Paul VI: the first modern Pope

Paul VI, born Giovanni Battista Montini, ranks among the most influential figures in the modern history of the Roman Catholic Church. When he was elected pope in 1963, he faced the awesome responsibility of guiding the Church through the conclusion of the historic Second Vatican Council. With the Council behind him, an overarching challenge remained: shepherding the Catholic communion during the turbulent aftermath of Vatican II - the aftershocks of which are being felt throughout the Church to this very day.
Peter Hebblethwaite succinctly characterizes the pontificate of Paul VI: "He managed to complete the Council without dividing the Church. He reformed the Roman Curia without alienating it. He introduced collegiality without ever letting it undermine his papal office. He practised ecumenism without impairing Catholic identity. He had an Ostpolitik that involved neither surrender nor bouncing aggressivity. He was 'open to the world' without ever being its dupe. He pulled off the most difficult trick of all: combining openness with fidelity."
Yet, the life of Paul VI encompassed more than the fifteen years of his papacy. His biographer devotes nearly as many chapters to the time preceding Paul's pontificate as he does to his years as pope. Montini's personal experiences coupled with the tumultuous events of his time gave shape and purpose to the activities and judgments of a pope beset by the challenges of modernity. His anti-Fascist crusade as a young priest; the talents, know-how, and contacts he developed during three decades of service in the Vatican Secretariat of State; the terrorist bombing of his residence while he was archbishop of Milan; the devastation of two World Wars; the stripping away of people's religious freedom at the hands of oppressive regimes - all this helped to define Paul VI.
With such a past, his future had to be a matter of consequence. And it was - amid open, productive ecumenical dialogue; as dissident voices were raised against his teaching on contraception; in a world made smaller by his efforts on behalf of human rights; amid criticism from left and right as he sought to move the Church forward; as he stood before the United Nations urging peace.
With candor and compelling narrative, Hebblethwaite furnishes his readers with a rare understanding of a misunderstood man, a controversial pope.