Papal Sin: Structures of Deceit

The modern Catholic Church is far removed from the medieval days when popes had huge personal fortunes, led armies and routinely had affairs and illegitimate children. Nevertheless, Garry Wills argues that the papacy is still far from holy and its sanctimonious rulings against marriage for priests, divorce, female priests and contraception are by and large ignored in Catholic churches around the world. Wills explores this discrepancy between the `dishonesty' of the popes and the Church's truthtellers through the history of Catholicism but with emphasis on the challenges of the 20th century.