Keepers of the Keys of Heaven: A History of the Papacy

According to Pope Innocent III, 'Nothing which happens in the world should escape the notice of the supreme pontiff' and for two millennia little has. Since its emergence from the ruins of the Roman Empire, the Papacy has represented the most extraordinary continuation of earthly power from the ancient to the modern world. Founded, according to legend, by Saint Peter who handed down the right to every pope to 'judge all men, and be judged by none', the Papacy has kept its spiritual authority by making worldly alliances, ever since the crowning of Charlemagne, up to Pope Pius XII's clandestine pact with Hitler. For better and worse the Papacy has survived two thousand years of schism, crusades, disgraceful conduct and spiritual questioning.