The election of an American pope at the last Conclave signaled the end of Eurocentrism in an impoverished and divided Vatican. Leo XIV's new course, however, must be understood in light of a long and difficult underground march in which American Catholicism frequently played an important role, despite appearances. As Massimo Franco demonstrates in his book "Papi dollari e guerre" (Popes, Dollars, and Wars), published by Solferino, the keys to interpreting what happened are strategic, doctrinal, and economical. The flow of contributions from across the Atlantic is an unmistakable clue, from funds sent to Rome between the 1920s and 1930s by a benefactor, a friend of Roosevelt and Pius XI and XII, to those arriving during and after WWII via Cardinal Francis Spellman. More recently, the role of the Papal Foundation, established by John Paul II to solidify the "axis of good" with Ronald Reagan's United States and currently managed by New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, has surfaced. And the financial influence of the Knights of Columbus, as well as the charity and cultural institutions that have pushed millions of dollars into the Vatican's finances, emerges.
This book explores how and why the long-standing taboo that made the election of a “Yankee” pope seem unthinkable was broken, drawing on unpublished testimonies, documents from the Apostolic Archives, accounts of spies and cardinals, financial flows linked to emigrated wealth, and clashes between popes and presidents.