarchy. If you never read anything else about the Catholic Church, you have to read this. Without it you will not have a balanced view.