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R e v i e w s
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This Rock
Volume 15, Number 10
 December 2004 
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Wholly See
What is the Vatican? Whether a person is a fervent Catholic, a member of another Christian denomination, or even an unbeliever, he would be able to offer at the very least a cursory answer. The Vatican is where the Pope lives; the Vatican is the seat of the Catholic Church, the capital city of Catholicism. A less-enthused person may offer a more derogatory label: The Vatican is the Whore of Babylon, or, to an unbeliever or agnostic, the headquarters from which outdated dogma is continually perpetuated.
For all the answers one might be given, many likely will not answer more than what the Vatican is in a physical sense. To say that the Vatican is where the Pope lives does not specify how the Vatican operates and what daily functions are performed. These questions, among many others, are answered by John L. Allen, Jr., Vatican correspondent and analyst for CNN and the National Catholic Reporter, in his book All the Pope’s Men.
That the book was written and published during a precarious time in our Church’s history is no accident. Yet Allen’s goal, as specified in the book’s introduction, is not to promote any personal bias or any on behalf of the organizations for which he works—something that might soothe the more conservative Catholic who might otherwise raise eyebrows at Allen’s credentials. All the Pope’s Men is a textbook explanation of the Vatican’s functions, a succinct analysis of the city-state that governs the Catholic faith in Christ’s stead.
The book’s introductory section, "Vatican 101," explores the Vatican’s hierarchy, beginning naturally with the Holy Father and his duties as successor to Peter. Terms that may be unfamiliar to non-Catholic readers (Holy See, Roman Curia, etc.) are discussed, as are minute details ranging from the Vatican’s pension plan for lay employees of the city-state, various congregations and councils, the Vatican’s communication and media departments, and the synod of bishops.
The next section, "Top Five Myths about the Vatican," will appeal to enthusiasts of urban legends and conspiracy theories as Allen touches upon various topics that have enhanced the Vatican’s legacy (and, perhaps, allowed a sinister perception for some) over the centuries. Is the Vatican an organism or a bureaucracy? Does the buck truly stop at the papal desk? Does the Vatican’s bank account number in countless zeroes, and if so, why are parishes always asking for money? What’s with the secret nature of the Swiss Guard? Is there a "glass ceiling" preventing certain bishops and cardinals from moving any further up the hierarchy? Allen tackles each such "myth," fleshing fact from fiction. And, in keeping with timely issues, Allen devotes a great portion of his book to an unbiased detail of Vatican’s involvement in handling recent clerical scandals in the United States and elsewhere as well as detailing the Vatican’s position on the war in Iraq.
For the curious non-Catholic and the Catholic seeking more enlightenment with regards to the technical aspects of the Catholic Faith, All the Pope’s Men serves as a well-thought primer, as a treatise from a journalist whose experience with the Vatican city-state is evident in the words he writes. But Catholics in search of literature for the purpose of apologetics may find All the Pope’s Men not entirely suitable for such a purpose, for other works (such as those by Patrick Madrid and Scott Hahn) delve deeper into the history of the papacy and the Catholic Church and would be better recommended.
—Kathryn Lively
All the Pope’s Men: The Inside Story of How the Vatican Really Thinks
By John L. Allen, Jr.
Doubleday
256 pages
$24.95
ISBN: 0385509669
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