![]() In a fascinating read for Catholics and non-Catholics alike, Christopher Lascelles examines the history of the popes through the ages, laying bare the extent to which many of them fell so very short of the Christian ideals they supposedly represented. ![]() Many have been the enemies of freedom and progress – divisive rather than unifying figures. While many have been admired, others have been hated to such a degree that their funeral processions have been disrupted and statues of them torn down after their deaths. They have been captured, assaulted and murdered. Popes have led papal armies, fled in disguise, fathered children (including future popes), and authorised torture. ![]() On the contrary, it is occasionally so bizarre as to stretch credulity. But the history of the popes is far from bland. ![]() For many people, the popes are an irrelevance: if they consider them at all, it may be as harmless old men who preach obscure sermons in Latin. ![]()
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