The Vatican and the Red Flag

That the Catholic Church played a role in the collapse of Communist rule in Eastern Europe has been widely acknowledged. Just exactly what that role was has been more widely debated. Journalist Luxmoore and Warsaw University lecturer Babiuch--whose father was a prime minister of Communist Poland--offer an ambitious, far-reaching account of the epic struggle between the Vatican and the Warsaw Pact. Drawing from an extensive and wide-ranging bibliography, the authors trace Euro-Communism to its roots in the discontent following the French Revolution and chronicle its antagonism with the Church up to the present. Although they claim to give ""equal weight to the views and experiences of people on both sides of the old Iron Curtain,"" their pro-Church bias is revealed in the work's overall tone. Their portrayal of John Paul II--who dominates the last half of the book--is critical but generally flattering. Recent reports of secret accords and intelligence sharing between the pope and the U.S. are glibly dismissed as ""unlikely and unproved."" Somewhat short on details surrounding the actual dismantling of Communist control in Europe, the book instead focuses on the church-party relationship itself and how successive popes and premiers viewed each other and their respective ideologies. The section on Liberation Theology (""one of the twentieth century's most dynamic ethical initiatives"") is brilliant and incisive as it contrasts papal treatment of Marxism in Europe vs. Latin America. This important study raises many questions about religion and government and their often competing interests. (Nov.)