In their new books, Ross Douthat and James Chappell present two radically different versions of Catholicism’s past and future.
The constellation of right-wing Catholics and populists that has emerged in opposition to Francis is reminiscent of the interwar period, when nationalist Catholics allied with authoritarians and even fascists in the hope that they would deliver what these Catholics wanted in matters of family and schooling. But as Chappel’s excellent book shows, not all Catholics followed this course.
