Over 3 million copies sold! Essential reading for Catholics of all walks of life. Here it is - the first new Catechism of the Catholic Church in more than 400 years, a complete summary of what Catholics around the world commonly believe. The Catechism draws on the Bible, the Mass, the Sacraments, Church tradition and teaching, and the lives of saints. It comes with a complete index, footnotes and cross-references for a fuller understanding of every subject. The word catechism means "instruction" - this book will serve as the standard for all future catechisms. Using the tradition of explaining what the Church believes (the Creed), what she celebrates (the Sacraments), what she lives (the Commandments), and what she prays (the Lord's Prayer), the Catechism of the Catholic Church offers challenges for believers and answers for all those interested in learning about the mystery of the Catholic faith. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is a positive, coherent and contemporary map for our spiritual journey toward transformation.
This first of two volumes introduces the tradition of social Catholicism, not only in its earlier realizations, but regarding how a contemporary renewal might address the crisis in which constitutional democracies and the postwar liberal order are under assault by populist and even neo-fascist movements that could soon usher in a frighteningly dark future unless a broad movement in defense of constitutional democracy quickly arises. In this context, some of the most influential voices among American Catholics are focused on criticizing “liberal democracy,” on advocating a “postliberal order” and the establishment of a Catholic “integralist” state, or on insisting that abortion should be the primary sociopolitical concern for Catholics, treating these threats to democracy as largely irrelevant. This volume shows the rich tradition of social Catholicism, and how the Social Doctrine of the Church came to appreciate the key tenets of constitutional democracy. As Pope Benedict XVI wrote, this social doctrine leads us to “take a stand for the common good,” to take the “institutional” or “political path of charity,” to be “solicitous for” the “institutions that give structure to the life of society, juridically, civilly, politically and culturally.” It engages some of the most influential contemporary Catholic thinkers and argues that they too should recognize the grave threats facing the human family and join in working to defend and renew our constitutional democracy.
A beautiful new life of Carlo Acutis the IT enthusiast who died at just 15 years old but lived his life for Christ. The author introduces us to the five simple practices which helped to make Blessed Carlo Acutis the first Millennial Blessed. Richly illustrated with photographs of Blessed Carlo and with a great selection of his sayings this is an ideal introduction to a wonderful life. "We make a choice in life: God or nothing. Blessed Carlo Acutis chose God - "Not I, but God" - in five simple practices. The Mass, Adoration, Confession and spiritual guidance, befriending the Blessed Mother and the saints, and charity. These daily "appointments" led Carlo to a life of intimacy with Jesus and love for neighbour " - Cardinal Sarah
For those interested in Christianity in China, the state-church relationship, and the present Communist regime and its attitude towards religion, Sino-Vatican Relations offers a wealth of information and insights. This work traces the tortuous history of the relationship between the Chinese government and the Roman Catholic Church, from denunciation of Communism by the Church, to seeking dialogue by recent pontiffs such as John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis. Besides examining the religious policy of China since 1949 and how the Chinese government deals with religious revivals, this work also traces the history of the church regarding the appointment of bishops in Europe from its early days to modern times. Monarchies in Europe have always been involved in the appointment of bishops. Thus, the recent agreement between Pope Francis and the Chinese authorities regarding the appointment of bishops has historical precedents. The overall aim of this work is to help readers to get the right information needed to have a well-informed opinion on the complex matter of the Sino-Vatican Relations, particularly on the agreement signed by Pope Francis with Beijing in 2018.
To young Christians of the world, Pope Francis has a message for you: "Christ is alive, and he wants you to be alive!" In his fourth apostolic exhortation, Christus Vivit, Pope Francis encapsulates the work of the 2018 synod of bishops on "Young People, The Faith, and Vocational Discernment." Pope Francis has always had a special relationship with young people, and in his fatherly love for you he shows that: You can relate to young people in Scripture who made a difference You identify with the Christ who is always young You face difficult issues in the world today You yearn for the truth of the Gospel You are capable of amazing things when you respond to the Gospel You learn and grow with help from the faithful of all generations You need bold and creative youth ministry You can discover who God made you to be You are urged to pray for discernment Christus Vivit is written for and to young people, but Pope Francis also wrote it for the entire Church, because, as he says, reflecting on our young people inspires us all. "May the Holy Spirit urge you on as you run this race. The Church needs your momentum, your intuitions, your faith. We need them! And when you arrive where we have not yet reached, have the patience to wait for us."
A New York Times columnist and one of America’s leading conservative thinkers considers Pope Francis’s efforts to change the church he governs in a book that is “must reading for every Christian who cares about the fate of the West and the future of global Christianity” (Rod Dreher, author of The Benedict Option). Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in 1936, today Pope Francis is the 266th pope of the Roman Catholic Church. Pope Francis’s stewardship of the Church, while perceived as a revelation by many, has provoked division throughout the world. “If a conclave were to be held today,” one Roman source told The New Yorker, “Francis would be lucky to get ten votes.” In his “concise, rhetorically agile…adroit, perceptive, gripping account (The New York Times Book Review), Ross Douthat explains why the particular debate Francis has opened—over communion for the divorced and the remarried—is so dangerous: How it cuts to the heart of the larger argument over how Christianity should respond to the sexual revolution and modernity itself, how it promises or threatens to separate the church from its own deep past, and how it divides Catholicism along geographical and cultural lines. Douthat argues that the Francis era is a crucial experiment for all of Western civilization, which is facing resurgent external enemies (from ISIS to Putin) even as it struggles with its own internal divisions, its decadence, and self-doubt. Whether Francis or his critics are right won’t just determine whether he ends up as a hero or a tragic figure for Catholics. It will determine whether he’s a hero, or a gambler who’s betraying both his church and his civilization into the hands of its enemies. “A balanced look at the struggle for the future of Catholicism…To Change the Church is a fascinating look at the church under Pope Francis” (Kirkus Reviews). Engaging and provocative, this is “a pot-boiler of a history that examines a growing ecclesial crisis” (Washington Independent Review of Books).
Introducing readers to the contemporary field of sacramental theology, this volume covers the biblical and historical foundations, a survey of the state of the discipline, and a collection of constructive essays representing major themes, practices and approaches to sacraments and sacramentality in the contemporary world. The volume starts with a set of foundational essays that offer broad introduction to the field of sacramental theology from contemporary scholars, analysing a number of historical figures in order to illumine and inform contemporary sacramental theology. The second part of the volume is dedicated to a series of essays on sacramentality, and includes attention to elements of space, time, ritual action, music, and word, all as aspects of what Christians have termed “sacramental” reality. The third set of essays includes attention to each of the seven practices that have most commonly been termed “sacraments” in Christian traditions: baptism; eucharist/Lord's Supper; confirmation; confession, forgiveness and reconciliation; marriage; ordination; and anointing. The final part of this volume features scholars who are working on sacraments in conversation with contemporary academic disciplines: critical race theory, queer theory, comparative theology, and disability studies.
"Argues that LGBTQ Catholics and their allies have been struggling for recognition and pastoral care in the U.S. Catholic Church since the 1940s, using a variety of strategies to integrate their faith and sexuality and navigate the institutional church"--
A magisterial history of the centuries-long conflict between “progress” and “tradition” in the world’s largest international institution. The story of Roman Catholicism has never followed a singular path. In no time period has this been more true than over the last two centuries. Beginning with the French Revolution, extending to the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, and concluding with present-day crises, John T. McGreevy chronicles the dramatic upheavals and internal divisions shaping the most multicultural, multilingual, and global institution in the world. Through powerful individual stories and sweeping birds-eye views, Catholicism provides a mesmerizing assessment of the Church’s complex role in modern history: both shaper and follower of the politics of nation states, both conservator of hierarchies and evangelizer of egalitarianism. McGreevy documents the hopes and ambitions of European missionaries building churches and schools in all corners of the world, African Catholics fighting for political (and religious) independence, Latin American Catholics attracted to a theology of liberation, and Polish and South Korean Catholics demanding democratic governments. He includes a vast cast of riveting characters, known and unknown, including the Mexican revolutionary Fr. Servando Teresa de Mier; Daniel O’Connell, hero of Irish emancipation; Sr. Josephine Bakhita, a formerly enslaved Sudanese nun; Chinese statesman Ma Xiaobang; French philosopher and reformer Jacques Maritain; German Jewish philosopher and convert, Edith Stein; John Paul II, Polish pope and opponent of communism; Gustavo Gutiérrez, Peruvian founder of liberation theology; and French American patron of modern art, Dominique de Menil. Throughout this essential volume, McGreevy details currents of reform within the Church as well as movements protective of traditional customs and beliefs. Conflicts with political leaders and a devotional revival in the nineteenth century, the experiences of decolonization after World War II and the Second Vatican Council in the twentieth century, and the trauma of clerical sexual abuse in the twenty-first all demonstrate how religion shapes our modern world. Finally, McGreevy addresses the challenges faced by Pope Francis as he struggles to unite the over one billion members of the world’s largest religious community.
Chinedu Daniel Obasi’s latest literary contribution, The Green Sabbath and the Last Vista of Hope, is the result of a careful examination of numerous newsworthy occurrences transpiring on the world stage and their apocalyptic implications. Readers will be soberly intrigued by how intertwined these occurrences are, and how they crystalize and verify the predictions made by Daniel, the apostle John, and other Bible prophets. Obasi begins by highlighting several environmental and ecological developments and their parallels to what Jesus called the early birth pangs of end-time unfolding. From here he points to the responses from political and ecclesiastical leaders regarding these developments, and how this is all laying the foundation for the diminishing of religious and civil liberty, as foretold in Revelation 13. While this well-researched book discusses many topics, including global warming, Catholicism, the old and new covenants, and Islam, the author skillfully ties everything together to alert as many as possible to the solemn times in which we live and the need to increase awareness and preparedness. However, his greatest emphasis is on the One who is truly in charge of the past, present, and future—the One in whom we can place our confidence.
