Dark History of the Popes: Vice, Murder and Corruption in the Vatican by Brenda Ralph Lewis
Dark History of the Popes: Vice, Murder and Corruption in the Vatican
by Brenda Ralph Lewis
Metro Books, 2009
ISBN: 978-1906969004
256 p.p.
“The Pope in Rome holds the oldest elected office in the world. In the nearly 2,000 years it has existed, the papacy has helped forge the history of Europe, and has also reflected both the best and the worst of that history. Several popes schemed, murdered, bribed, thieved and fornicated, while others committed atrocities so appalling that even their own contemporaries were shocked.”
The first three sentences of Dark History of the Popes By Brenda Ralph Lewis, thus began, setting a dark tone for her research of papal history. When I first picked up this book, I was immediately taken by it. I think it was the element of conspiracy that captivated me at first, and the book was not short of it.
There are many fascinating things that happen throughout the book. For one, the book itself essentially functions as a history text one would encounter in high school. Personally, I found this to be a great element because there are boxes of extra researched history and pictures helping illustrate the people and places Lewis is referencing. Simultaneously, it adds to the dark tone of the book. It brings the details Lewis describes to life in such a way that one feels that material is more accessible, especially if you, like me, are unfamiliar with the history.
As for the history... Lewis does a great job in putting everything together. She gathers the information in a loose timeline, starting in the tenth century. Each chapter is divided by era or century of scandal, such as the “Rule of The Harlots,” “The Borgias,” and “The Pope And The Nazis.” What makes the structure of her work less fixed, is that she adds boxes of information about the different popes and scandals. At times, the structure can get a bit confusing, but it still promises fascinating to read.
The whole work in itself is riddled in fascinating history. The opening three sentences really do set the tone for the book as it becomes clear how the Vatican influenced European society and politics and vice versa. One of the most shocking stories Lewis tells is about Pope Pious XII, a Pope who was in office during World War II. Lewis describes how Pope Pious was intended to be kidnapped by Hitler. For a long time, Pope Pious remained neutral and did not make an official stance for or against Nazi Germany, which frustrated Hitler to the point where he decided he would plot to kidnap the pope. If he succeeded, the pope would not “fall into the hands of the Allies and exert a political influence.” The Pope, on the other hand, believed that Hitler was deeply possessed by the Devil and tried to exorcise him. To this day, as Lewis puts it, Pope Pious is such a controversial figure since his neutrality is thought to have done as much harm as the Nazi’s did.
Another fascinating aspect of the book is when Lewis discusses the role of the Vatican in scientific developments. Most famous of the cases was of Galileo Galilei, who wrote about how the universe was heliocentric (planets revolve around the sun) as opposed to a geocentric (planets revolve around the earth) model. The Vatican obviously did not like the idea, but Galileo found his way around publishing his findings with his book Dialogo. In this book, Galileo presents his work with one of three characters, while the other two question or oppose the first character. Lewis goes into further detail in describing how Galileo was forced to confess that his work was born out of ambition and not true scientific research.
Overall, Lewis creates a fascinating and detailed history of the Vatican. Though the topics are heavy in tone, it is nonetheless a great read because of the history that is presented. In no way does the reading feel dry, or just a retelling of historical facts. Lewis takes good care to present all the information in accessible manner as well as in a fascinating approach.
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Brenda Ralph Lewis is a writer with over 200 books on history and numerous magazine articles and television documentaries to her name. Her previous Dark History books include A Dark History: The Kings and Queens of England and A Dark History: The Kings and Queens of Europe.
