John Julius Norwich's Absolute Monarchs profiles most of the 265 or so popes who have led the Catholic Church since, according to the New Testament, Christ conferred the keys to his earthly kingdom on Peter his most senior apostle. (The number depends on whether you include or exclude a few individuals.) Catholic tradition and teaching hold that each pope is a successor to Peter.
Profiling so many men in 528 pages is certainly no easy task but, as Norwich observes, some who ascended to the throne of St. Peter were not quite as noteworthy as others and fittingly receive less attention. Considerable space is devoted to the more interesting popes including those of most recent memory.
As readers of Absolute Monarchs will discover, there are many admirable men who have served as pope. These were true servants in the spirit of Christ. Readers will also discover that there have been more than a few for whom the papacy was merely a means to political, temporal and financial power, the cause of Christ being entirely secondary if not altogether unimportant. Perhaps that is an unfortunate possibility when the seat of St. Peter can be had for only a requisite number of votes. This vast spectrum of personalities does beg the question: have the keys to Christ's kingdom here on earth remained with the Catholic Church during those times when its foremost representative was anything but like Christ? That is a question Norwich does not attempt to answer.
Though most of Norwich's work is lush and fruitful reading, there are some dry deserts along the way that must be muddled through. Still though, Absolute Monarchs is a good and worthwhile read.
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