complex pressure the Second Vatican Council placed on the Roman Catholic Church and the counterforces that have mobilized in responce to its reforms. Ian Linden considers whether the Catholic Church has lived up to the promise of the Vatican II and whether it has come to terms with the challenges of pluralism, modernity, and different forms of spirituality. He also focuses on historical and theological factors that have had a huge impact on the evolution and international standing of the church in the twentieth century.Linden examines the Church's response to global and local wars and efforts to maintain peace; the growth of nationalism and the struggle for democratization in Africa; theological debates over liberation; the actions carried out by military dictatorships; guerilla combat in Latin America, Africa, and the Phillipines; interactions with communist governments; and inculturation and contact with a resurgent Islam. Depsite an honest assessment of the Church's failings, Linden ultimately portrays the Catholic Church as an organization uniquely attuned to globalization.

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