BOOK REVIEW

'Inside Vatican' peeks behind veil of secrecy

By Diego Ribadeneira, Globe Staff, 01/31/1997

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he Vatican is the nerve center of the Roman Catholic Church, the nexus of power where decisions are made that affect the spiritual life of nearly 1 billion Catholics around the globe. Despite this, the Vatican remains one of the world's most impenetrable seats of power, rivaled perhaps only by the Kremlin during the days of the Soviet Union. Few people outside the walls of Vatican City know its inner workings, how decisions are made and who the key players are.

In his new book, "Inside the Vatican," the Rev. Thomas Reese undertakes the Herculean task of trying to penetrate the shroud of mystery surrounding the Vatican. Remarkably, Father Reese, a Jesuit and senior fellow at Georgetown's Woodstock Theological Center, has managed to pull it off. In relatively concise fashion, he paints a clear, largely dispassionate and often compelling picture of Vatican operations and, in so doing, highlights the tensions that tear at the church.

The Roman Catholic Church has endured for nearly 2,000 years and has survived warfare, oppression, internal corruption, and incompetence. At the same time, as Father Reese points out, the church's longevity can be its Achilles' heel, making it difficult to break with tradition or history, even if change might produce a healthier or more unified church.

This is not a book for tourists. It will not help you navigate your way around the Vatican museums or archives, nor tell you that Michelangelo's inspiration for the cupola of St. Peter's Cathedral came from visits to the Pantheon. At times, the book may be appealing only to priests, nuns, theologians, and Roman Catholics with a burning curiosity about the ins and outs of the College of Cardinals, Vatican finances, or the Synod of Bishops. These are all covered in separate chapters that get bogged down with mind-numbing details.

But Father Reese manages to spice up what could easily be a bland stew with telling anecdotes, pointed observations, and thoughtful reforms that show an institution -- the papacy and the Roman Curia, or church offices advising the pope -- that has grown too insular, too powerful, and too imperial.

He points out how the Synod of Bishops, rather than being a forum for frank and open discussion about worldwide diocesan concerns, has been reduced to little more than a papal fan club. "It is difficult to advise someone without pointing out what he is doing wrong," Father Reese writes. "Deference has become so strong that critics say that the pope does not get honest advice because bishops fear to disagree with him."

Pope John Paul II has ensured that the church's bishops will abide by his actions through the appointment of loyalists, resulting in bishops, Reese says, "who are out of touch with their priests and people. . . . The pope is getting bishops who support his policies, but he is not getting bishops capable of winning over their people."

The pope has surrounded himself with like-minded men concerned with enforcing dogma and punishing anyone, priests, nuns, or theologians, who stray from church discipline and teachings. Father Reese shows the clout wielded by the men -- Cardinal Angelo Sodana, the secretary of state; Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; and Monsignor Stanislaw Dziwisz, the pope's personal secretary -- who enjoy the greatest access to Pope John Paul. When Opus Dei and the Legionaries of Christ, two of the most conservative Catholic Church movements, sought to open ecclesiastical universities in Rome, they were rebuffed by Vatican officials. The organizations appealed directly to Monsignor Dziwisz and, in the end, Father Reese says, the two universities were approved by papal decree.

One of the most important sections in Father Reese's book concerns changes Pope John Paul II has made in how the church's cardinals will elect the next pope. In effect, a pope could be elected by a simple majority instead of having to win two-thirds of the votes cast. Reese argues that a pope with extreme views could be elected rather than a compromise choice, as has been the case in the past. The result could be even greater cleavages within the church.

While the dizzying array of facts in Father Reese's book can be overwhelming, it provides powerful evidence of a church badly in need of an overhaul if it wishes to remain a robust and powerful presence on the world's religious landscape.

This story ran on page C4 of the Boston Globe on 01/31/1997.
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