All the Pope's Men: The Inside Story of How the Vatican Really Thinks

by John L. Allen Jr.

A fascinating and enlightening look at the world’s oldest and most mysterious institution, written by an American journalist with unparalleled knowledge about the Vatican's past and present.

The sexual abuse scandals that shook American and British Catholicism in 2002 brought to light a long-standing cultural gap between the English-speaking Catholic world and the Vatican. In Rome, the crisis was often seen as an attack on the Church mounted by money-hungry lawyers, a hostile press, and liberal activists who used it as a way to turn attention on such concerns as celibacy, women’s ordination, and lay empowerment. When the Vatican struck down the U.S. bishops’ draft for handling allegations of sexual abuse, many saw it as an attempt to curb an independent American Catholic church. Yet, as time passed, it became clear that the Vatican’s well-founded concerns about due process were shared by most liberal U.S. bishops and canon lawyers.

ALL THE POPE’S MEN is a lucid, in-depth guide to the sometimes puzzling, often incomprehensible inner workings of the Vatican. It reveals how decisions are made, how papal bureaucrats think, and how careers in the Roman Curia are shaped. It debunks the myths that have fed the distrust and suspicions many English-speaking Catholics harbor about the way the Vatican conducts its business, explains who really wields the power, and offers entertaining profiles of the personalities, historical and present-day, who have wielded that power for good and for bad. A thoughtful analysis of the recent sexual abuse crisis sheds light on how the Vatican perceives the Church in the United States.

Balanced, lively, and filled with Vatican history and lore, ALL THE POPE’S MEN provides the general reader with an authoritative picture of the highly charged relationship between the Vatican and the richest, most influential national Catholic church in the world today.

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction, Catholic, History

400 pages, Paperback

First published July 13, 2004

About the author

John L. Allen, Jr. (born 1965) is an American journalist serving as associate editor of the website Crux: Covering all things Catholic, specializing in news about the Catholic Church in partnership with the Catholic fraternal organization the Knights of Columbus.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_L.....

Reviews

[Jan Petrozzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I continue to be surprised as a 60 year-old cradle Catholic how much I still do not know or understand. Allen’s book was great for me, as he covered cultural differences and their impacts. I also appreciated the explanation of the Dicasteries, the bureaucratic offices of the Vatican. I only wish this book could be updated as it was published prior to the Pontificate of Francis.

[keong nakal · Rating 2 out of 5]

and the truth shall set you free...

[Donna]

Easy-to-read nonfiction on the inner workings of the Vatican: structure, how things work, ...

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

A VATICAN CORRESPONDENT EXPLAINS HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS

John L. Allen Jr. is the Vatican correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter and a Vatican analyst for CNN and National Public Radio; he has also written books such as 'The Rise of Benedict XVI: The Inside Story of How the Pope was Elected and Where He Will Take the Catholic Church,' 'Pope Benedict XVI: A Biography of Joseph Ratzinger,' etc.

He wrote in the Introduction to this 2004 book, "The aim of this book is to promote better informed, and hopefully less acrimonious, conversation between the Vatican and the English-speaking world by identifying core values and experiences that underlie specific Vatican policy choices... The book is rooted in my experience of covering the Vatican on a daily basis in Rome, as well as following the Pope to scores of spots around the world... I approach this work both as a journalist and as a Catholic..." (Pg. 1)

He records, "The Vatican only became the center of papal activity in 1870 when the Papal States were lost along with the Pope's temporal authority. As a concession to the papacy's moral prestige, King Vittorio Emmanuel allowed the Pope to retain St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican Palace. The Pope at the time, Pius IX, refused to reconcile himself to the loss and declined to recognize the new Italian republic, declaring himself a 'prisoner of the Vatican." (Pg. 25)

He observes, "The Vatican City-State also has its own penal system and tribunals, along with two jail cells... [mostly for] petty crimes such as purse snatching, pickpocketing and shoplifting in the Vatican museums... The total number of employees of the Vatican city-state in 2003 was 1,511... Among Italians... Vatican jobs are highly coveted, because they bring access to the Vatican supermarket, clothing store, electronics store, and gas station, the products of all are untaxed and therefore significantly cheaper than anywhere else in Rome. The Vatican also offers access to quality health care and a well-stocked pharmacy... salaries are not taxed, and the Vatican has a generous pension system." (Pg. 26-27)

He states, "Councils are the heart of what is known as the 'new Curia' that developed after Vatican II, and in general are distinguished from congregations by the fact that they have no power of governance... Councils are instruments of persuasion rather than coercion---their function is to study issues and promote causes within the Church and broader culture." (Pg. 35-36)

He asks, "is the Vatican sitting on a large pile of wealth that doesn't show up in its annual budget? The total patrimony of the Holy See, meaning its property holdings... its investments, its stock portfolios and capital funds, and whatever it has stored in a piggy bank for a rainy day, comes to roughly $770 million. This is substantial, but once again one has to apply a sense of scale." (Pg. 80)

He suggests, "Vatican officials cannot expect their work to draw the conventional rewards of other professions: high pay, fancy cars, fat stock portfolios, and the like. Nor can most of them expect fame instead of fortune, since most Vatican work is performed anonymously... This perhaps helps explain the fact that some in the Vatican are so attentive to who is promoted, how fast, and into how important a position... It also helps explain why Vatican officials sometimes... come off as arrogant or self-inflated." (Pg. 158-159)

This is an excellent and insightful book, which will be of considerable interest to Catholics and other Vatican-watchers.

[Shawn P · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite the author being an apologist for the Catholic Church, this scholarly book provides some insights into its workings, eg the church is not obscenely rich (annual operating budget is only $260m). The infamous sex scandals perpetrated by priests were expounded on, although it was the US culprits that were put under the limelight instead of the more scurrilous Irish priests.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this in prep for my trip to Rome, Italy and wanted to understand the catholic religion better.

[Garry · Rating 4 out of 5]

OK, to begin with: I LOVE a Conclave. Always have. Always will. Not totally sure where this fascination comes from -- I'm not Catholic, etc. but I have been fascinated by Conclaves since 1978 when we had two, sadly. I still remember who I wanted both times (Cardinal Benelli) and who I did NOT want (Cardinal Siri). That interest in Conclaves extends to an interest in the Curia, in the Vatican bureaucracy. And this is where this book comes in.

But it is so much more than that, and that is what makes it such a good read.

Written in the final years of JP2, this book was written shortly after the sex scandals exploded in the US (but not yet on a large scale in other countries) and shortly after extraordinary efforts by the Church in opposition to the invasion of Iraq. Much of the book is informed by the public reaction to the scandals...understandably. The book does a superior job outlining the history and development of the Curia, but its greatest strength is in explaining the collective mindset of the Curia, in opening a door to understanding.

Having read this book I can now understand -- but not forgive -- the way the Vatican responded to what unfolded here, both in the past and in the 2000s as the patterns of behavior were exposed. Truly mind opening. And I now sit on Conclave Eve with a far better understanding of what is at stake and what are some of the thoughts of the men (yes, just men) who will enter Conclave tomorrow and pick the man (yes, just men) who will be one of the powerful people on the planet in a few puffs of smoke.

And now, with an interest piqued by Conclaves, that next went to the Curia/bureaucracy, the real impact of this book is demonstrated by the fact I now want to dive in where the real substance is....theology. And that is how it should be.

So I guess you can say, this book restored my faith in Faith. Not bad.

[Roger Buck · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have reviewed this book in great depth with long quotes at my website here: http://corjesusacratissimum.org/2009/...

It seems too much to paste in this huge review, but here are the first few paragraphs, which hopefully give an idea as to why I believe this is book is both great and necessary

"It is hard to contain my enthusiasm for John L Allen’s book: All the Pope’s Men. It represents exactly what is most needed in the tragic situation of the Catholic Church’s communication with our media-saturated world.

For profound, heart-breaking misunderstanding and miscommunication characterise the ‘dialogue’ between a Church rooted in centuries of tradition and rigorous, painstaking thinking (yes, thinking !) – and a world of media myths and soundbites, which cannot hope to do justice to anything needing a significant span of attention.

Allen sees this much better than most. As a reporter, whose full-time beat is the Vatican and who knows its inner workings far, far better than nearly any English speaking lay-person, Allen has accomplished something desperately needed here.

Not only is there great journalism here – but also a noble, inspired attempt to create fairness and justice, listening and understanding, appreciation of different perspectives and mindsets – amidst the psychic warfare that typifies not only the tragic divisions within the Church, but also those between Catholicism and the ideology of the Anglophone – particularly American – secularist ethos."

Again, the rest is here: http://corjesusacratissimum.org/2009/...

[Marsha Altman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best book on the modern Vatican (as opposed to the many history books on the previous centuries, which had many more exciting scandals and bad Popes) as it is in the 21st century. Interestingly, the author spends a good deal of time on Ratzinger, who when he wrote it was only a Cardinal because John Paul II was still alive, making the text even more important now that Ratzinger is Pope. Lengthy discussions on the Vatican's philosophy, how it actually works financially, and how it views the world.

I did get a little bored about midway into the book, and it picked up again when discussing the 2002 sex scandal in Boston from the Vatican's point-of-view. A lot of the Vatican's response to the War in Iraq, which was very relevant at the time the book was published (2006) is no longer that interesting.

[Catherine McClelland · Rating 3 out of 5]

The uthor gives a good overview of how the Vatican operates and thinks. The author himself is a Catholic and his bias in favor of the Vatican is evident. That being said, the Catholic hierarchy is an antiquated system that works from the premise of being the only organization in the right. Though the author defends Catholic response to the child abuse scandal, I am horrified by their misinterpretation of what had happened. That is at least the opinion I take away from this book.

[Nancy Jurss · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative book on how the Vatican functions. The first half gives an overview of the the departments and their functions and how they are structured.

The second half uses the sexual abuse crisis and the Iraq war as examples of how the Vatican works more specifically.

John Allen has covered the Vatican closely for a very long time and gives a very balanced account of why the reacted as they did.

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this book allowed me to understand the world from the Vatican's perspective, especially in light of the fact that we're speaking of a 2,000 year old institution with a rather fixed set of traditions and norms. Being Catholic, I'm glad I read it and it actually helped me cope better with some of the things I perceive as off-base and out-of-touch about my own church.

[Beth A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terrific book if you want to learn how the Holy See really works in the Vatican. Enjoyed a guest lecture by John Allen while in Rome last week. He's a great speaker and this is a great book--tons of insider views and knowledge.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Allen is the Vatican correspondent for NPR and CNN. Here he covers how the Vatican thinks and operates, dispelling and debunking many a myth and stereotype in the process.

[ltcomdata · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good book about trying to bridge the specifically American thinking to the Vatican thinking. But repetitive. Reading about half-way is enough.

[Irene · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too much dry information!!

[Anne Roat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great information on Opus Dei...very balanced