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Catholicism and Politics in Communist Societies

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Book

Pages: 464

Published: May 1990

Editor: Sabrina P. Ramet

This book is volume two of a three-volume work, Christianity Under Stress, which focuses on the experiences of Christian churches in contemporary communist and socialist societies. In this volume a distinguished group of experts examines the changing relationship of the Catholic church to contemporary communist and socialist societies in Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Asia.
Catholicism has, on the one hand, traditionally regarded earthly life as of secondary importance—as an instrument of spiritual transformation—and, on the other, has ascribed great value to the early institutions of the church, taking great interest in temporal matters that affects its institutional concerns. Against the backdrop of this duality, the church has changed over the centuries, adapting to local and national conditions. Catholicism and Politics in Communist Societies surveys these local and national adaptations in their historical contexts, linking the past experience of the church to its present circumstances. Organized around themes of tradition vs. modernity, hierarchy vs. lower clergy, and institutional structure vs. grass-roots organization, this comprehensive volume presents a detailed, country-by-country portrait of the political and social status of the church today in communist and socialist settings.

Contributors. Pedro Ramet, Arthur F. McGovern, Roman Solchanyk, Ivan Hvat, Robert F. Goeckel, C. Chrypinski, Milan J. Reban, Leslie Laszlo, Janice Broun, Eric O. Hanson, Stephen Denney, Thomas E. Quigley, Humberto Belli, Hansjakob Stehle, George H. Williams

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Author/Editor Bios

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Sabrina P. Ramet (formerly Pedro Ramet) is Professor of International Studies at the University of Washington. She is the author and editor of numerous books, including Nihil Obstat (Duke University Press).

Table Of Contents

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Preface ix

Part I. Introduction

1. Catholic Tradition, Hierarchy, and the Politics of Coexistence Under Communism: An Introduction / Pedro Ramet 3

2. Catholic Social Teachings: A Brief History / Arthur F. McGovern, S.J. 28

Part II. Catholicism Under European Communism

3. The Catholic Church in the Soviet Union / Roman Solchanyk and Ivan Hvat 49

4. The Catholic Church in East Germany / Robert F. Goeckel 93

5. The Catholic Church in 1944–1989 Poland / Vincent C. Chrypinski 117

6. The Catholic Church in Czechoslovakia / Milan J. Reban 142

7. The Catholic Church in Hungary / Leslie László 156

8. The Catholic Church in Yugoslavia, 1945–1989 / Pedro Ramet 181

9. The Catholic Church in Romania / Janice Brown 207

10. The Catholic Church in Albania / Janice Brown 232

Part III. Catholic-Communist Encounters on Other Continents

11. The Catholic Church in China / Eric O. Hanson 253

12. The Catholic Church in Vietnam / Stephen Denney 270

13. The Catholic Church in Cuba / Thomas E. Quigley 296

14. The Catholic Church in Sandinista Nicaragua / Humerberto Belli 313

Part IV. Papal Policy

15. Papal Eastern Diplomacy and the Vatican Apparatus / Hansjakob Stehle 341

16. Karol Wajtyla and Marxism / George H. Williams 356

Notes 383

Index 441

Contributors 451

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Paper ISBN: 978-0-8223-1047-1 / Hardcover ISBN: 978-0-8223-1010-5 / eISBN: 978-0-8223-7798-6 /

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