Dimensions
129 x 197 x 20mm
Hans Kung, the foremost Catholic theologian, describes the history of the Catholic Church from its origins in Palestine and Rome, through the disputes of the Medieval era and the trauma of the Reformation, to the present day.
Kung examines how the role of the pope has changed; the motivations of the great reforming pontiffs; the evolving functions of councils, bishops and cardinals; the story of 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 and sexual morality - in the new millennium.