Vicars of Christ

the long version

This is a study of the nine men who became Pope from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. Dr. Riccards chronicles the lives and times of these popes, the issues and events of their papacies. The focus here is on leadership and how it is exercised in the organization and administration of the church. The popes sit on top of one of the world's most rigid and formal bureaucracies, whose structure and practices find their origins in the society of ancient Rome. Depending on the times and the personality of the reigning pontiff, various styles of leadership are utilized. The inherent tension between church law, tradition, and the charismatic Spirit-inspired model of the founders is always present, and it manifests itself in sometimes surprising ways. Each pope in turn had to discern the spirit of the age and ultimately had to stand in opposition to movements that seemed to them to go against the Gospel and the Roman Catholic Church.