In view of the fact that the author comes from a prominent Catholic family, this book is surprisingly outspoken in its criticism of the Vatican's political action. He pictures Pius XI as a man with pronounced autocratic proclivities, who is apprehensive at the prospect of the Church coming more and more under American -- and therefore democratic -- influences. Mr. Teeling is troubled by the Fascist tendencies of the Papacy, in particular its close tie-up with Mussolini's régime since the Lateran agreements of 1929.