McGreevy (Univ. of Notre Dame) writes that since the time of the French Revolution, Catholics have wrestled with their loyalty to the nation in which they reside and their commitment to a universal Church that often sought to supersede the authority of a country's laws and leaders. That tension was perhaps truer a century ago, when Catholics in nations like Mexico and France faced secular governments hostile, or indifferent, to the Church, but it is certainly worth asking if the competing demands of nationalism and Catholic obligation continue to test the faithful. McGreevey admits that in modern times the clerical abuse scandals and the consequences of the sexual revolution do not always concern the conflict between Church and state. The reviewer does not offer this observation as a criticism. In a massive work that discusses the role of Catholicism in nearly every corner of the world over two centuries, it is difficult to maintain a unifying theme. More important is the effort itself: McGreevy deserves praise for crafting a compelling history that describes the problems (and accomplishments) of a global Church. Bravo! Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; professionals; general readers.

--M. Gonzalez, University of San Diego

Michael Gonzalez

University of San Diego

Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History at Notre Dame University, McGreevy investigates the tension between progress and tradition that has animated the Catholic Church worldwide for over 200 years. He starts with antimonarchist French clerics celebrating the Revolution, only to have the murder of priests and destruction of churches create a fierce conservative backlash; shows the power the Church gleaned from missionaries; and ends by highlighting African Catholics fighting for independence, Latin Americans creating a theology of liberation, and Polish and South Korean Catholics countering repression—all defying cautious tradition.