The Church and the Modern Era (1846-2005): Pius IX, World Wars, and the Second Vatican Council

by David M. Wagner, Mike Aquilina (Editor)

Overview

Fatima, war, Vatican II, St. John Paul II, and the clerical sex abuse crisis: These are just a few of the people and events that helped define the Catholic Church in the modern era.

In The Church and the Modern Era (1846–2005), author David Wagner explores how the Church maintained its core beliefs while meeting the challenges of the industrial age, world wars, the sexual revolution, and technological advancement in an increasingly secular world.

The “modern era” of the Catholic Church began with the election of Blessed Pius IX in 1846 and ends with the death of St. John Paul II in 2005, the last pope to have served as a council father at Vatican II. With monarchies falling, nation-states rising, and industrialization and mass migration underway, the world changed more during this period than any other, Wagner contends. While the Church may feel more user-friendly and less formal than ever before, what we believe has been handed down from the beginning.

Wagner reintroduces you to some of the era’s most powerful examples of virtue and faith such as St. John Henry Newman, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, St. Josephine Bakhita, St. Faustina, and St. Maximillian Kolbe. He will also dispel some of the long-held misconceptions about the Church that span the 160-year period.

In this book, you will learn:

• The Catholic Church is the world’s most powerful advocate for workers, the poor, and human rights.
• The Church’s social teaching does not endorse any economic or political systems.
• The Second Vatican Council did not change Catholic teaching on faith or morals.
• The Church has been an advocate for raising the status of women, championing women’s rights to education, to work, and to equal pay.

 

Books in the Reclaiming Catholic History series, edited by Mike Aquilina and written by leading authors and historians, bring Church history to life, debunking the myths one era at a time.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781594717888
Publisher:	Ave Maria Press
Publication date:	08/21/2020
Series:	Reclaiming Catholic History
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	904,534
File size:	9 MB

About the Author

David M. Wagner is a lawyer and journalist who also works as a research fellow at the National Legal Foundation. He previously served as a law professor at Regent University, a speechwriter for the US Department of Justice, and as deputy counsel for the House Foreign Relations Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights.

Wagner earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Yale University, where he specialized in theological and institutional Church history. He earned his law degree from George Mason University in 1992 and received American Jurisprudence awards in 1989 and 1991. His work has appeared in many publications, including First Things, National Catholic Register, Crisis, National Review, The Weekly Standard, and& City Journal. Wagner covered the 1985 Extraordinary Synod on Vatican II for The Washington Times. He also contributed to the book Liberalism at the Crossroads.

Wagner lives in the Washington, DC, area with his wife, Kathleen. They have five children and one grandchild.

Mike Aquilina is a Catholic author, popular speaker, poet, and songwriter who serves as the executive vice president of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology.

Table of Contents

Reclaiming Catholic History: Series Introduction ix

Chronology of The Church and the Modern Era (1846-2005) xiii

Map xviii

Introduction: When Does Something Become "History"? xxi

Chapter 1 The Modern Church 1

Up Close and Personal: St. John Henry Newman 13

You Be the Judge: Wasn't the declaration of papal infallibility just a power grab? 17

Chapter 2 Democracy and the "Social Question" 21

Up Close and Personal: St. Josephine Bakhita 26

You Be the Judge: Doesn't Catholic "social teaching" amount to an endorsement of socialism? 31

Chapter 3 A Crisis in Theology 35

Up Close and Personal: St. Thérèse of Lisieux 40

You Be the Judge: Isn't the Catholic Church opposed to scientific research and technological advancement? 43

Chapter 4 The War to End All Wars 45

Up Close and Personal: The Message of Fatima 51

Chapter 5 Totalitarianism 55

Up Close and Personal: St. Faustina Kowalska and Divine Mercy 66

You Be the Judge: Didn't the Catholic Church sign agreements with European dictators? 74

Chapter 6 World War II 77

Up Close and Personal: St. Maximilian Kolbe and St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) 82

You Be the Judge: Should Pius XII have spoken out explicitly against Nazi treatment of the Jews? 86

Chapter 7 The Cold War and Age of Benign Liberalism 89

Up Close and Personal: St. Josemaría Escrivá 93

Up Close and Personal: Padre Pio 96

You Be the Judge: Did the Soviet Union plot to tarnish the reputation of Pope Pius XII and the Church? 98

Chapter 8 The Second Vatican Council 101

Up Close and Personal: Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen 111

You Be the Judge: Isn't Vatican II universally hailed by theological liberals and disparaged by theological conservatives? 114

Chapter 9 Civil Unrest and the Return of Radicalism 117

Up Close and Personal: Mother Teresa of Kolkata 119

You Be the Judge: Doesn't the Church oppose feminism? 123

Chapter 10 A Culture of Life 125

Up Close and Personal: More Saints than Ever 135

You Be the Judge: Didn't the Church completely mishandle clergy sexual abuse? 140

Series Epilogue: A Change of Age 145

Notes 149

For Further Reading 155

Index 157

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Richly documented, immensely informative, and engagingly written, David Wagner’s The Church and the Modern Era (1846–2005) traces the story of Catholicism from the pontificate of Blessed Pius IX through the pontificate of St. John Paul II. These were the peak years of the Modern Era, when the explosive growth of scientific knowledge and technological proficiency vastly expanded the human capacity for both good and evil, while millions celebrated freedom even as they fell prey to the dictatorship of relativism. This book offers an illuminating introduction to a crucial period in which the Church faced the challenge of announcing the Good News of Jesus Christ to a befuddled world.” —Russell Shaw, Author of American Church

“Telling the stories of the popes who shaped history in the modern world in The Church and the Modern Era (1846–2005), Wagner gives the reader a whirlwind tour through the encyclicals, political battles, and spiritual struggles of the successors of St. Peter. This is a book every Catholic should read, reflect on, and utilize in understanding the Catholic Church in the modern era.” —Steve Weidenkopf, Author of Timeless: A History of the Catholic Church

“Between the election of Pope Pius IX in 1846 and the death of Pope St. John Paul II in 2005 the Church held two Vatican councils and witnessed two world wars, the rise of totalitarianism, and the sexual revolution. The same tumultuous period produced saints such as Thérèse of Lisieux, Maximilian Kolbe, and Mother Teresa of Kolkata. This well-researched, intelligently organized, reader-friendly guide makes sense of it all.” —Jane Greer, Reviewer at Angelus News, Author of Love like a Conflagration

“Learning about the Church’s place in modern history is an incredibly fascinating endeavor and David Wagner has brought it to the popular level in his book The Church and the Modern Era (1846–2005). By effortlessly weaving the facts of history with the stories of incredible saints who lived through the events themselves, Wagner has given all of us a beautiful opportunity to delve into modern history from a Catholic perspective.” —Tommy Tighe, Author of The Catholic Hipster Handbook