The Catholic Church
A Short History

In 1979 the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith withdrew Hans Küng’s missio canonica. Pope Paul VI approved the censure saying, “We are obligated to declare that in his writings he fell short of integrity and the truth of the Catholic faith.” Through a 1980 agreement with the Vatican, Küng is now permitted to teach, but only under secular auspices. In this acclaimed Modern Library Chronicle, Küng examines the Catholic Church through its many reformations, focusing on the people and events that have molded it into the largest and oldest Christian denomination in the world.