The Joy of the Gospel

The Joy of the Gospel

Author: Pope Francis

Publisher: Image

Published: 2014-10-07

Total Pages: 164

ISBN-13: 0553419544

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The perfect gift! A specially priced, beautifully designed hardcover edition of The Joy of the Gospel with a foreword by Robert Barron and an afterword by James Martin, SJ. “The joy of the gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus… In this Exhortation I wish to encourage the Christian faithful to embark upon a new chapter of evangelization marked by this joy, while pointing out new paths for the Church’s journey in years to come.” – Pope Francis This special edition of Pope Francis's popular message of hope explores themes that are important for believers in the 21st century. Examining the many obstacles to faith and what can be done to overcome those hurdles, he emphasizes the importance of service to God and all his creation. Advocating for “the homeless, the addicted, refugees, indigenous peoples, the elderly who are increasingly isolated and abandoned,” the Holy Father shows us how to respond to poverty and current economic challenges that affect us locally and globally. Ultimately, Pope Francis demonstrates how to develop a more personal relationship with Jesus Christ, “to recognize the traces of God’s Spirit in events great and small.” Profound in its insight, yet warm and accessible in its tone, The Joy of the Gospel is a call to action to live a life motivated by divine love and, in turn, to experience heaven on earth. Includes a foreword by Robert Barron, author of Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith and James Martin, SJ, author of Jesus: A Pilgrimage


God's Diplomats

God's Diplomats

Author: Victor Gaetan

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2023-07-15

Total Pages: 483

ISBN-13: 1538184672

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[God’s Diplomats is] a mix of impartial description and informed opinion. Not everyone will agree with how different issues are framed, or how different figures are portrayed. But what certainly cannot be argued with is the fact that Gaetan has given a gift not only to foreign policy practitioners, but also to American Catholics. You will not find a book on Church diplomacy as accessible, comprehensive, and faithful, as God’s Diplomats. It is a must read for anyone interested in understanding the Vatican’s diplomatic priorities better — and especially why they don’t always align with America’s. ― National Catholic Register Using inside sources and extensive field reporting about the secretive, high-stakes world of international diplomacy, Vatican reporter Victor Gaetan takes readers to the Holy See to explicate Pope Francis's diplomacy, show why it works, and to offer readers a startling contrast to the dangerous inadequacies of recent U.S. international decisions.


Encounter Jesus!

Encounter Jesus!

Author: Peter M. Doane

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2019-12-02

Total Pages: 89

ISBN-13: 1532695608

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His Eminence Robert Cardinal Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, recently commented on the fire at Notre Dame cathedral. He said, "the Church is only of interest because she allows us to encounter Jesus. She is only legitimate because she passes on Revelation to us. When the Church becomes overburdened with human structures, it obstructs the light of God shining out in her and through her. The Church should be like a cathedral. Everything in Her should sing to the glory of God. She must unceasingly direct our gaze toward him, like the spire of Notre-Dame pointed toward heaven." Encounter Jesus! Transforming Catholic Culture in Crisis is a call to rebuild a Catholic culture that has wandered from her spiritual root system. In the West and the United States, the light that shined, starting in the Acts of the Apostles, has become dim and in some places extinguished. The specifics to what apostolic spirituality embodies will convict, challenge, and call the clergy, consecrated religious, and laity to take seriously what it means to be a catholic Christian. Just as architects design the rebuilding of the Notre Dame Cathedral, may this book serve as a blueprint for transformation in the culture of the church.


Sino-Vatican Relations

Sino-Vatican Relations

Author: Beatrice Leung

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1992-03-26

Total Pages: 442

ISBN-13: 9780521381734

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How can the contemporary claims of communism and national culture be reconciled with a universal religion? How can the government of the People's Republic of China with its claim to absolute sovereignty exist alongside the spiritual authority of the Roman Catholic church? This conflict between two centres of authority has been at the core of recent relations between the Catholic church and China. In this first book-length study of the subject, Dr. Beatrice Leung analyses the interactions between China and the Holy See from 1976 to 1986. Dr. Leung examines the historic relationship between the Catholic church and China both prior to 1949 and from 1949 to 1976. She then analyses the major problems between these two institutions as they tried to establish a dialogue for future reconciliation. These include the need for the Vatican to transfer its recognition of China from Taipei to Beijing; the role of the Pope with his spiritual leadership of Chinese Catholics; and the handling of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association. The book concludes with suggestions for a basis for church-state rapprochement. Throughout her work, Dr. Leung uses Chinese language sources, both on the Catholic and Communist sides. These are supplemented by a wide range of interviews which the author has conducted in the Vatican, in Hong Kong and with members of the official and unofficial Catholic churches inside China itself.


The Vatican Diaries

The Vatican Diaries

Author: John Thavis

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2014-02-25

Total Pages: 353

ISBN-13: 0143124536

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The New York Times–bestselling inside look at one of the world’s most powerful and mysterious institutions For more than twenty-five years, John Thavis held one of the most remarkable journalistic assignments in the world: reporting on the inner workings of the Vatican. In The Vatican Diaries, Thavis reveals Vatican City as a place struggling to define itself in the face of internal and external threats, where Curia cardinals fight private wars and sexual abuse scandals threaten to undermine papal authority. Thavis (author of The Vatican Prophecies: Investigating Supernatural Signs, Apparitions, and Miracles in the Modern Age) also takes readers through the politicking behind the election of Pope Francis and what we might expect from his papacy. The Vatican Diaries is a perceptive, compelling, and provocative account of this singular institution and will be of interest to anyone intrigued by the challenges faced by religion in an increasingly secularized world.


Vatican Encounter

Vatican Encounter

Author: José Hanu

Publisher:

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 152

ISBN-13: 9781937843236

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This book is a rare interview between Archbishop Lefebvre and a Dutch Catholic journalist in 1976. It covers everything from the Archbishop's family background in Northern France to the veneration of the Senegalese people for their bishop and his anti-liberal interdict on the Island of Fadiouth. It includes the courageous attacks made by the Archbishop at the Council, as well as his letter of 1966, one year after the Council. It also features the story of Ecône, the dreary days of the apostolic visitors, and the accusations and sanctions against the seminary. Yet, beyond the wonderful details of the book are underlined the vital principles which animated the founder of the Society of St. Pius X - the same principles which all its members hold as definitive and non-negotiable. This work reveals a striking characteristic of the man, a mind and heart deeply at peace in the thick of pressure: I am not worried. God is almighty; what appears insurmountable to us is only a little thing in his eyes. If my work is God's work, God will preserve it and make it serve the Church for the salvation of souls.


Vatican II

Vatican II

Author: Gavin D'Costa

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2014-08-28

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 0191634158

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Gavin D'Costa breaks new ground in this authoritative study of the Second Vatican Council's doctrines on other religions, with particular attention to Judaism and Islam. The focus is exclusively on the doctrinal foundations found in Lumen Gentium 16 that will serve Catholicism in the twenty first century. D'Costa provides a map outlining different hermeneutical approaches to the Council, whilst synthesising their strengths and providing a critique of their weaknesses. Moreover, he classifies the different authority attributed to doctrines thereby clarifying debates regarding continuity, discontinuity, and reform in doctrinal teaching. Vatican II: Catholic Doctrines on Jews and Muslims expertly examines the Council's revolutionary teaching on Judaism which has been subject to conflicting readings, including the claim that the Council reversed doctrinal teachings in this area. Through a rigorous examination of the debates, the drafts, the official commentary, and with consideration of the previous Council and papal doctrinal teachings on the Jews, D'Costa lays bare the doctrinal achievements of the Council, and concludes with a similar detailed examination of Catholic doctrines on Islam. This innovative text makes essential interventions in the debate about Council hermeneutics and doctrinal teachings on the religions.


Laudato Si

Laudato Si

Author: Pope Francis

Publisher: Our Sunday Visitor

Published: 2015-07-18

Total Pages: 119

ISBN-13: 1612783872

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“In the heart of this world, the Lord of life, who loves us so much, is always present. He does not abandon us, he does not leave us alone, for he has united himself definitively to our earth, and his love constantly impels us to find new ways forward. Praise be to him!” – Pope Francis, Laudato Si’ In his second encyclical, Laudato Si’: On the Care of Our Common Home, Pope Francis draws all Christians into a dialogue with every person on the planet about our common home. We as human beings are united by the concern for our planet, and every living thing that dwells on it, especially the poorest and most vulnerable. Pope Francis’ letter joins the body of the Church’s social and moral teaching, draws on the best scientific research, providing the foundation for “the ethical and spiritual itinerary that follows.” Laudato Si’ outlines: The current state of our “common home” The Gospel message as seen through creation The human causes of the ecological crisis Ecology and the common good Pope Francis’ call to action for each of us Our Sunday Visitor has included discussion questions, making it perfect for individual or group study, leading all Catholics and Christians into a deeper understanding of the importance of this teaching.