Roman Catholicism, Roman Catholic Church Books

Book SynopsisThe Alliance for Catholic Education, referred to most commonly by its acronym ACE, is one of the best known and widely respected programs at the University of Notre Dame. The rock band U2 praised it during a concert at Notre Dame, the President of the United States acknowledged it in a valedictory address, and each year hundreds of students compete for admission. Established in 1994 by Fr. Timothy Scully, C.S.C., and Fr. Sean McGraw, C.S.C., ACE places more than 150 college graduates in over one hundred parochial schools throughout the United States. The overarching purpose of ACE is to improve Catholic schools, especially in underprivileged areas of the U.S., by enabling exceptionally talented students to teach in them. ACE, in turn, offers students two years of meaningful service and a graduate degree from Notre Dame.In Teaching Service and Alternative Teacher Education: Notre Dame's Alliance for Catholic Education, Michael Pressley and his fellow contributors provTrade Review“Teaching Service and Alternative Teacher Education is highly significant to scholars and students in related disciplines. It reports on a program that is likely to be used as a model for similar programs for years to come. This volume will be an important resource for anyone who is interested in alternative teacher education. Readers cannot fail to be impressed by the ACE program—and they will learn a lot about the design and development of quality alternative teacher education.” —Joanna Williams, professor of psychology and education, Teachers College, Columbia University“ACE is an innovative program and has a worthy story to tell. Teaching Service and Alternative Teacher Education makes a solid contribution to the fields of Catholic education and teacher education reform. It will be significant for educators interested in innovative approaches to the design of teacher preparation experiences.” —Jennifer Whitcomb, assistant professor of education, University of Denver“Philanthropists interested in models for strengthening teacher training will find much to benefit them in this book.” —Philanthropist“Pressley effectively describes the history of ACE and the philosophical underpinnings of the program, including emphases on professional education, community, and spirituality. Pressley provides a very good understanding of these philosophical bases.” —Choice

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Book SynopsisTwelve papers consider what insights the Catholic social tradition can offer to our understanding of the creation and distribution of wealth.Trade Review"These essays represent some of the best thinking anywhere on the practical implications of Catholic social thought for business, organizational management, and economic life generally. They deserve to be read by a broad audience." —J. Michael Stebbins, Gonzaga University“As an informed and informative introduction to social economics, business thought, and organizational management which so many follow as a result of Catholic thought and mentality's effect as being a significant part of society, Rediscovering Abundance is a remarkable compendium of useful, conceptual, and practical information.” —The Midwest Book Review"Twelve papers consider what insights the Catholic social tradition can offer to our understanding of the creation and distribution of wealth." —Journal of Economic Literature "The essays in this collection provide a complex and interdisciplinary analysis of the question of wealth creation and distribution in light of moral and spiritual insights of the Catholic social tradition. In this volume, theologians, economists, philosophers, management theorists, and CEOs engage in conversation. Contributors cover the dimensions of today's global system of wealth creation and outline challenges to make it more just and humane." —Abstracts of Public Administration, Development and Environment "This volume. . . addresses itself to the Catholic perspective on wealth creation and distribution. This edited volume is really two books. The first is a collection of essays from conference attendees. Many of these are well chosen. When read in sequence, they constitute an insightful theology of wealth. The second is the account that frames the essays-introductions to the volume and the sections, essays by the editors, and concluding reflections." —Journal of Markets & Morality“Utilizing Catholic Social Teaching, this volume expands the perception of wealth beyond the maximization of share price or the accumulation of capital. While addressing the moral impact of Catholic social teaching on wealth creation, this volume is suitable for graduate studies, professors, and professional economists.” —Religious Studies Review

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Book SynopsisThis work argues that the American-born Aloisius Muench helped shape the Catholic Church's rejection of guilt for the persecution of Jews under the NazisTrade Review"In this revealing study, Suzanne Brown-Fleming takes us back to a post–World War II Catholic world that had yet to come to terms with either Nazism or the Holocaust. One of the leading Catholic clerics in postwar Europe, Cardinal Aloisius Muench both reflected and helped promote German Catholic failures in this regard. Anchored in Cardinal Muench's private papers, this book conducts a fair-minded, but rigorous and morally animated assessment of a Catholic conscience that was later transformed by Vatican II. I recommend it highly." —Michael R. Marrus, Chancellor Rose and Ray Wolfe Professor of Holocaust Studies, University of Toronto"This is an excellent book that will be of great interest to all historians in the fields of church history, Christian-Jewish relations, and American Catholicism." —Susannah Heschel, Dartmouth College"Brown-Fleming argues quite effectively that attitudes such as these espoused by Muench and so many others in the Catholic hierarchy gave rise to a culture in which German Catholics could deny involvement in Nazi criminality, thus providing fertile ground for Catholic denial. Brown-Fleming has provided historians with a thoughtful reminder that leaders of the American church shared in the shaping of post-World War II German Catholic memory." —H-GERMAN Digest"Suzanne Brown-Fleming's short study of the post-1945 career in Germany of Bishop, later Cardinal, Aloisius Muench seeks to rectify some shortcomings she finds in F. Colman Barry's biography written in the 1960s. . . In her view, Muench, as the Vatican's leading representative in Germany from 1946 to 1959, contributed to the lack of self-examination and the perpetuation of anti-Semitic prejudices among German Catholics. In this way, he was emblematic of the Catholic Church's failure in this period to confront its own complicity in Nazism's anti-Jewish ideology." —The Catholic Historical Review"Suzanne Brown-Fleming has made a critical contribution to the growing research on the question of the Roman Catholic Church's policies and actions with regard to the Holocaust during World War II. . . Through the author's socio-historical, contextual analysis of these documents, the reader is brought into this shocking narrative of German Catholicism's post-war discourse on the issue of Germany's and the Church's own guilt and/or responsibility for the antisemitic horror inflicted on European Jews throughout the war." —Shofar “In a concise and clearly written book that will surely arouse polarizing responses, [Brown-Flemming] argues that the American-born Aloisius Muench helped shape the Catholic Church's rejection of guilt for the persecution of Jews under the Nazis. . . . She convincingly shows that Muench worked much more rigorously on behalf of the defeated Germans than for their victims.” —Central European History “The import of this book is not only its critical historical analysis of the legitimizing, self-preserving, and anti-Semitic 'conscience' of the Roman Catholic Church in the immediate aftermath of World War II and the increasing world-wide awareness of the Holocaust horror. Through a critical reading of the text, it also forewarns of an all too similar contemporary trend developing now on a global scale in the form of the U.S.-led neo-conservative notion of a 'clash of civilizations.'” —Shofar“Brown-Flemming's work deepens our understanding of how Catholics coped in the postwar period, as anti-Semitism not only lingered, but also continued to shape Catholic responses to the past.” —Holocaust and Genocide Studies“This book draws on Muench's papers and offers the first assessment of his legacy. It 'argues that Muench legitimized the Catholic Church's failure during this period to confront the nature of its own complicity in Nazism's anti-Jewish ideology.'” —Theology Digest“Brown-Fleming paints a portrait of Cardinal Muench as a man who did not want to face the reality of Nazism. According to her account, Muench portrayed almost all Germans either as victims, both of the Nazis and of the Occupation forces, or as heroes who had resisted the Nazis. Certainly, Muench did nothing to lead Catholic self-examination of the Church’s role during the Holocaust. Rather, he defended Germans against any attribution of collective guilt.” —Human Rights and Human Welfare: An International Review of Books and Other Publications

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Book SynopsisThe Sisters of the Holy Family, founded in New Orleans in 1842, were the first African American Catholics to serve as missionaries. This story of their little-known missionary efforts in Belize from 1898 to 2008 builds upon their already distinguished work, through the Archdiocese of New Orleans, of teaching slaves and free people of color, caring for orphans and the elderly, and tending to the poor and needy. Utilizing previously unpublished archival documents along with extensive personal correspondence and interviews, Edward T. Brett has produced a fascinating account of the 110-year mission of the Sisters of the Holy Family to the Garifuna people of Belize. Brett discusses the foundation and growth of the struggling order in New Orleans up to the sisters'' decision in 1898 to accept a teaching commitment in the Stann Creek District of what was then British Honduras. The early history of the British Honduras mission concentrates especially on Mother Austin Jones, the superTrade Review"Brett has crafted a meticulously researched study which he effectively situates within three streams of scholarly discourse: United States foreign mission history, African American Catholic history, and the history of women religious. Utilizing previously ignored archival documents as well as a substantial body of personal correspondence and interviews conducted with a broad, balanced spectrum of informants, he has produced a lucid study of an African American sisterhood’s evolving concept of mission during a century of service." —Diane Batts Morrow, University of Georgia“The Holy Family Sisters made a large contribution to the education of women in the Belizean mission, and work with the poor eventually drew the sisters back to their original charism. The book will interest students and scholars in women’s studies, Afro-Caribbean history, regional history of the South, the history of missions, education, and American Catholic history.” —Angelyn Dries, O.S.F., Saint Louis University“This short, informative text tells the little-known story of the foreign missionary efforts of one of the two oldest Catholic orders for African American women in the US, the New Orleans-based Sisters of the Holy Family.” —Choice“Edward T. Brett engages extensive archival research, interviews with Holy Family sisters, and testimony by Garifuna community members to provide a compelling and comprehensive overview of the contributions of this pioneering group of women religious. He expertly contextualizes the work in the understudied history of African American Catholicism, U.S. mission history, and the history of women religious. . . . This is, in short, an important contribution to Catholic history that establishes the crucial role played by an African-descendent congregation in mission history.” —The Catholic Historical Review “Extensive interviews with and letters from the nuns authenticate the humanity in the Belize mission story. This narrative calls for additional work in the records of the Holy Family Sisters, whose voices must be more fully heard in American Catholic history.” —American Catholic Studies“This is an institutional narrative whose strength is Brett’s analysis of religious missionary life by black Catholics to black Catholics. . . . This volume is a welcome addition to the study of Black Catholic history, the examination of missiological approaches, insights into the lives of women religious, and Caribbean Catholic culture.” —Theological Studies“The New Orleans Sisters of the Holy Family: African American Missionaries to the Garifuna in Belize by Edward T. Brett is a significant contribution to Black Catholic history. Brett presents the history of the first overseas mission taken on by African American Catholic sisters. . . . Brett reveals the influence of the Second Vatican Council on the SSF women’s identity and ministry.” —Journal of African American History

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Book SynopsisThe contributors to this book argue for a robust, frequently positive, often complex, relationship between Roman Catholicism and the Enlightenment.Trade Review"An undoubted landmark in Enlightenment studies, this is certainly the best volume that we have in English on the ‘Catholic Enlightenment.'" —Jonathan I. Israel, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton"The nature of the interaction between established religion and Europe's Enlightenment remains deeply problematical. This notably well-planned collection of studies of well-known and less familiar figures brings the Catholic Enlightenment squarely into focus. Nuanced, informative, and wide-ranging, it provides the best introduction currently available to a central topic in eighteenth-century European history." —Hamish Scott, University of Glasgow“But the book’s great contribution is that it supplies English-language accounts of some of the most significant Catholic writings of the eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries from many European countries, not only France, Italy, and Germany but also Spain, Austria, Poland, and Scotland. In each case a bibliography is also supplied. No other book conveys so well the pan-European nature of Catholic discussion, or its range and depth. . . . The editors deserve congratulation for having ranged so widely and for having insisted on publishing short accounts of works by many authors, so that their variety and geographical range can be appreciated.” —The Catholic Historical Review“Overall, these articles cast light on the attempts of some Catholics to engage with the issues of their day, and also address the opposition to these lines of thought by Catholic contemporaries.” —Choice“It has only been possible to draw attention to some of the riches contained in this stimulating volume. All the works cited are set in their social, cultural, and intellectual contexts. The transnational approach helps to set 18th-century Catholicism and the Enlightenment in a new perspective and to draw attention to some thinkers who are not well known in the English-speaking world. There are comprehensive bibliographies on all the authors treated in the volume. This book will be an invaluable source of reference for philosophers, theologians, historians, and students of European literature.” —Irish Theological Quarterly“This collection of brief biographies by European and American scholars challenges the misconception, both lay and scholarly, that the Enlightenment was uniformly secular and anticlerical by exploring the lives and works of twenty men and one woman who embraced aspects of Enlightenment science and philosophy in a Catholic context. Organized into nine parts based on nationality, the subjects span the breadth of Europe from the British Isles to Poland, illustrating the complexity of Catholic attitudes toward liberal currents in eighteenth-century thought.” —Catholic Library World“The editors intend this book to introduce the subject and to provoke further research. The biographical organization helps achieve that; and each essay answers just enough questions, and leaves just enough hanging, to encourage working through the full bibliographies concluding each one. Most of these chapters were commissioned for this volume, and some of this research appears in English for the first time. Several of these chapters could easily be used in a class on the Enlightenment—and should be.” —Fides et Historia“This book argues for a robust, frequently positive, often complex, relationship between Roman Catholicism and Enlightenment. It does so through a series of essays on individual figures, lay and ordained, male and female, from almost all parts of Europe that had a significant Roman Catholic presence, illustrating many aspects of Enlightenment culture, thought and politics. . . . This is a landmark book and will form an important basis for future work on Roman Catholicism’s relationship with, and contributions to, the European Enlightenment.” —The Journal of Ecclesiastical History“Study of the “Catholic Enlightenment” flourishes as never before. . . . Charging at the gallop are Jeffrey D. Burson and Ulrich L. Lehner. . . . Taken as a whole this welcome book will stimulate further discussions of a subject that no serious dix-huitiémiste, ecclesiastical or otherwise, can afford to ignore.” —Journal of Jesuit Studies“What one gleans from a reading of the volume as a whole is how very many ways of being Enlightened there were, and how at least some Catholic thinkers reconciled within their life spans…an Enlightened approach to knowledge and traditional Catholicism. [The] introduction by Jeffrey D. Burson . . . should be required reading for anyone interested in the Enlightenment as a whole or its many aspects.” —H-Net Reviews

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Book SynopsisTracing the development of progressive Catholic approaches to political and economic modernization, Catholic Intellectuals and the Challenge of Democracy disputes standard interpretations of the Catholic response to democracy and modernity in the English-speaking worldparticularly the conventional view that the Church was the servant of right-wing reactionaries and authoritarian, patriarchal structures.Starting with the writings of Bishop Wilhelm von Ketteler of Germany, the Frenchman Frédérick Ozanam, and England's Cardinal Henry Edward Manning, whose pioneering work laid the foundation of the Catholic third way, Corrin reveals a long tradition within Roman Catholicism that championed social activism. These visionary writers were the forerunners of Pope John XXIII's aggiornamento, a call for Catholics to broaden their historical perspectives and move beyond a static theology fixed to the past.By examining this often overlooked tradition, Corrin attemTrade Review“Corrin presents a thoughtful and well-crafted book on political Catholicism, examining the relationship of the Catholic Church to modernity in general and to democracy in particular. This important study deserves a place in both university and seminary libraries and in any library with a Catholic constituency.” —Library Journal“Corrin meticulously follows the development of some of the most significant progressive American and European Catholic thinkers on politics and social issues. He reliably assesses their contributions, carefully establishing the background against which they acted.” —Choice"Corrin provides an invaluable survey of the main currents of modern Catholic social thought up to World War II. His book should be required reading for undergraduates and the general reader interested in social ethics or the history of ideas." —Christianity Today“Corrin’s study is thought provoking, carefully researched and documented throughout. It has much to teach, and all serious students of Catholic political history should have a look at it.” —American Catholic Studies“Social scientist Jay Corrin presents a historical and informative perspective on the progressive drive within the Catholic church between the late 1800s and the mid 1950s—a time when anti-democratic forces appeared to hold sway.” —Conscience“...an interesting read...” —Catholic Historical Review“Jay P. Corrin’s new book is a major contribution to the study of Catholic intellectuals and their varying responses to these issues in the century following the French Revolution. Thoroughly researched, the book provides a comprehensive view of the Catholic intellectual scene in Europe and America through the prism of the personalities and events that shaped their thinking. Catholic intellectuals brings to light an important part of Catholic intellectual history that societies like the United States, in which Catholics comprise the largest single religious denomination, should revisit.” —Crisis Magazine“The subject itself is fascinating and the compendium of facts which Corrin assembles is a fitting testimony to the considerable historical research he has undertaken. As a historical document it has much to offer.” —Review of Politics“...splendid.... ...a seminal contribution to Chesterton studies, and also to scholarship in Catholic intellectual history and in modern political thought. This volume... is researched deeply, written lucidly, and argued with an admirable fair mindedness.... Catholic Intellectuals and the Challenge of Democracy is an estimable, weighty work of scholarship that deserves careful, respectful reading.” —The Chesterton Review“[Corrin] has done a tremendous amount of research into primary sources, and the extensive documentation is impressive. He provides an engaging treatment of English Catholics in general and Belloc in particular, and splendid treatment of the Spanish Civil War. ...[Corrin] has written a rewarding volume filled with colorful characters, insightful comments on well-known events, and revealing information on more obscure chapters in the tale of Catholic thinkers and democracy.” —Theological Studies“Corrin is to be congratulated for looking at the story from a broad, international perspective (the book is a model for the internationalization of history), and for provoking further important questions....” —H-Net Reviews“This is a fascinating book, impressively documented....” —Ecclesiastical History“...a valuable contribution to our understanding of Catholicism’s engagement with political and economic modernity.” —Religious Studies Review,

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Book SynopsisEuropean Christian Democracy presents a series of essays by leading experts that analyze the importance of Christian Democracy in European politics. This interdisciplinary volume features contributions from American and European historians and political scientists. In this book, scholars explore the historical roots of the European Christian Democratic movement in Catholic social doctrine and political practice, and use Christian Democracy as a means to analyze the relationship between religion and politics, church and state.Essays in this important collection include both case studies and comparative analyses. They offer a comprehensive assessment of Christian Democracy and the key role it played in establishing constitutional government and social policy in western Europe.Trade Review“…rewarding and interesting.” —European History Quarterly“Thomas Kselman and Joseph Buttigieg’s impressive and provocative collection of essays, European Christian Democracy, reminds the reader of the significance and complexity of religious politics and, as an examination of that phenomenon, challenges the notion ‘that secularization is an ineluctable proves.’ ” —Catholic Historical Review“This set of well-written, detailed essays is useful for specialists in European politics. Recommended.” —Choice“... carefully researched and well-written essays....” —Political Studies Review“For those students of European Christian Democracy waiting patiently for this century’s successor to Michael Fogarty’s classic on the subject, Christian Democracy in Western Europe, 1820-1953, this present volume will sustain life in the interim.” —Journal of Church and State

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Book SynopsisMarotti analyzes some of the rhetorical and imaginative means by which the Catholic minority and the Protestant majority defined themselves and their religious and political antagonists in early modern England.Trade Review"As a whole, the text provides overwhelming evidence of a highly complex recusant Catholic culture surviving in England. Engaging a broad range of critical perspectives, the collection offers a particularly strong reconstruction of both the many essential roles of highly educated Catholic women and the multiple international Catholic networks enjoyed and engaged by English recusants at home and in exile.” —Early Modern Literary Studies“This collection makes a turning point in English Catholic studies, enriching our sense of early modern English Catholicism—and the conflicts embedded in an ongoing debate over the nature of English national identity. Their meticulous research, flexible thinking, and lucidity provide insight into a period that cannot be understood apart from its own profound and informed interest in religious experience.” —1650-1850: Ideas, Aesthetics, and Inquiries in the Early Modern Era“This volume proves that their faith and that of the neighbors and coreligionists throughout England was more than strong enough to resist the attempts to impose uniformity in religious observance. Whether considering needlework, building, tombs, or writing, they created a distinctive culture that endured across the most troubled times in England’s religious history. The material remains of this culture in the face of adversity impressed those who sought to clear out the dark corners of the land in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and still impresses a confirmed Protestant such as the present reviewer.” —The Sixteenth Century Journal“The editors of this collection, who are leading figures in early-modern Catholic studies, have brought together a superb and wide-ranging group of essays. ‘Culture’ for this collection means writing, but also relics, interior decoration, and embroidery, ‘England’ is more a category up for analysis than firm demarcation—geographic, linguistic, or otherwise—as evinced in the book’s reach into Latin literatures, international religious politics, and European Catholicisms. The result is a book that moves in a number of promising directions for research in the burgeoning field of early-modern Catholicism.” —The Catholic Historical Review“ . . . a solid collection of essays that highlight the creative innovations and adaptations some English Catholics engaged in to maintain a sense of Catholic identity and community once the public organisation and sacramental structure of the English Church was no longer tied to Rome.” —Journal of Ecclesiastical History“In their introduction to this fascinating and stimulating collection of essays, Ronald Corthell, Frances Dolan, Christopher Highley, and Arthur Marotti locate their volume within an ongoing scholarly reassessment of the role of Catholicism in post-Reformation England, and of English Catholicism in relation to continental and archipelagic religious practices. . . . Overall, this wide-ranging and knowledgeable array of essays not only is a significant addition to the scholarly literature on its own account but should also do much to open up a diverse area to further research.” —Journal of British Studies“Catholic Culture in Early Modern England explores various symbolic expressions of Catholic culture in post-Reformation England, challenging the conventional narrative that treats the Reformation as an all-encompassing and wholly favorable change in English religious history.” —Studies in English Literature 1500-1900“The anthology, like the majority of the essays themselves, judiciously avoids over-generalisation. In all its breathless eclecticism, this book is a stimulating and provocative contribution to the ongoing surge of early modern Catholicism.” —Review of English Studies “'Banished,' the obsessive refrain in Romero's conversation with the Friar, could serve as motto for this collection of essays. When the Catholic community was deprived of its ancient rituals and shrines, some found strengths in interior spaces in England, like Sir Thomas Tresham's Triangular Lodge, or in relics of ancient and recent English martyrs; others, scattered in colleges and convents abroad, transcribed patristic and contemporary theological texts . . . a richly incarnational culture that is imaginatively captured in this important book.” —Renaissance Quarterly“This volume makes clear . . . that the recovery of the stray and sparse bric-a-brac of contemporary Catholic culture is not cultural or literary antiquarianism. It may not be clear at first how such objects (buildings, letters, spiritual and imaginative writings of various kinds, relics, vestments, etc.) fit into an overall account of post-Reformation Catholicism in England, but it is evident enough that explaining how they were created and how they survived tells us a great deal about English Catholics’ self-image, often in ways that cannot be recovered from other sources.” —Modern Philology

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Book SynopsisBenedict XVI's writing as priest-professor, bishop, head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and now pope has shaped Catholic theological thought in the twentieth century. In Explorations in the Theology of Benedict XVI, a multidisciplinary group of scholars treat the full scope of Benedict's theological oeuvre, including the Augustinian context of his thought; his ecclesiology; his theologically grounded approach to biblical exegesis and Christology; his unfolding of a theology of history and culture; his liturgical and sacramental theology; his theological analysis of political and economic developments; his use of the natural law in ethics and conscience; his commitment to a form of interreligious dialogue from a place of particularity; and his function as a public, catechetical theologian.Trade Review"This collection of essays on the theology of Benedict XVI offers a new apologetics founded ‘not so much on the desire to outdo one’s opponent in dialectical victory but to allow the Love in which the original Word was spoken . . . to make its own case, its own apologia, in the hearts of those who hear.’ It is, in short, an excellent presentation of what Benedict XVI means when he says that ‘love and reason are the twin pillars of all reality.' The essays sympathetically uncover the pontiff’s theological foundation stones." —Tracey Rowland, John Paul II Institute, Melbourne, Australia"If you're looking for a synoptic view of Benedict XVI's theological achievement, this is by a long way the best thing on offer in English. Each of the essays provides a detailed engagement with a central theme in Benedict's theology, treated not merely in isolation but also in terms of its relations to the whole. The result is a profound depiction of the range, scope, and integrated nature of Benedict's theology. This is a volume that honors the thinker it treats by taking him seriously not only as pope, but also as a theologian." —Paul J. Griffiths, Duke Divinity School"This is quite simply the best exploration of Pope Benedict's theology available in English. Some of these essays dig deep into the younger Ratzinger's Augustinian soil and reveal to us the roots of Benedict's papal teaching. Others trace the lines of growth from those roots out to his striking papal encyclicals, and to the apologetics of love that grounds his vision of the Church's task. The fruitfulness of the collection is perhaps most evident in the way that the authors do not simply repeat, but think with and in the light of Benedict’s theology. Above all, this collection displays Benedict’s theology as a personal, living faith and a reasoned faith, as a theology of divine and human love that invites humanity into faith’s re-imagining of human existence." —Lewis Ayres, Durham University"Shunning simplistic varieties of both caricature and adulation, these essays provide an appreciative but rigorous engagement with the breadth and depth of Benedict’s theology. The result is not merely a collection of summaries of different texts and themes but rather a convincing portrait of the vitality, integrity, and fecundity of Benedict’s theological vision and its prophetic witness to the evangelical message of God’s unfathomable love." —Khaled Anatolios, Boston College School Of Theology and Ministry“In this collection the theology behind the writings of Benedict XVI is examined by a group of scholars from a variety of different backgrounds. They reflect on his Augustine thought context, his ecclesiology, his Christology, his liturgical and sacramental theology, and more.” —U.S. Catholic.org“Explorations in the Theology of Benedict XVI explores the religious writing of the depart[ed] pope, detailing his studies into scripture and the writings of the countless monks before him. . . . A core addition to any Catholic theological discussion, highly recommended.” —Library Bookwatch“This festchrift is crafted out of love, and stands as an excellent synthesis of Benedict’s thoughts concerning the power of Advent, love and truth, and God’s love for humanity. . . . It is highly recommended for advanced students of theology, and institutions with collections dedicated to Ecclesiology, Ecumenism, Moral Theology, and Papal History.” —Catholic Library World“Certainly achieving [the contributors'] goal to appreciate and ‘to honor [Benedict XVI], as theologians,’ the essays contained therein provide much fodder for theological background and discussion around key themes of Benedict XVI’s writings as pope, especially his encyclicals, and on his writing prior to his election as he engaged currents of cultural thought more directly.” —Journal for Peace and Justice Studies“This volume stems from a conference held at the University of Notre Dame to honor Pope Benedict XVI’s 85th birthday in April 2012. . . . Most readers will learn many things from this book, which examines so many facets of Joseph Ratzinger’s writings. . . . Readers of this journal will be especially interested in a text that Beretta cites to illustrate the divine gratuitousness that always precedes the gratuity of human work and gifts.” —Cistercian Studies Quarterly“This volume is a truly beautiful and deep look at the theological work of one of the Church’s greatest living theologians. [It] is thorough and reflects the breadth of its subject.” —The Thomist

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Book SynopsisCorrin traces the evolution of Catholic social and theological thought from the end of World War II through the 1960s that culminated in Vatican Council II.Trade Review"In Catholic Progressives in England after Vatican II, Jay P. Corrin situates the journal Slant within the broad sweep of reformist Catholic thinkers and actors across the twentieth century and into the twenty-first. Drawing upon an impressive range of primary and secondary sources, both scholarly and journalistic, Corrin illuminates the journal's pivotal role in English Catholic liberal thought and action and the impact its contributors' ideas continue to exert across the decades." —Steve Rosswurm, Lake Forest College"This splendid book offers much more than the title suggests. To communicate an understanding of the radical English Catholics of the 1960s, the author presents an insightful study of English Catholicism and carefully documents that the great continental Catholic theologians and in particular the Second Vatican Council came to recognize the gospel as world-transforming divine message. I greatly enjoyed reading this book. In conservative times the memory of great moments of resistance to injustice and public lies nourishes such resistance in the present." —Gregory Baum, emeritus, McGill University"In this study, Jay P. Corrin describes the Catholic left movement, its leaders and their major ideas, and the broad, distinct but related contexts of post–Vatican II Catholicism, British politics, and the political and cultural left. The reader will have a full picture of the ideas of the Catholic left and full assessment of those ideas and the strengths and weaknesses of the movement. Catholic Progressives in England after Vatican II makes an original contribution to the fields of Catholic studies, religious history, and the history of the political 'left' in the United Kingdom." —David J. O'Brien, Loyola Professor of Roman Catholic Studies (emeritus), Holy Cross College"It's a fascinating story. . . . Corrin sets English Catholicism in the context of wider church history, taking us in a racy summary from the aloof authoritarianism of Pope Pius XII through to (in Corrin's view) the victory of the 'progressives' at Vatican II and the subsequent confusions created by the encyclical Humanae Vitae (1968). Corrin then turns to the Slant movement, drawing copiously on conversations and correspondence with participants, notably Terry Eagleton, Bernard Sharratt, Martin Shaw, Adrian and Angela Cunningham and Christopher Calnan. . . Corrin is readable and reliable." —The Tablet“Corrin’s book traces the growth and influence of a movement of progressive Catholics in England in the 1960s. . . . There is much to like about this book, particularly the discussion of the Chester Belloc tradition, the final chapter analyzing the failure of the movement, and—above all—the almost 100 pages of notes including many gems and showing enormous erudition.” —Theological Studies“Written from both scholarly and journalistic sources, Corrin’s book acquaints us with a comparatively unknown period in English Catholic history. More than a hundred pages of notes and a very thorough index complete the book. The book is strongly recommended for all Catholic college and university collections.” —Catholic Library World“. . . the book provides a useful guide to a subcurrent in the British Left, which is usually considered in purely secular terms. The copious notes and bibliography will undoubtedly provide useful avenues for further research.” —Journal of Church and State“Jay P. Corrin has produced a masterly exploration of a much neglected and yet deeply significant episode in English Catholicism, the post Vatican II attempts of a time but articulate and dedicated minority to transform the Roman Catholic Church into an agent of revolution. Corrin’s thoughtful analysis and careful scholarship provide telling insights into the thinking of a range of important Catholic intellectuals and theologians and also Marxists.” —Socialist History

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Book SynopsisBenedict XVI's writing as priest-professor, bishop, head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and now pope has shaped Catholic theological thought in the twentieth century. In Explorations in the Theology of Benedict XVI, a multidisciplinary group of scholars treat the full scope of Benedict's theological oeuvre, including the Augustinian context of his thought; his ecclesiology; his theologically grounded approach to biblical exegesis and Christology; his unfolding of a theology of history and culture; his liturgical and sacramental theology; his theological analysis of political and economic developments; his use of the natural law in ethics and conscience; his commitment to a form of interreligious dialogue from a place of particularity; and his function as a public, catechetical theologian.Trade Review"This collection of essays on the theology of Benedict XVI offers a new apologetics founded ‘not so much on the desire to outdo one’s opponent in dialectical victory but to allow the Love in which the original Word was spoken . . . to make its own case, its own apologia, in the hearts of those who hear.’ It is, in short, an excellent presentation of what Benedict XVI means when he says that ‘love and reason are the twin pillars of all reality.' The essays sympathetically uncover the pontiff’s theological foundation stones." —Tracey Rowland, John Paul II Institute, Melbourne, Australia"If you're looking for a synoptic view of Benedict XVI's theological achievement, this is by a long way the best thing on offer in English. Each of the essays provides a detailed engagement with a central theme in Benedict's theology, treated not merely in isolation but also in terms of its relations to the whole. The result is a profound depiction of the range, scope, and integrated nature of Benedict's theology. This is a volume that honors the thinker it treats by taking him seriously not only as pope, but also as a theologian." —Paul J. Griffiths, Duke Divinity School"This is quite simply the best exploration of Pope Benedict's theology available in English. Some of these essays dig deep into the younger Ratzinger's Augustinian soil and reveal to us the roots of Benedict's papal teaching. Others trace the lines of growth from those roots out to his striking papal encyclicals, and to the apologetics of love that grounds his vision of the Church's task. The fruitfulness of the collection is perhaps most evident in the way that the authors do not simply repeat, but think with and in the light of Benedict’s theology. Above all, this collection displays Benedict’s theology as a personal, living faith and a reasoned faith, as a theology of divine and human love that invites humanity into faith’s re-imagining of human existence." —Lewis Ayres, Durham University"Shunning simplistic varieties of both caricature and adulation, these essays provide an appreciative but rigorous engagement with the breadth and depth of Benedict’s theology. The result is not merely a collection of summaries of different texts and themes but rather a convincing portrait of the vitality, integrity, and fecundity of Benedict’s theological vision and its prophetic witness to the evangelical message of God’s unfathomable love." —Khaled Anatolios, Boston College School Of Theology and Ministry“In this collection the theology behind the writings of Benedict XVI is examined by a group of scholars from a variety of different backgrounds. They reflect on his Augustine thought context, his ecclesiology, his Christology, his liturgical and sacramental theology, and more.” —U.S. Catholic.org“Explorations in the Theology of Benedict XVI explores the religious writing of the depart[ed] pope, detailing his studies into scripture and the writings of the countless monks before him. . . . A core addition to any Catholic theological discussion, highly recommended.” —Library Bookwatch“This festchrift is crafted out of love, and stands as an excellent synthesis of Benedict’s thoughts concerning the power of Advent, love and truth, and God’s love for humanity. . . . It is highly recommended for advanced students of theology, and institutions with collections dedicated to Ecclesiology, Ecumenism, Moral Theology, and Papal History.” —Catholic Library World“Certainly achieving [the contributors'] goal to appreciate and ‘to honor [Benedict XVI], as theologians,’ the essays contained therein provide much fodder for theological background and discussion around key themes of Benedict XVI’s writings as pope, especially his encyclicals, and on his writing prior to his election as he engaged currents of cultural thought more directly.” —Journal for Peace and Justice Studies“This volume stems from a conference held at the University of Notre Dame to honor Pope Benedict XVI’s 85th birthday in April 2012. . . . Most readers will learn many things from this book, which examines so many facets of Joseph Ratzinger’s writings. . . . Readers of this journal will be especially interested in a text that Beretta cites to illustrate the divine gratuitousness that always precedes the gratuity of human work and gifts.” —Cistercian Studies Quarterly“This volume is a truly beautiful and deep look at the theological work of one of the Church’s greatest living theologians. [It] is thorough and reflects the breadth of its subject.” —The Thomist

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Book SynopsisMcIntosh's examination of the unique christological thought of 20th-century theologican Hans Urs von Balthasar provides an example of how christology and spirituality can come together to offer a more humanistic idea of Christ.Trade ReviewMark McIntosh has succeeded in offering the reader a synthetic and constructive reading of von Balthasar. This will be a contribution not only to Balthasarian studies but to Christology as well. With respect to the former McIntosh has not left many stones unturned in von Balthasar’s Christology. The fruits of this study await engagement with other contemporary Christologies and their methodological choices. Certainly this book will establish a retrieval of the humanity of Christ from the perspective of so-called high Christology, but it will also discover that humanity as one that plumbs the depths of our own humanity and calls it into a unitive imitation of the freedom and self-givingness of Christ.” —The Thomist“McIntosh gives us a study of von Balthasar’s understanding of the person and work of Jesus Christ. . . . [His] account of von Balthasar’s christology is lucid, grounded in careful scholarship, and well-documented.” —The Way“This is an engaging and delightfully accessible account of von Balthasar’s christology. McIntosh makes a compelling case for looking at von Balthasar’s theology in terms of his utilization of traditions in Christian spirituality.” —Journal of Religion"[A]mong the many felicities of Christology from Within is McIntosh's command of English. The style is, in a word, elegant. Somehow the author has escaped the turgid academic prose that has even invaded the UK. Nary a ‘tensive construal’ can be found. Let us hope to hear more from McIntosh on spiritual theology in the near future; in the meantime, put Christology from Within on your list of those works that prove that a heartening new generation of American Anglican theologians is at hand."—Anglican Theological Review

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Book SynopsisIn this welcome new book Marcia L. Colish offers the only monograph-length study of the patriarch treatises of Ambrose of Milan (c. 340-397), in which he develops, for the first time in the patristic period, an ethics for the laity. Ambrose the ethicist has been viewed primarily as the author of advice to those with special callings in the church, such as priests, widows, and consecrated virgins. His views have been characterized as advocating asceticism and promoting a Platonic view of human nature, in which the body is a moral problem. Ambrose''s patriarch treatises, argues Colish, are instead aimed at lay people who did not have special callings in the church, but who led active lives in the world as spouses, parents, heads of households, professionals, and citizens. These treatises reveal a different side of Ambrose and show that he developed an ethics of moderation based on an Aristotelian and Stoic anthropology, which he modified in the light of biblical ethics and St. Paul''sTrade Review“Masterly and crystal-clear written study of Ambrose's treatises De Abraham, De Issac, De Iacob and De Ioseph . . . This groundbreaking study on the first patristic development of ethics for the common man is very carefully edited . . . has an excellent bibliography of primary sources and is concluded by an excellent Index.” —Vigiliae Christianae"In Ambrose's Patriarchs, Colish shifts the discussion on the bishop's patriarchal treatises from source-critical considerations to their function in the liturgical life of the Milanese church. She argues that Ambrose created these writings in order to instruct Roman catechumens (competentes) on their new identity as members of the people of Israel and to provide them with practical examples of ethical virtue. . . Colish's analysis is polished and convincing, and is suitable for both graduate students and scholars alike." —Religious Studies Review"Marcia Colish . . . is the first scholar to grasp what can be made for modern readers of Ambrose's four treatises on the patriarchs. The result is an original and suggestive book. She shows that Ambrose chose the patriarchs as subjects for exegetical talks to catechumens who were soon to be baptized." —First Things“While acknowledging that Ambrose was eclectic, Colish contends that his critical appropriation of Stoic, Aristotelian, Philonic, and, to a lesser degree, Platonic thought produced a distinctive Ambrosian anthropology and was 'first, in patristic literature,' to articulate an ethic for the common man rather than for ascetics.” —Pro Ecclesia“This is her study of the patriarch treatises of Ambrose in which he develops an ethics for the laity. . . . This is not an ethics based on asceticism and a Platonic view of human nature, in which the body is a moral problem, but rather, an ethics of moderation based on an Aristotelian and Stoic anthropology, which Ambrose modified in the light of biblical ethics and St. Paul's view of human nature.” —Theology Digest“Colish’s book is a study of the four treatises of Ambrose of Milan on the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph. . . . The heart of Colish’s case is that Ambrose’s treatments of the patriarchs were intended in the first instance for Milanese competentes, catechumens who were taking the final steps of initiation into the church. She maintains that Ambrose’s expositions derive from Lenten sermons delivered to these people, instructing them on the ethical entailments of baptism and the significance of the new identity they were about to assume.” —Scottish Journal of Theology“In this engaging and challenging study, Marcia L. Colish, the distinguished historian of ideas and the Philosophy of the Middle Ages, turns her attention to four treatises about the Patriarchs of the Old Testament, written by Ambrose, the late 4th century bishop of Milan. She detects in them the very first Christian ethics ‘for the common man’ and reassesses familiar preconceptions of Ambrose’s philosophical and ethical positions . . . A welcome and original invitation to reconsider late antique Christian preaching and moral exhortation generally. In its admirable lucidity it will be required reading for any student of Ambrose and lf late antique Christian ethics.” —Revue d'Histoire Ecclesiastique“This is a significant study, by a distinguished scholar, of works that are often overlooked but that, as Marcia Colish ably demonstrates, challenge some widely held interpretations of Ambrose as a theologian, ethicist, and philosopher. This book is both thought provoking and enlightening.” —Francine Cardman, Weston Jesuit School of Theology"The readers of this book will not be surprised by Marcia Colish. She has once again given us a succinct and crystal clear condensation of a complex body of thought. But they will be surprised by Colish's Ambrose. This is not at all the world-denying romantic Platonist that many see him to have been. Colish's close attention to the Stoic groundwork of Ambrose's ehtical thought, and to his careful modification of the views of his predecessors, recapture him as the first Christian preacher prepared to present a coherent ethics for the average believer. Far from showing his preaching to have been a chapter in the rise of Christian ascetic extremism, Colish has shown us how to read Ambrose's sermons as a chapter in a more enduring (and, perhaps, more welcome) development—the 'Romanization' of Christian moral thought, with all the this-wordly solidity which the word 'Roman' still invokes." —Peter Brown, Princeton University

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Book SynopsisTraditionally, Christian martyrdom is a repetition of the story of Christ's suffering and death: the more closely the victim replicates the Christological model, the more legible the martyrdom. But if the textual construction of martyrdom depends on the rehearsal of a paradigmatic story, how do we reconcile the broad range of individuals, beliefs, and persecutions seeking justification by claims of martyrdom? Observing how martyrdom is constituted through the interplay of historical event and literary form, Alice Dailey explores the development of English martyr literature through the period of intense religious controversy from the heresy executions of Queen Mary to the regicide of 1649. Through close study of texts ranging from late medieval passion drama and hagiography to John Foxe's Acts and Monuments, martyrologies of the Counter-Reformation, Charles I's Eikon Basilike, and John Milton's Eikonoklastes, The English Martyr from Reformation to RevolutionTrade Review“'Martyrdom is not a death but a story that gets written about a death.' From this simple yet profound premise, Alice Dailey takes us into a tour de force of historical formalism. Martyrdom, as Dailey brilliantly and delicately unpacks it, sits at the nexus of story and the material world. It works through both the suffering of the flesh and the shifting contours of narrative form. In a study that reaches across time (medieval to postmodern) and confessions (Protestant and Catholic), Dailey herself masterfully crafts a compelling story about the life of narrative. This book will naturally be of great value to students of early modern religion, but it will also fascinate anyone interested in how human lives—and the meanings of those lives—are shaped by, and lived through, narrative forms." —Kristen Poole, University of Delaware"Alice Dailey’s innovative new study of English martyrology details the transformations undergone by the narrative forms, theological meanings, and visual imagery of sacred suffering in Reformation England. In the period stretching from the sixteenth century through the end of the English Civil War, the Catholic underground was stymied in its search for the glory of the martyrs by the rhetoric of treason wielded against them by the Protestant state, but periodically sustained by its own powerful and resilient treasury of religious narratives. In this broad and bracing study, Dailey conceives of the Catholic question in a pluralist manner, to include not only the fates of individual Catholics and Catholic communities, but also the survival of Catholic literary and architectural forms in post-Reformation England." —Julia Reinhard Lupton, The University of California, Irvine“By emphasizing the significance of the formal qualities that characterize English Christian martyr narratives, Dailey insightfully demonstrates how attitudes toward martyrdom changed over time. . . . The readings of individual texts are both grounded and provocative.” —The Medieval Review“Detailed and lucid. . . . A fluent and thoughtful critique of some familiar texts.” —Renaissance Quarterly“Alice Dailey’s The English Martyr accounts for a transformation of the Christian martyr narrative through an analysis of four historical stages—paradigmatic establishment, appropriation, crisis of representation, and its ultimate shift in signification. Her account suggests that as historical pressures undermined typological repetition, the language remained while its signification changed.” —Sixteenth Century Journal“Alice Dailey’s The English Martyr from Reformation to Revolution makes a persuasive case for the value of the new formalist trend in literary studies. . . . Dailey’s book is a useful contribution to several intersecting scholarly conversations about martyrdom, early modern English religious and political strife, and new formalism more generally. . . . Students and scholars looking to gain a solid, detailed grounding in any of these conversations will find this book very helpful.” —Comitatus: A Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies“The strength of this book is not just that Dailey discusses the traditions of martyrology. She also discusses the ways in which these traditions changed over time. . . . Her careful and insightful reading of contemporary texts and the thoughtful conclusions she draws from this reading will be of great interest not just to historians of the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries but to anyone interested in how the modern world was, and is, constructed and how we both create and re-create the stories of the past.” —Journal of British Studies“Dailey’s prose is lucid and her close analysis of these key martyrological texts portrays the model Christian martyr comprehensively. It is admirable that she tackles martyrologies by both Catholics and Protestants, and across such a broad chronological range.” —English Historical Review“Dailey has provided an original work of contemporary scholarship . . . . Dailey has insightfully targeted her study at England from the time of its Reformation to its Revolution . . . . Dailey has provided a worthwhile volume.” —Anglican and Episcopal History

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Book SynopsisNo Religion without Idolatry offers an interpretation of Mendelssohn’s general philosophy and discusses for the first time his semiotic interpretation of idolatry in his commentaries.Trade Review"In this lucid and provocative study, Gideon Freudenthal offers an original and compelling reading of Mendelssohn as well as a defense of the possibility of religious rationalism more generally. This book is not only an excellent contribution to a growing body of scholarship on Mendelssohn and early modern philosophy, but it also significantly sharpens and advances contemporary conversations about the relations between religion and reason." —Leora Batnitzky, Princeton University"In this masterful study, Gideon Freudenthal demonstrates how Mendelssohn’s philosophy, including his philosophy of religion, is grounded in semiotics. The result is a landmark work that not only successfully challenges standard interpretations of Mendelssohn’s 'enlightened Judaism' and its alleged inconsistency but also effectively invites reconsideration of the very possibility of 'religion without idolatry.'" —Daniel O. Dahlstrom, Boston University"In focusing on Mendelssohn's 'semiotics of idolatry,' Gideon Freudenthal writes as a philosopher fully at home in multiple traditions: contemporary philosophy, eighteenth-century philosophy, Jewish biblical exegesis, and comparative religion. The result is a systematic and penetrating study, based on the Hebrew as well as the German texts, that engages Mendelssohn on perhaps the most critical issue of his understanding of religion with unprecedented philosophical rigor and imagination." —David Sorkin, City University of New York Graduate Center“This is an innovative study of the views of the ‘father’ of modern Jewish philosophy, Moses Mendelssohn. It emphasizes correctly that Mendelssohn’s philosophy of Judaism was thoroughly rational in the Enlightenment’s sense of the notion of rationality, and concentrated not on metaphysical arguments and disputations about matters of faith but, rather, on the role and significance of religious practices. . . . As a result, this is a valuable, provocative, unconventional interpretation of Mendelssohn that is sure to stir scholarly debate” —Choice“Freudenthal’s book introduces us to a Mendelssohn who is a serious, consistent, and careful philosopher, an independent thinker whose true philosophical position has gone underappreciated for too long. . . . We are indebted to Freudenthal’s book for challenging us to rethink Mendelssohn’s philosophical project and thereby to rethink the relevance Enlightenment philosophers may still have today.” —Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews“Freudenthal’s book is highly to be recommended. Its scholarship is impressive, the writing lucid and engaging. It represents an important and original contribution to our understanding of Mendelssohn, complementing the work of Altmann, Allan Arkush, and others.” —H-Judaic“Freudenthal expands the notion of idolatry beyond its common restriction to false objects of devotion and renders it a heuristic principle to examine not only Judaism but all religions as semiotic systems.” —Theological Studies“In all, Freudenthal’s book is highly to be recommended. Its scholarship is impressive, the writing lucid and engaging. It represents an important and original contribution to our understanding of Mendelssohn, complementing the work of Altmann, Allan Arkush, and others.” —H-Net“This book offers a thorough and robust defense of Moses Mendelssohn’s (1729–86) philosophical and religious project. Freudenthal’s familiarity not only with Mendelssohn’s philosophical, but also with his theological works—including scriptural commentaries in Hebrew—allow him to offer a more complete and consistent view of Mendelssohn’s project.” —The Review of Metaphysics

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Book SynopsisLouis IX, king of France from 1226 to 1270 and twice crusader, was canonized in 1297. He was the last king canonized during the medieval period, and was both one of the most important saints and one of the most important kings of the later Middle Ages. In Blessed Louis, the Most Glorious of Kings: Texts Relating to the Cult of Saint Louis of France, M. Cecilia Gaposchkin presents six previously untranslated texts that informed medieval views of St. Louis IX: two little-known but early and important vitae of Saint Louis; two unedited sermons by the Parisian preacher Jacob of Lausanne (d. 1322); and a liturgical office and proper mass in his honorthe most commonly used liturgical texts composed for Louis' feast daywhich were widely copied, read, and disseminated in the Middle Ages. Gaposchkin's aim is to present to a diverse readership the Louis as he was known and experienced in the Middle Ages: a saint celebrated by the faithful for his virtue and his deeds. She offersTrade Review"With this collection of Latin texts and facing page English translations, Cecilia Gaposchkin and Phyllis Katz offer a valuable treasure to scholars and students of medieval Europe—the hagiographic, liturgical, and homiletic texts that actually played a role in shaping the memory of the sainted king of France, Louis IX. For too long, we have been mesmerized by the eloquent words of the privileged noble, Jean de Joinville, whose memoir had no impact at all during the Middle Ages. Gaposchkin and Katz help to break Joinville’s spell, and thus to place us much closer to the ways in which late medieval people perceived and remembered Saint Louis." —Sharon Farmer, University of California, Santa Barbara"With Blessed Louis, the Most Glorious of Kings, M. Cecilia Gaposchkin makes a groundbreaking contribution to the fields of medieval history, hagiography, and historical memory. Of the five main texts she edits and translates here, four are appearing in print for the first time, and none has ever before been translated into English. These exciting new texts give us a fresh understanding of how Saint Louis was represented in the century after his canonization." —Sean L. Field, University of Vermont"Joinville's portrait of his royal friend Louis IX remains understandably appealing to modern readers, but the Roman Church did after all canonize the king, and it is from the texts gathered here that we gain valuable insight into how members of the royal court and of the Franciscan and Dominican orders, some of whom had labored on behalf of his canonization, remembered and honored Saint Louis in the first few generations following his death." —Lester K. Little, Smith College“Gaposchkin introduces the reader to the hagiographical tradition of St. Louis, the manuscript tradition of these particular texts, and the themes that featured so prominently in these early lives: his humility and other virtues, devotion to the cross and relics, his ascetic practices, his crusading and, of course, the divine providence and protection during his life and the miracles that were immediately reported after his death.” —H-France Review“An extraordinarily rich and useful resource to scholars working on Saint Louis as well as on medieval hagiography and the cult of saints. . . . A treasure trove of information.” —Renaissance Quarterly“This collection of primary texts offers readers a vivid sense of the various hagiographic and liturgical materials that might have formed part of the devotional tradition surrounding a saint in the later Middle Ages. . . . this collection makes accessible to a wide range of people a vibrant and rich portrait of medieval devotion to Saint Louis.” —Renaissance and Reformation

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Book SynopsisWith their dozens of universities and colleges, the Jesuits held a monopoly over higher education in Catholic Germany in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Using rich, previously untapped sources, Marcus Hellyer traces the development of science instruction at these institutions over a period stretching from the Counter-Reformation to the height of the Enlightenment. He argues that the Scientific Revolution was not an all-or-nothing affair; Jesuit professors enthusiastically adopted particular elements, such as experimental natural philosophy, while doggedly rejecting others, such as mechanical theories of matter. Hellyer''s examination of the Jesuit colleges over a span of two centuries, from the late sixteenth century to 1773, demonstrates that digesting the New Science was a lengthy process. crucial components of the Scientific Revolution when the Society was suppressed in 1773. Catholic Physics also explores the fascinating interaction between Jesuit naturalTrade Review". . . it will come as no surprise to read Marcus Hellyer's lucid, learned, judicious account of Jesuit universities and colleges in the German Assistancy, in which their teachers figure not as backward or duplicitous (in feigning not to accept Copernicianism, for instance), but as educators who were phenomenally successful at dominating the universities and colleges of Catholic Germany for two centuries,. . . . Hellyer rejects the view that links scientific progress to Protestantism and sees Catholicism and science as incompatible, and denies that backward Jesuit science [...] somehow stunted the intellectual, cultural, or even moral development of Catholic Germany." —Journal of Ecclesiasstical History“Marcus Hellyer opens a world of diversity and unexpected intellectual foment . . . This volume successfully dispels any ideas that Jesuits were Luddites either philosophically or “scientifically” in the period before their suppression. They did face an increasingly difficult task of reconciling what was developing in the world of science and philosophy with their presuppositional beliefs in the Bible . . . and traditional Catholic theology/philosophy” —American Historical Review“Catholic Physics chronicles natural philosophy education in German universities during the 17th and 18th centuries.” —Science and Theology News"This is a thoughtful, well-documented book. Highly recommended." —Choice"Catholic Physics is a well-researched book, citing nearly three hundred primary sources, most in Latin, and over four hundred secondary sources. [It] is a book the nonspecialist can read without difficulty. . . a worthwhile read." —Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith"Focusing on three German universities—the smaller ones of Mainz and Würtzburg and the larger, more important one of Ingolstadt—Hellyer tells the story of the development of Jesuit, Catholic natural philosophy from the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries. . . This is an important study of the early modern German Jesuits and their natural philosophical teachings." —Sixteenth Century Journal“Hellyer's book is the first broad attempt to survey the place and changing character of natural philosophy in Jesuit colleges and universities, albeit restricted to the German lands, over a period of almost two centuries, and in doing so it provides an invaluable resource for grasping the greater significance of the Jesuits in the history of early modern science . . . Future claims about the character and development of Jesuit natural philosophy in early modern Europe will need to engage seriously with Hellyer.” —British Journal for the History of Science“. . . explores the relations between knowledge and faith in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries through a careful examination of the Jesuit physics curriculum in the colleges established in a loose-knit and complex political definition of their German province, which included Upper Germany, the Rhineland, Austria, parts of Bohemia and Flanders, and even the English college in Liege.” —Central European History“Hellyer charts an institutionally and intellectually complex terrain with considerable skill and subtlety. His subject matter is natural philosophy as found in Jesuit colleges and universities scattered throughout the territories of early modern Catholic Germany.” —Church History“The great advantage of this thorough study is that it examines natural philosophy over a period of more than 200 years, beginning with the foundation of the first Jesuit colleges in Germany in the 1550s and concluding with the suppression of the society in 1773. Hellyer's work is richly textured, and he moves easily from the rarefied world of early-modern universities and pedagogical theories to the 'real' world theatre of experiment. The result of this thoughtful and nuanced study, which concentrates on a broad swathe of chronology and a number of issues, will hopefully open up new avenues for research in the history of science and early-modern Germany.” —European History Quarterly

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Book SynopsisThese essays examine papal teaching authority from Thomas Aquinas in the thirteenth century to the Dominican School of Salamanca in sixteenth century Spain. Fr. Ulrich Horst, O.P., an internationally renowned authority in historical theology, describes the various debates between the Dominicans and other orders over papal teaching authority, especially whether there should be limits placed on papal authority and, if so, what they might be.Horst reviews in a brief and masterful fashion the teaching of medieval and Catholic Reformation Dominican theologians about the teaching authority of the pope. He succinctly shows the differences within the order on the topic and makes clear how Dominicans tended to differ on the matter from theologians of other orders such as the Franciscans and, later, the Jesuits, whose views would eventually lead to the proclamation at Vatican I.In the first chapter, Horst discusses the canonization of St. Thomas, the lecture on the gospel of St.Trade Review“One of the best expositions of the history of the doctrine of infallibility to emerge in the last five years, ranking it with the works of Brian Tierney or Francis Oakley. . . . This is an example of a mature scholar in absolute command of his subject matter. It will be highly valuable for church historians, graduate, and seminary libraries.” —Catholic Library World“For many years Ulrich Horst has published enlightening studies of historical ecclesiology. . . . In this case, Professor Horst has focused on Dominican viewpoints on papal teaching authority. . . . These lectures on the Dominican view of papal authority can be read with profit by anyone interested in historical ecclesiology.” —The Catholic Historical Review“There is deep learning and much to be learned from the master of this slim volume.” —Speculum"Based on a lifetime of research and writing, these three lectures of Father Ulrich Horst, O.P., provide a masterful overview with copious references of the predominant, official, and evolving positions of the Dominicans on the teaching authority of the pope. While always supportive of the jurisdictional primacy of the papacy upon which their own faculties to preach, teach, and render pastoral care depended, Dominican theologians beginning with Tommaso d'Aquino initially held that the Roman Church, rather than the pope personally, was infallible. Only in the sixteenth century with the need for prompt and certain responses to the Protestant challenge did some members of the Dominican School of Salamanca (Melchor Cano, Juan de la Peña, Domingo Báñez, etc.) teach that the pope cannot err. The Jesuits (Gregorio de Valencia, Roberto Bellarmino, etc.) adopted and expanded on this teaching which triumphed at Vatican I despite the efforts of Dominican cardinal Filippo Maria Guidi to defend the earlier Dominican position that the pope must first properly consult before defining. Father Horst has thus demonstrated how nuanced, varied, and slowly evolving was the teaching of the Dominicans on papal authority." —Nelson H. Minnich, The Catholic University of America

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Book SynopsisThe Anglo-Norman monk Orderic Vitalis (1075-c.1142) wrote his monumental, highly individual Historia Ecclesiastica as an exercise in monastic discipline intended to preserve the events and character of Christendom for future generations. Though cloistered since childhood in a Benedictine monastery near Normandy''s southern border, Orderic gained access to an intellectual world that extended from Scotland to Jerusalem through his engagement with texts and travelers that made their way into his monastic milieu. His Historia Ecclesiastica, with a breadth of vision unparalleled in its time, is a particularly fertile source for an investigation of concepts of space and historiography in the high Middle Ages.In The Written World: Past and Place in the Work of Orderic Vitalis, Amanda Jane Hingst draws on the blend of intellectual intimacy and historiographical breadth in Orderic''s writings to investigate the ways in which high medieval historians understood geoTrade Review“The Written World is a wonderful, innovative, and beautifully written study of Orderic Vitalis’s Historia Ecclesiastica. Amanda Hingst vividly evokes the meaning and function of history for an Anglo-Norman monk at the end of the eleventh century and the beginning of the twelfth. She emphasizes how geographical space provided a temporal framework through which Orderic Vitalis narrated and experienced historical events. The landscape of Christendom, far from being an unchanging backdrop to human deeds, actively participated in the history of the world. Heaven was glimpsed on earth as God manipulated fields and streams, trees and clouds, tempests and dirt with a divine purpose. This book is a major contribution to the intellectual history of the High Middle Ages.” —Mark Gregory Pegg, Washington University“Hingst has written a thoughtful and elegant study of Orderic’s epic description of the history and geography of his world. It will appeal to anyone with an interest in medieval or church history.” —Academia“Orderic Vitalis was not a particularly influential historian during the Middle Ages, but for modern scholars his vast, detailed, and often idiosyncratic history is a crucial source for studying Western Europe, particularly Normandy and England, in the eleventh and early twelfth centuries. As Amanda Jane Hingst’s clever title indicates, her book focuses on place, space, and geography in Orderic’s work. . . her fascinating work enriches our understanding of an important medieval author and will also open up new avenues into thinking about place and geography in medieval writings.” —Church History“Using the twelfth-century chronicle of the Anglo-Norman monk, Orderic Vitalis, as her base, Amanda Hingst has constructed an elegantly written, engaging text that explores medieval understandings of place and time. This ambitious work takes the unusual approach of grounding the historian’s understanding of his wider world by locating him within his physical environment.” —Parergon“The Written World is a thoughtful book . . . this is a useful contribution to our understanding of Orderic and a stimulus to further study of an important chronicler who, as Hingst rightly observes, warrants further attention in his own right.” —The Catholic Historical Review“Hingst’s far-ranging study, with its lush descriptions of landscape and provocative arguments, offers a compelling call to read Orderic’s history as the complete and spiritually anchored creation of a thoughtful man of his age.” —American Historical Review“Amanda Jane Hingst’s book is an eminently readable, continually engaging account of Orderic’s understanding of the world around him, designed on the principle that geographical and topographical space was his primary mode of historical thought. . . . This is a consistently intelligent, thought-provoking, beautifully written book, and a valuable contribution to the field.” —Journal of English and Germanic Philology“This book offers a fascinating exploration of the physical and imaginary landscapes that surrounded the famous Anglo-Norman historian Orderic Vitalis. . . . Hingst has offered a pioneering perspective on the concept of landscape to take a fresh look at Orderic’s Ecclesiastical History.” —The Medieval Review“The book proposes a new way of thinking about Orderic as a historical geographer.” —Medium Aevum“This delightful book offers a fresh perspective on Orderic Vitalis’ great work, the Ecclesiastical History. . . . a lucid and engaging prose style makes [Hingst’s] book a pleasure to read.” —English Historical Review

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Book SynopsisProvides a cultural history of the missionary enterprise in sixteenth-century Mexico. This work addresses the enculturation of Catholic sacraments and sacramentals into an Aztec worldview in visual and material terms. It offers insights on the development of sacramental practice, popular piety, catechetical drama, and parish politics.Trade Review" . . . a superb study that will benefit by being read in conjunction with the author's previous book, City, Temple Stage: Eschatological Architecture and Liturgical Theatrics in New Spain. . . . In enthralling detail, Lara makes it clear that the indigenous Christian culture that emerged from this interaction was neither a covert survival of pre-Hispanic paganism nor a pessimistic surrender to conquest. Rather, it was a marvelously spontaneous outpouring, fed by the imagination of a group of remarkable mendicant friars who, Lara tells us, 'dared to use the metaphors, symbols, and values of the peoples of MesoamericaÆ to bring about a 'rich transfusion of the message into the very blood of a sophisticated culture.'"—Times Literary Supplement

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Book SynopsisIn The Making and Unmaking of the English Catholic Intellectual Community, 19101950, James R. Lothian examines the engagement of interwar Catholic writers and artists both with modernity in general and with the political and economic upheavals of the times in England and continental Europe. The book describes a close-knit community of Catholic intellectuals that coalesced in the aftermath of the Great War and was inspired by Hilaire Belloc''s ideology. Among the more than two dozen figures considered in this volume are G. K. Chesterton, novelist Evelyn Waugh, poet and painter David Jones, sculptor Eric Gill, historian Christopher Dawson, and publishers Frank Sheed and Maisie Ward. For Catholic intellectuals who embraced Bellocianism, the response to contemporary politics was a potent combination of hostility toward parliamentary democracy, capitalism, and so-called Protestant Whig history. Belloc and his friends asserted a set of political, economic, and historiographical altTrade ReviewJames Lothian's important new book considers the English Catholic world of the first half of the twentieth century as many English Catholics might have wished it to be considered—small but culturally significant, confident but inveterately quarrelsome, patriotic but with a strangely ambiguous loyalty both to Rome and to home. . . . Lothian's examination of this rich and complex community is impressively researched, solidly written, engagingly argued, and in sum, full of fascination. He is to be commended on his achievement." —The Journal of Modern History"This book sheds much new light on English Catholic intellectuals in the four decades that encompassed the two world wars. The book builds on but goes well beyond existing scholarship . . . this is a rich and pioneering study that sheds much light on a neglected area of English cultural and intellectual history. The wealth of primary sources on which Lothian has drawn, together with his compelling narrative, critical analysis, and attention to nuance, will ensure that this is a landmark book." —The Journal of British Studies“Lothian, a history professor at the University of Binghamton in New York, presents a comprehensive history of English Catholic thinkers such as Hilaire Belloc, GK Chesterton, Eric Gill and Evelyn Waugh. These intellectuals and others formed a Catholic counterculture of sorts that produced what is now known as ‘political Catholicism.’ Lothian examines this counterculture, its members’ struggle with Catholicism’s negative attitude towards modernity, and their desire to engage with contemporary society.” —Conscience“. . . there are many fine biographies of Belloc, Chesterton, Eric Gill, David Jones and Evelyn Waugh . . . James Lothian admirably provides a collective biography of three generations of these leaders, showing how they learned from and influenced each other and, finally, how their collective identity shattered. Lothian charts the rise of new Catholic leaders, including Maisie Ward and Frank Sheed, showing the maturing of Catholic political thought.” —Catholic Library World“There is much to admire here, with extensive research on unpublished correspondence complementing Lothian’s wide-ranging familiarity with the published writings of his subjects. The book provides valuable accounts of hitherto neglected individuals and enhances understanding of more familiar figures such as Chesterton, Gill, and Belloc himself.” —American Historical Review“The Making and Unmaking of the English Catholic Intellectual Community deserves respectful consideration. . . . Lothian makes it harder to ignore Catholicism’s resurgence in the British public mind, a salutary reminder that a sacramental faith encompasses both eschatology and sociology.” —The Catholic Historical Review“The author offers a series of analytical biographies of the key figures, chief among whom were Belloc and Chesterton. Lothian ably charts the rise of the English Catholic Intellectual community from the political Catholicism of Belloc and its demise after the Second World War when the political and economic themes of Belloc and Chesterton were displaced by the theological and philosophical interests of figures such as the publishers F. Sheed and his wife M. Ward, under the moderating influence of the historian C. Dawson.” —Religious Studies Review“James Lothian sees the impact of Hilaire Belloc on the intellectual formation of English Catholicism in the twentieth century as more than the effect of personal influence upon fellow writers and thinkers, rather as a major catalytic force in the construction of a corporate voice for Catholicism in the face of contemporary secular energizing challenges. . . an excellent study on a difficult theme and one that will rapidly become a seminal work.” —Recusant History“James Lothian has written an important book on the cultural and political history of the English Catholic community. . . . Lothian’s work is very impressive.” —Political Studies Review“Lothian’s study fills a much needed gap in English Catholic history and also serves as an excellent example of historical scholarship. Thoroughly documented and very well written—Lothian’s combination of personal annotates and ideological information is a genuine tour de force—this study should stimulate a wide range of dissertation topics which hopefully will continue to shed new light on English Catholicism during the inter-war period.” —Anglican and Episcopal History

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Book SynopsisIn Mary’s Bodily Assumption, Matthew Levering presents a contemporary explanation and defense of the Catholic doctrine of Mary’s bodily Assumption.Trade Review"Mary's bodily Assumption continues to garner much disagreement, both among Protestants and Catholics, rendering a book on the topic worthwhile. This is especially so since little recent work has been done by way of careful Catholic apologetic. Matthew Levering now fills that void with Mary's Bodily Assumption; his is a thorough, well-conceived, clearly structured, well-written book, one that displays a fair-minded approach to how he thinks we can and cannot arrive at the doctrine of the Assumption." —Hans Boersma, J. I. Packer Professor of Theology, Regent College"This is an excellent work—an example of the best of contemporary theological scholarship, written by one of the best of younger American theologians today. It certainly stands to be a 'go-to' book on the topic of the Assumption for years to come. What makes the work especially current and potentially fruitful is that it builds in part upon Protestant scholarship, such as that of the eminent New Testament scholar Richard Hays, but in such a way that takes this scholarship to its logical and more Catholic conclusion. To this extent, the work is also intrinsically, in its mode of disputation, a work of ecumenical dialogue, bringing together contemporary scholarship on both sides of the ecumenical divide." —John Betz, University of Notre Dame"By applying his prodigious theological talent to the traditional doctrine of the Assumption, Matthew Levering offers further evidence that the silence regarding Mary following the Second Vatican Council is being replaced with sonorous speech. But unlike so many Marian voices before the Council, Levering speaks with a welcome ecumenical accent." —Matthew Milliner, Wheaton College“In this wonderful and inspiring book, Matthew Levering offers a thorough exploration of a much-disputed dogma of the Catholic faith. But in the process, he also sheds considerable light on the nature and practice of theology as such. As we follow Levering’s study of the bodily assumption of Mary, we learn a great deal about the development of doctrine, the nature and scope of ecclesiastical authority, the efficacy of typological readings of the Scripture, and the importance of the theological argument from fittingness. I would warmly recommend this book to any serious student of the theological art.” —Robert Barron, University of Saint Mary of the Lake / Mundelein Seminary“Combining observations based in typological exegesis, systematic theology, and magisterial teaching, Levering provides a well-argued explanation of, and justification for, the Roman Catholic doctrine of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. . . . Levering provides a solid basis for further ecumenical conversation.” —Choice“In taking up Catholic teaching on the Assumption, Levering engages in a theological development that touches on Scripture, magisterial teaching, critical scholarship and objections in a manner that speaks to theological process and faith development. The mind is enlightened and the heart inspired in this work that provides a solid basis for understanding the Church’s dogmatic teaching that Mary was assumed body and soul into heaven.” —The Catholic Journalist“. . .Levering sheds welcome light on a variety of topics, from biblical hermeneutics to eschatology. Above all, Levering comes across as an able champion of typological exegesis, which forms the basis for the dogma of Mary’s Assumption.” —Catholic Library World“Levering’s unbiased approach and his admittance of misinterpretations from Catholics render this book appealing and an asset to ecumenical dialogue. The author’s hope is that the doctrine of Mary’s Assumption will further illumine our Christian understanding of the eschaton.” —Church Life Journal“Levering . . . has written a beautiful book which takes into account the two demurring sources about Mary’s assumption. Levering argues clearly and convincingly that belief in Mary’s assumption, body, and soul into heaven rests on three ‘scriptural pillars.’ . . . Her destiny prefigures the destiny of all who believe in her son. The author obviously would think it was impoverishing not to have this belief as part of one’s faith.” —Theological Studies

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Book SynopsisIn this lucid and probing study, Robert C. Miner argues that Giambattista Vico (1668-1744) was the architect of a subversive, genealogical approach to modernity. Miner documents the genesis of Vico''s stance toward modernity in the first phase of his thought. Through close examination of his early writings, centering on Vico''s critique of Descartes and his elaboration of the ''verum-factum'' principle, Vico, Genealogist of Modernity reveals that Vico strives to acknowledge the technical advances of modernity while unmasking its origins in human pride.Trade Review"Miner has given us nourishing food for thought, and this work deserves attention, not least for Miner's meticulous scholarship. . . . It should . . . rekindle an interest in this engaging, often neglected Neapolitan thinker." —Modern Age"Miner’s book rests on a thorough knowledge of Vico’s work. . . . [It] offers original insight and understanding into a seminal, if occasionally neglected, figure and is therefore highly recommended.” —Library Journal“Miner contends that reading Vico to understand his critique of secular modernity is the key to discovering him. His text is rich in probing questions and comparisons. . . . His style is clear and interesting and ends with helpful notes, bibliography, and index.” —Choice“[M]any novel and positive insights... Chief of these is the way he incorporates Vico's Catholicism into his analysis of Vico's thought. He is really the first Vico scholar to try this kind of synthesis in a systematic way. ... he deserves great credit for calling attention to the New Science, and Vico's thinking as a whole, as an important episode in the study of the history of ethics and religion.” —New Vico Studies“... written with ease and enthusiasm.” —Renaissance Quarterly“...well structured and stimulating.” —Philosophy in Review“...interesting interpretation of the significance of Vico’s thought....” —The Sixteenth Century Journal

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Book SynopsisIn this new book, Arthur F. Marotti analyzes some of the rhetorical and imaginative means by which the Catholic minority and the Protestant majority defined themselves and their religious and political antagonists in early modern England. He considers Catholic writings that have been relatively neglected, as well as the discourse of anti-Catholicism. Straddling the boundary of history and literature, this study offers an intriguing cultural history that focuses on the ideologized fantasies and language found on both sides of the early modern Christian religious divide. Marotti focuses on the period between the arrival of the first Jesuit missionaries in England in 1580 and the climax of ongoing religious conflict in the Restoration-era Popish Plot and the 1688 Glorious Revolution. In a series of thematically focused essays, he covers such issues as the relationship of print culture to the residual Catholic culture in Elizabethan England; recusant women, Jesuits and the cultural otheTrade Review“Marotti’s well-researched account is convincing and informative. . . .” —First Things“. . . Compelling and immensely readable . . . Marotti specifically chooses not to examine the canonical literature of the time in order to focus instead on the literature of religious controversy, in particular how the printing press affected the Reformation in England. He examines how opposing factions (Catholic and Anti-Catholic) used the printed word in an attempt to influence their respective audiences and characterize the times.” —Religion and the Arts“. . . The book’s coverage is broad; and though several of these essays have been reprinted from previous collections, they have a striking unity of purpose. . . Marotti’s study is probably the nearest ting we have to a survey: proudly anti-canonical, but also looking towards a new canon.” —Early Modern Literary Studies“. . . [Marotti] investigates the spirited conflict between Papists and Protestants from the time of Queen Elizabeth I to the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Studying the use of printed material, the portrayal of martyrdom, the role of women and zealots, and Papish plots that threatened all levels of society, Marotti offers insight into a world not unlike our own.” —History“Arthur F. Marotti’s Religious Ideology and Cultural Fantasy: Catholic and Anti-Catholic Discourses in Early Modern England restores visibility to the Catholic Other demonized by the Protestant Reformation in his exploration not about Catholics and especially about English Jesuits. Simultaneously impassioned and reasonable, Marotti’s work goes beyond a study of cultural operations to restore a sense of why these operations mattered, how they were experienced, and how they caused very real suffering and death.” —SEL: Studies in English Literature“Marotti . . . has written a book that is encyclopedic in scope, examining dozens of examples of English Recusant literature together with an ample supply of counter-examples from the Protestant majority. This literature had enormous impact on the political motivations of certain parties, and Marotti lays these out with considerable skill. This highly recommended volume surely will be of use to specialists in tracking the trajectory of English recusancy, though graduate and undergraduate readers in programs dealing with British literature will also take away much from Marotti’s exacting monograph.” —Catholic Library World“Religious Ideology and Cultural Fantasy makes a significant contribution to the literature and understanding of this period of passionately held faiths in conflict, of blurred political and religious identities, and of martyrs, royals, disguised religious, and troubled service of two (or more) masters—or the appearances thereof. Marotti’s endnotes deserve special mention. Because he employs so many rarely cited sources, historians will find these extensive listings a valuable and productive resource. This volume is an adept and adroit study of a crucial period in Catholic life in a time when Counter Reformation was a distinctly personal, daily, and uncomfortably mortal aspect of a Catholic’s life.” —Cistercian Studies Quarterly“This book is in itself an index of the degree to which the study of English recusant literature, and of the literary and controversial writings of the English Catholics, has entered the mainstream of literary and historical debate. Indeed, it should be honoured as something of a monument in the history of this area of scholarship.” —Archivum Historicum“Superb. . . . Religious Ideology and Cultural Fantasy is modestly disguised as a record of the imaginative life of the oppressed Catholic community in England—less a minority than a silenced and stricken majority—and of the cultural fantasies by which they and their Jesuit priests were steadily demonized in text, trial and on the scaffold. Its significance is much greater. The stories told in this book were taken as true by generations of Englishmen; they formed—and to some extent still form—part of British identity. . . .” —Times Literary Supplement“Professor Marotti’s book makes a constructive addition to the literature on religious conflict in early modern England. . . The primary value of the volume is his addition of Catholic sources to a discussion that among literary critics has been largely confined to their opponents.” —The Catholic Historical Review

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Book SynopsisIn Paths to the Triune God, Anselm K. Min brings the theology of Thomas Aquinas into mutually critical dialogue with contemporary theological concerns.Trade Review"The author makes an important contribution to the fundamental question of method in theology and to Aquinas stories. He has clearly expressed the balanced richness of Aquinas' approach to theology and the complexity of contemporary approaches. Readers familiar with theology will gain much from this book."—Catholic Library World"Anselm Min's splendid book will be prized not only by disciples of Aquinas but also by all theologians concerned with the fragmentary state of today's theology. Begun out of Min's concern for the 'woeful ignorance' and even 'contempt' of the classical tradition among some of his students, the work provides a 'postcritical retrieval' of key insights in Aquinas."—Theological Studies“Min is 'not naïve enough to believe that we can simply abandon contemporary theology and return to Aquinas.' By 'contemporary theology' he means a theology that is rooted, in some fashion, in a particular group's experience of oppression and that aims at accomplishing justice for the oppressed group. Aquinas's theology, by contrast, emphasized the unity of humankind in God's creative and redemptive plan. In this work Min seeks to combine the two into a theocentric humanism that retains some doctrinal essence of Christianity within a pluralist context that embraces left-leaning politics.” —Modern Theology"Perhaps the greatest strength of Min's project is its sheer originality. I can hardly think of any journal articles, let alone books, that attempt to engage Aquinas from the perspective of contemporary liberation theology. Min has given us a distinctive and welcome addition to the literature on Aquinas, which should spark a lively debate among Thomists and liberation theologians alike." —Bruce D. Marshall, Southern Methodist University"Paths to the Triune God is a work of theology of the first rank. It brings, in a clear and exact manner, Aquinas's sapiential theology to bear on issues of pressing contemporary concern and, in so doing, brilliantly makes the case for a renewed engagement with a central figure in the Catholic theological tradition." —Joseph P. Wawrykow, University of Notre Dame

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Book SynopsisThis book is a biography of Pope Innocent III. Avoiding the many scholarly controversies concerning the pope, it offers a concise and balanced portrait of the man and his pontificate. Its chronological organization-unusual in biographies of Innocent-enables the reader to see how the pope was usually dealing with many different subjects at the same time, and that the events in one aspect of his life could influence his views of other topics. This structure, together with the thorough documentation, can provide new insights even for scholars well-versed in his pontificate. Written in clear, jargon-free English, the book also gives the students and general reader a good sense of this pope and of the medieval papacy.Trade Review“Thank goodness that John C. Moore’s biography of Pope Innocent III is finally available in an affordable format. His clarity of language, nuanced analysis, and evident mastery of both the sources and the wealth of studies devoted to this pope, whose pontificate was a major watershed in Western history, make Moore’s study a ‘must have’ addition to the library of every medieval student and scholar.” —Alfred J. Andrea, The University of Vermont"Refusing to be driven by one or another of the great operatic episodes of Innocent's pontificate, Moore has produced the most comprehensive and rounded study ever written of the man and the pope—the very readable history of a pontificate from day to day." —Edward M. Peters, Henry Charles Lea Professor of History, University of Pennsylvania“Moore makes a self-consciously bold choice by deciding to abandon the prevailing thematic approach to Innocent and instead to organize his material chronologically. . . . Generously quoting from Innocent’s pre-papal works, papal sermons, and, above all, papal letters, Moore allows his subject the chance to speak for himself. Three well-produced illustrations, two from the thirteenth century, one from the twentieth, depict Innocent’s persona hieratically. More intimately, however, we glimpse him momentarily relaxed and good-humored, thanks to the prose of Gerald of Wales. . . . Moore’s prose is eminently readable. . . . Inherently complex matters of papal diplomacy and relations with troublesome Christian kings are ludicly explained.” —Speculum“This book assesses Innocent’s personal attitudes as expressed both in his ecclesiological ideas and in his practical actions and describes events on the basis of a wide range of sources (papal letters, decrees and sermons). In addition Moore’s chronological approach establishes the actual framework within which Innocent built up his policy.” —Journal of Ecclesiastical History“The author’s presentation of Innocent’s person and pontificate is eminently fair. The complexity of the individual and his times are remarkably well documented. The author has given us an interesting, comprehensive and readable history of an important Pope and an important period in the history of the Church.” —Catholic Library World“John C. Moore was a distinguished expert on Innocent III and his pontificate before the publication of this volume and his reputation will be enhanced by this thorough and searching scholarly biography of the pope. Moore sets out to provide an insight into the reality of the pontificate as Innocent experienced it, and thus he is very good at evoking details of life in the papal court. Moore’s biography is wide-ranging, showing the preoccupations of the pope at all of the stages of his pontificate.” —English Historical Review“The intention of John C. Moore’s biography of Pope Innocent III, originally published by Brill in 2003, is to provide a chronological account of the life of one of the most influential and able of the medieval pontiffs. By abandoning the more usual thematic approach to Innocent’s pontificate, Moore wants us to better appreciate ‘how the events in one area of his experience may have influenced his reactions to events in others’. . . In spite of its structural problems, Moore’s is the best biography of Innocent III, and this paperback edition should now make it available to the very students of history for whom it was intended.” —The Catholic Historical Review

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Book SynopsisBrian Matz argues that scholars and proponents of the modern Catholic social tradition can gain from the use of ancient texts for contemporary socioethical formation.Trade Review"Patristics and Catholic Social Thought is completely original in approach and stands alone as a unique contribution to the problem of bridging the hermeneutical gap between early Christianity and the contemporary church and the social issues with which we engage today. The book is written in a clear and simple style that is readily accessible to both the specialist and nonspecialist reader alike, making it useful for teachers of hermeneutics in religious studies departments and seminaries." —Wendy Mayer, Australian Catholic University"Brian Matz has shown elsewhere his detailed grasp of patristic texts helpful for Christian ethics today. In this volume he skillfully articulates the major hermeneutical options for critically interpreting these texts and discerns among them the most promising for introducing a patristically inspired reading of biblical narratives to engage the moral imagination of contemporary believers. Christian social thought—both Protestant and Catholic—has much to gain from his analysis." —Daniel Finn, St. John's University"Brian Matz’s innovative research in hermeneutical models provides occasion and opportunity for both veteran scholars and emerging experts to consider how we might carefully and authentically bring the voices of late antiquity into conversation with today's modern ethicists around shared concerns with poverty and injustice. Matz meticulously unfolds models that will surely impact and guide work in the academic field for generations. In this, he has provided the academic community with a gift and a challenge to make our work relevant, and thus to change not only how we think, but also how we live." —Brenda Llewellyn Ihssen, Pacific Lutheran University“Matz deals with a topic that is quite technical in a clear and systematic manner, making this book relevant for anyone interested in sustaining the patristic treasures of the Christian faith and allowing them to bear fruit in our lifetime. . . . This work is an item worthy of a place in college, university, and seminary libraries, as well as the office shelves of those involved in the social justice ministries of Christian churches.” —Catholic Library World “[Our] task as scholars is to gather complexity together and try to make sense of it, and Matz is to be commended for his considerable dedication to exploring topics of theological, social, and ethical importance. That he is able to make such a considerably complex task so manageable for the reader is a sign not only of his erudition among each of the fields but also points to his ability to enhance the future work of the academy.” —Journal of Religion

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Book SynopsisUsing concrete examples, John T. Noonan, Jr., demonstrates that the moral teaching of the Catholic Church has changed and continues to change without abandoning its foundational commitment to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Specifically, Noonan looks at the profound changes that have occurred over the centuries in Catholic moral teaching on freedom of conscience, lending for a profit, and slavery. He also offers a close examination of the change now in progress concerning divorce. In these changes Noonan perceives the Catholic Church to be a vigorous, living organism answering new questions with new answers, and enlarging the capacity of believers to learn through experience and empathy what love demands. He contends that the impetus to change comes from a variety of sources, including prayer, meditation on Scripture, new theological insights and analyses, the evolution of human institutions, and the examples and instruction given by persons of good will. Noonan also stateTrade Review“What might at first glance seem to be a problematic piling up of disparate answers . . . actually helps to seal Noonan's case. The multiple interwoven issues lead one toward the realization that there has been a certain heterogeneous inconsistency, even not excluding the church's determination of what is unnatural or intrinsically evil.” —American Catholic Studies"Crisply written and immensely learned, [A Church That Can and Cannot Change] documents profound change in Catholic teaching on three topics—slavery, usury, religious liberty—and significant development with regard to a fourth, the dissolution of marriage." —Commonweal"Noonan's real intent is to craft an argument. It is, roughly, this: Change is healthy, and the Church should abandon what is untenable; each age helps forge deeper understanding; though a revised doctrine may itself be wrong, we needn't worry because people of the future will fix such problems." —New Oxford Review“Anyone looking for a comprehensive and insightful read on church history need look no further than John T. Noonan Jr.'s A Church That Can and Cannot Change. In short, to-the-point chapters Noonan, an accomplished historian and a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals, leads the reader by the nose through his argument that the church's moral teaching can and does change-and probably will again. The heart of his case is his unflinching account of the church's relationship with slavery. Meticulously presenting the evidence, Noonan demonstrates beyond any reasonable doubt the church's move from acceptance of human slavery to eventual condemnation.” —U.S. Catholic"Noonan's thesis is that while the Catholic Church cannot change in holding to the deposit of faith, its moral doctrine has changed with regard to slavery, usury, and religious liberty, and it is in process of changing with regard to the dissolving of non-sacramental marriages. . . This is a thoughtful and scholarly work, which raises questions for both moral and systematic theologians." —The Catholic Historical Review"John Noonan wants to do for the commandments what John Newman did for the creed. Just as Newman showed there have been developments in the Church's understanding of the creed, so Noonan wants to show there have been developments in the church's understanding of morals. As Newman had his test cases, things like Nicea and devotion to the saints and the papacy, so Noonan has his test cases. He treats Church teaching on slavery, usury, religious freedom, and divorce." —The Thomist“Long curious about the absence of a body of writing on the development of the Church's moral doctrine to match the copious treatment of the development of the doctrines of faith, he set himself to the present inquiry. . . . Noonan chose as the areas of development to explore slave-holding, usury, religious freedom, and the second marriage of a Catholic who has been married to an unbaptized person. . . . The book is a remarkably welcome resource in an important theological matter.” —Horizons“Noonan offers an intrepid analysis of unambiguous development in Catholic moral teaching that should cause the Church to celebrate rather than diminish the dynamic process of development . . . This enlightening, challenging, and hopeful book should contribute substantively to an appreciation of the constructive role of the development of moral doctrine in Catholic theology.” —The Heythrop Journal“Noonan's works on usury, contraception, religious freedom, abortion, divorce, and bribery have set the gold standard for research in theological ethics. His research is especially compelling for Roman Catholic ethics shaped to some degree by magisterial teachings that often make the claim of inerrancy precisely through another claim: that its utterances are continuously the same and resist change, despite evidence to the contrary. . . . This brilliant book teaches us that, if we appreciate history, inevitably we are called to understand more than we presently know.” —The Journal of Religion"John T. Noonan's writing is tight, the examples are striking, the one-liners abundant, and the treasure-trove of amazing (and egregious) ecclesial statements is eye-popping. . . excellent book. . . " —Catholic Library World"In "A Church That Can and Cannot Change," Noonan drives home the point that some Catholic moral doctrines have changed radically. History, he concludes, does not support the comforting notion that the church simply elaborates on or expands previous teachings without contradicting them."—The New York Times

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Book SynopsisFinding the Voice of the Church is written for a broad audience interested in the challenges facing the contemporary Catholic Church. These challenges are ones that should concern all Christians, not only Catholics. Noted scholar and commentator George Dennis O'Brien poses (and answers) three provocative questions: What is the proper voice of the church? Is there a voice of Christian faith? Can what is said about Christianity be fundamentally distorted by how it is said? Through his clear and relevant discussion of the basic content of Christianity, O'Brien concludes that the primary voice of Catholic Christianity, the papal teaching voice, must be radically re-understood if the Church is to be the proper medium and voice of the gospel message.O'Brien begins with the primary voice of the Church: baptism, gospel, and Eucharist. He contends that too much official teaching from the Roman magisterium to the local pulpit reverses the order of the ancient formula lex oTrade Review“A philosopher by training and a cradle Catholic, O'Brien has a deep commitment to his religious tradition and strong opinions about how it is being handed on. Reading this in the preface, I was buoyed by the hope that Finding the Voice of the Church would be a book nurtured by a mature faith sufficiently critical to cut deep and sufficiently grace-filled to offer healing-minus academic jargon. I think the author succeeds. . . . Finding the Voice of the Church is not theology-lite; neither are its rewards. For careful readers, it can nourish hope, strengthen faith and maybe complicate the intent of Matt 23:9.” —America “To be both a defender of the faith and an advocate of church reform is not easy. King Henry VIII failed spectacularly in that mission, but in his new book George Dennis O’Brien succeeds wonderfully. . . . Employing a masterly command of philosophy, theology, literature, drama, and art, O’Brien proposes another theological approach. . . . [This] book will help committed believers understand the solid ground on which they stand without flattening that ground or pretending to map it completely. . . . I find O’Brien’s book to be original, astute, and praiseworthy.” —Commonweal “This is a contemporary and passionate revisioning of authority in the Roman Catholic Church from the perspective of a committed layman. O'Brien articulates two viewpoints, or ‘voices,’ that seemingly encapsulate the debate in modern Catholicism regarding faith and ecclesiology. . . . Somewhat philosophical, the text, complete with eight pages of endnotes, is easily understood and devoid of much theological jargon. Recommended for all libraries interested in theological titles.” —Library Journal “O'Brien here offers his opinions on the state of the Catholic Church. O'Brien calls for the church to take on a voice that is more listening and therapeutic than didactic and moral.” —Choice “In response to the divide between papal teaching and the opinions of both the Catholic left and the Catholic right, O'Brien opens an inquiry into what the voice of Christian faith is and to what extend, and by what means, the church is capable of being the medium for the Gospels. He looks at the papal voice and official teaching, from the Roman Magisterium to the local pulpit. He also proposes ways in which the church can re-envision the structure and tone of its teaching to be a more authentic voice of the faithful.” —Conscience “It is a soul-searching exploration, a challenge to the status quo, a thinking-out-loud, an invitation to reassess. . . . But those who are open to the stimulation of looking at the Church in an unconventional way will be impressed with the wit and wisdom of a grandfather who loves the Church and knows it can do better.” —St. Anthony Messenger “In this very important work, O'Brien employs all the his ample philosophical acumen to bring us through a consideration of who speaks for the church and how such a one must speak in order to be heard . . . . This book is an important contribution to the many volumes claiming to examine the problems in the Catholic Church today. However, this work emerges above the others in its fascinating consideration of the religious persona and its ability to transform the reader's suppositions about the very nature of faith and teaching.” —Catholic Library World “George Dennis O'Brien thinks the Church has lost its voice. . . . [He] has something to say about how the church should speak to its members and the world at large (and about what the church should say), and he is ready to tell Rome and the rest of us how to recover our voice. And after reading Finding the Voice of the Church, I think the Vatican, the U.S. bishops, the clergy, and the folks in the pews could do a lot worse than pulling up a chair and giving O'Brien-and one another-a good hard listen.” —U.S. Catholic “Finding the Voice of the Church seems to offer something for most everyone. . . . George Dennis O'Brien has listened to and sounded a wide variety of voices to establish a solid foundation and to suggest a voice for the church in the world today.” —CatholicBooksReview.org "As the church finds itself in what O'Brien describes as a ‘profound crisis’, (xi) the author sets about with humor and exaggeration, but serious intent, to describe a way in which the church can begin, not to change or even to reform, but to begin a process of listening so that it can understand the value of the voices of the concerned from all parts of society, within and outside the Catholic Church." —American Catholic Studies

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Book SynopsisEveryday life for Cubans in the United States during the 1960s and 1970s involved an intimate interaction between commitment to an exile identity and reluctant integration into a new society. For Catholic Cuban exiles, their faith provided a filter through which they analyzed and understood both their exile and their ethnic identities. Catholicism offered the exiles continuity: a community of faith, a place to gather, a sense of legitimacy as a people. Religion exerted a major influence on the beliefs and actions of Cuban exiles as they integrated into U.S. culture and tried at the same time to make sense of events in their homeland. Cuban Catholics in the United States, 1960-1980 examines all these facets of the exile and integration process among Catholics, primarily in south Florida, but the voices of others across the United States, Latin America, and Europe also enter the story. The personal papers of exiles, their books and pamphlets, newspaper articles, governmeTrade Review“Poyo provides a splendid overview of how Catholic thought shaped Cuban action and reaction to the momentous events of the second half of the twentieth century, in Cuba and in exile. A highly informative account of the complex process of emigration and assimilation at the intersection of politics and religion.” —Louis A. Perez, Jr., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill“Focuses on South Florida in a study of the identity and sometimes reluctant cultural integration of committed, rather than nominal, Roman Catholics in the Cuban exile community.” —The Chronicle of Higher Education"This important, impressively researched work focuses on the enormous role Catholicism played during the formative first decades of the Cuban exile community. It is a veritable X-ray of the formation of an influential diaspora community. . . . Highly recommended.” —Choice“ . . . a much-needed introduction to one of the most tormented Latino/a groups in the United States, Cuban American exiles. Poyo's historical text is based on careful archival research both on the island and in the United States . . . an extremely well-written overview of Cuban American Catholics, a wonderful narrative of religion, politics, and integration.” —The Journal of American History“Poyo gives a detailed analysis of how Cuban Catholics uneasily yet constructively integrated themselves into American society while resisting the assimilation experienced by other immigrant groups. . . . Cuban Catholics integrated into the Catholic Church in America on their own terms, too. Adapting to an ecclesiastical structure that centered on the local parish. . . . Poyo has written a vitally important book that must be read if one is to gain a complete and accurate understanding about revolutionary Cuba, the Cuban exile community in the United States, or simply study an outstanding example of a committed group of immigrants that maintained cultural identity while succeeding in America.” —American Catholic Studies“Clearly written and well organized, Cuban Catholics in the United States, 1960-1980: Exile and Integration provides an excellent understanding of one aspect of Miami's Cuban community. It is an important contribution to the social history of this most dynamic group.” —Journal of Southern History“Cuban Catholics in the United States, 1960-1980 is the rare book that delivers more than its title promises. Although it deals principally with Cuban Catholics in South Florida during the decades of the ‘historical exile,’ the first chapters offer detailed analyses of Catholics’ social thought and their growing involvement in Havana’s political scene from the 1920s to the 1950s. Subsequent chapters locate exiles in the currents of Hispanic Catholicism in the United States and the transnational routes of the Cuban diaspora.” —Journal of American Ethnic History“Thousands of pages have been written to narrate, interpret, laud, and accuse what has transpired in Cuba in the past fifty years. Gerald E. Poyo’s new book brings to readers a magnificent analysis, based on inquisitive and broad research, with a keen sense of the times and problems involved in each period discussed. . . . Poyo’s book is enlightening, and written with style, masterful research, and a keen sense of interpretation. In nine chapters and an epilogue, each a comprehensive unit, and each necessary to understand the full text, Poyo develops a magnificent narrative of the presence of the Catholic Church in Cuba since the early nineteenth century.” —American Historical Review“Gerald Poyo, in this important book on Cuban Catholics, follows their exodus to the United States and examines the role religion played in their struggle to survive and to maintain a cultural identity.” —The Catholic Historical Review“Gerald E. Poyo’s skilled, well researched, and balanced account of the evolution of Cuban-American Catholicism during the 1960s and 1970s concedes at the outset that ‘Catholics represent only a small slice of the Cuban exile story.’ Yet he convincingly demonstrates their importance in the larger exile narrative, suggesting that the religious traditions of first-generation Cuban-American Catholics offered coherence to a massive exile population shocked with the religious decay and general disruption brought on by postrevolutionary society.” —The Americas

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Book SynopsisMonsignor Romero: A Bishop for the Third Millennium is a collection of a series of speeches given in honor of the late archbishop by distinguished visitors to Notre Dame. Shortly before his assassination, Archbishop Romero told an interviewer, I have to say, as a Christian, that I don't believe in death without resurrection. If they kill me, I will rise again in the Salvadoran people. Using a wealth of detailed information about his life and work, the prelates, priests, human rights advocates, civic leaders, and Latin Americanists who have contributed to this volume show how Romero has fulfilled this prophecy.As the title implies, this book examines Romero's role as a model bishop for the new millennium. It places particular emphasis on his commitment to human rights, his innovative implementation of the option for the poor, his dedication to the Church, and his views of the role of the laity. It is also an inspirational account of Romero's deep and abiding faith that Trade Review“The Archbishop Romero Lecture Series at Notre Dame has brought US Americans to a rich and multidimensional encounter with the assassinated archbishop who is so deeply loved in El Salvador and far beyond. The authors themselves are a remarkable assembly; their reflections on Romero's life and witness, interesting and challenging. Robert Pelton has written a wonderful book.” —Marie Dennis, Director, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns and Vice-president, Pax Christi International“Fr. Pelton has done a remarkable job in gathering such a diverse and high-quality set of lectures. This volume will become invaluable in keeping Bishop Romero’s memory and legacy alive in the U.S. and abroad.” —Rev. Luis Calero, S.J., Santa Clara University“Nearly twenty-five years after his martyrdom the witness of Monsignor Oscar Romero continues to serve as a reference point for thousands of Latin Americans and people all around the world who model their lives after the Gospel ideals he lived out so fully and faithfully. Father Robert Pelton, our premier Latin Americanist, has shown once again his gifts for highlighting the life of one of the church’s true heroic figures with this superb collection of lectures that keep the spirit of Romero alive for future generations.” —Rev. Stephen P. Judd, M.M., Director of the Maryknoll Language Institute, Cochabamba, Bolivia“Oscar Romero, the Archbishop of San Salvador who repeatedly protested against the rampant violence in his homeland. . . has been honored by the Archbishop Romero Lecture Series at the University of Notre Dame since 1987; the present volume makes eight of those lectures available to a wider audience.” —Religious Studies Review"Robert Pelton has collected various essays that attempt to reckon with Romero's formidable influence. Writers in this volume—from El Salvadoran political leader Rubén Zamora to U.S. activist Margaret Swedish, to Chiapas bishop Samuel Ruiz Garcia—would surely agree with Archbishop Luciano Mendes de Almeida who points out that, Romero always spoke the truth about the situation of oppression and repression being lived by the poorest of the poor—even risking his life to do so. . . . the book reveals the various conflicts in which Romero found himself at such a grave time in the life of his country." —The Americas"For those who have yet to be introduced to this 'saint of our time, Monsignor Romero is a powerful and substantial introduction to his person. For those who already know him, this book provides new and interesting perspectives, from a wide range of people, on his life and continuing significance." —St. Anthony Messenger"University, college and public libraries would do well to include this book in their collections because it not only sets forth Romero's inspiring legacy but also helps the reader to understand the forces that keep people in debilitating poverty." —Catholic Library World "All the lectures collected in this book give valuable insights into the importance of Romero for the third millennium." —American Catholic Studies"The essays look with admiring reverence back to his life and forward with hope for the 21st century, which his death enabled him to look into only with far-seeing eyes that would never grow old and weary. Our day too needs such eyes. . . ." —Review for Religious"This volume contains reflections offered at the Archbishop Romero Lecture Series at the University of Notre Dame." —Theology Digest

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Book SynopsisAdriaan Theodoor Peperzak contends that while many Catholic philosophers try to practice a modern, autonomous style of thinking, their experience of a faith-guided life necessarily compels them to integrate their scholarly pursuits with their Christian faith. He writes, Christians who think cannot separate their thought from their faith and theology. Indeed, he argues that the work of Christian, particularly Catholic, philosophers loses its vitality when philosophers try to restrict their reflections to natural reason alone. In this book he explores the essential unity of philosophical and theological thought from various perspectives and pleads for a radical change of method in philosophy. Peperzak maintains that the interdependencies of philosophy, theology, and the sciences must collectively determine the character of a Catholic university. For him, all serious philosophy has a profoundly religious character and is the quest for a kind of wisdom unhampered by arbitrary boundaries. HTrade Review"In this collection of fourteen essays, Peperzak... expounds on various topics related to Christian thought in the context of philosophy. These topics include the importance of theology in the university; the relationship among philosophy, theology, and scientific disciplines; and the place of Christian thought in philosophy. Throughout, he argues that Christian thought in the work of Christian philosophers and intellectuals must necessarily be a part of their academic rationale."—Library Journal"In this stimulating series of essays, Adriaan Theodoor Peperzak defends the need for a kind of learning that goes beyond academic professionalism, and reflects on how one might re-establish the links between philosophy and the central concern philosophers once shared with sages, theologians and masters of spirituality, for whom the driving force was a profound passion for succeeding in the art of living humanly. [I]f the book reaches only a restricted audience, that would be a pity. For the wider message is one that has much to say to contemporary anglophone philosophers, by no means all of whom are content to see their subject fragment into increasingly narrow specialisms. This rediscovery... is long overdue. [+A] powerful and committed piece of advocacy, rich in scholarship and of transparent integrity."—The Tablet"Philosophy Between Faith and Theology is a masterful expression of the intellectual resources of the Catholic tradition, as brought to bear on issues of Catholic faith, education, and culture." —Jeffrey Bloechl, College of the Holy Cross“This book is a refreshing attempt to transcend both modernity and postmodernity. Peperzak recognizes the limits of pure reason without despairing over them. He shows us how our limits can become the conditions for our success.” —Catholic Library World"This book makes an original contribution to Catholic studies, philosophy, and theology by charting a useful, cogent, and meditative course between Christian faith and scholarship. On the basis of a lifetime's erudition and experience, Adriaan Peperzak transforms the ways we think about faith, theology, and philosophy." —Kevin Corrigan, Emory University"Peperzak is at his best in his critique of the failures of the modern academy in its uniform imposition of the secularist, Enlightenment ideal of knowledge and in his use of the phenomenological approaches to open up a deeper appreciation of human practice.... Peperzak is to be commended for struggling against the sterility of the modern academy and finding his way to a deeper and higher wisdom as found in faith, addressing himself to the very question of the relation of faith, spirituality, and philosophy."—Crisis Magazine"With intelligence, this book breaks the modern taboo of the separation between philosophy and theology. It is an invitation to philosophy to recover its rooting in life and to become knowledgeable about love. It is an invitation to theology to rediscover its vocation as a mature consciousness of faith, to communicate using all forms of human thought, and to avoid the pathology of fundamentalism. Peperzak, whose thought is well rooted in the traditions of Western philosophy and Christian theology and who is also profoundly aware of the contemporary philosophical-theological debate, is able to speak efficaciously whether to Catholic intellectuals or to any scholar interested in the integrality of human wisdom." —Professor Giovanni Ferretti, director of the Department of Philosophy and Human Sciences at the Università degli Studi, Macerata, Italy

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Book SynopsisRethinking the Purpose of Business challenges reigning shareholder and stakeholder management theories using philosophical and theological dimensions of the Catholic social tradition. In this useful book, the contributors, including management theorists, moral theologians, economists, ethicists, and attorneys, debate complicated issues such as the ethics of profit seeking, equity and efficiency in the firm, the shareholder value principle, social ethics of corporate management, the principle of subsidiarity, and modern contract theory.While the contributors to this thought-provoking volume share a respect for the power of markets, they also assign value to community, common goods, and personal virtue. Essays combine organizational and management theory with philosophical and theological accounts of human purpose. A central argument of this collection is that the tradition of Catholic social thought provides principles that enable fruitful conversations across disciplTrade Review"An earnest collection of essays on what Catholic social teaching has to say about business and corporations and our role in them." —Commonweal“This is a worthwhile book and its contents ought to cause a more intense discussion of Catholic social doctrine among Catholics and others.” —New Oxford Review“...a selection of impressive and insightful essays by erudite authors concerning business management theories that remain in harmony with social traditions of Catholicism...Rethinking the Purpose of Business is thoughtful and thought-provoking reading which is especially commended to anyone seeking to balance the requirements of faith with the demands of commerce.” —The Midwest Book Review“The main benefit of this book is that it shows how widespread the interest is among scholars and businesspeople to use the categories of Catholic social thought to understand business activity.” —Markets & Morality“At this time in America’s history, when business scandals of unimaginable proportions make regular headlines, a volume like this can serve as a starting point for changing the way business is taught in our colleges and universities.” —Research News and Opportunities in Science and Theology

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Book SynopsisIn this timely collection of essays, twenty-two widely respected writers, historians, theologians, and feminists thoughtfully reflect on their own personal experiences with the Catholic Church. The essayists movingly describe how they have, or in some cases have not, come to terms with a church that does not permit them full participation. In so doing, they offer practical suggestions for ways in which the church can become more open to the concerns of its progressive members.Among the essayists and essays featured in this collection are Rosemary Radford Ruether, who provides a brief history of twentieth-century reform movements; internationally-known Irish journalist Mary Kenny, who writes on the abortion debate in Ireland; Pulitzer Prizewinner Madeleine Blais, who discusses her youth in parochial schools; short-story writer and New Yorker contributor Jean McGarry, who describes the clash of Catholic and secular cultures; and Grail co-founder Janet Kalven, who depicts the hiTrade Review"I know of nothing in print that offers this engaging mix of voices rational and exalted, meliorative and audacious, troubled, pugnacious, quizzical, and sane."

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Book SynopsisThis interdisciplinary and ecumenical collection of essays honors the transformative work of Margaret A. Farley, Gilbert L. Stark Professor of Christian Ethics at Yale Divinity School, by using it as a starting point for reflection on the contribution of feminist method to theology and ethics. Through a variety of perspectives, contributors show that by resisting classical oppositions between interpersonal and social ethics and by insisting that social, economic, and political realities be taken seriously in considerations of justice, feminist concerns challenge the very categories of Christian ethics.With essays ranging from sexual ethics to human rights, medical ethics to freedom, A Just and True Love offers a broad perspective on the last twenty-five years of feminist innovation in Christian ethics and a glimpse of its global future, particularly in continents such as Africa.Trade Review“Margaret Farley’s students and colleagues honor her in this volume with their wide-ranging essays on feminist approaches to issues Margaret cares about: sexual abuse, contraception, hospitality, same-sex love, and more.” —WATERwheel“In this festschrift, colleagues and students of Margaret Farley honor her groundbreaking work in feminist ethics, sexual ethics, and medical ethics and her generous labor as a teacher and mentor. Essays here probe the implications of Farley’s work for central theological ethical topics such as vocation, religious freedom, the role of the magisterium in teaching moral truths, virtues in the light of role responsibilities, and autonomy and relationality.” —Horizons“These essays in honor of Yale Divinity School professor Margaret Farley speak to the issues that have driven Farley’s illustrious career: ethics, feminism, Roman Catholicism and sexuality.” —Publishers Weekly“The superb compilation captures the interdisciplinary, scholarly depth, the ecumenical, interfaith, and global breadth, and the spectrum of active involvement represented in [Margaret] Farley's life work. This volume is a 'must-read' for experts as well as for graduate theology and ethics students.” —Theological Studies“These 15 essays honor the work of Margaret A. Farley, Gilbert. L. Stark Professor of Christian Ethics at Yale Divinity School. The contributors include some of the most prominent thinkers in Christian theology and ethics.” —Theology Digest“In A Just and True Love, a host of distinguished scholars consider fundamental themes of feminist theological ethics and their significance for global justice, the meaning of Christian love, creative casuistry, and truthful life in the Church. I can imagine no higher praise than to affirm that these authors have succeeded marvelously in doing exactly what they set out to do: to produce a volume worthy of the theological work and wisdom of Margaret Farley.” —William Werpehowski, Villanova University“Inevitably while listening to or reading Margaret Farley, we find her refrain, ‘I want to ask all over again.’ Reexamining, reframing, and rethinking is Farley’s method of engaging anew human experience and relationality. The authors of these essays capture that method as they reconsider feminism and sexuality, love and freedom, justice and truth, contraception and women’s rights. Like her own work, they reset the ethical agenda to recapture a more loving truth. A very successful collection for a most admired colleague. Ryan and Linnane are to be congratulated!” —James F. Keenan, S.J., Boston College“This book brings together a number of the most prominent thinkers in Christian theology and ethics today in a justly deserved tribute to the work and influence of Margaret Farley. The essays explicitly acknowledge and engage Farley in various degrees; one comes away appreciating both the integrity of her work and its versatility.” —Darlene Fozard Weaver, Villanova University

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Book SynopsisIn Icons of Hope: The Last Things in Catholic Imagination, John Thiel, one of the most influential Catholic theologians today, argues that modern theologians have been unduly reticent in their writing about last things: death, judgment, heaven, and hell. Beholden to a historical-critical standard of interpretation, they often have been reluctant to engage in eschatological reflection that takes the doctrine of the last things seriously as real events that Christians are obliged to imagine meaningfully and to describe with some measure of faithful coherence. Modern theology's religious pluralism leaves room for a speculative style of interpretation that issues in icons of hopetheological portraits of resurrected life that can inform and inspire the life of faith. Icons of Hope presents an interpretation of heavenly life, the Last Judgment, and the communion of the saints that is shaped by a view of the activity of the blessed dead consistent with Christian beliefTrade Review"This is a deeply felt, intelligent book that dares to argue for a 'thick' description of the eschatological future. Read it and understand the power of premodern doctrinal symbols such as purgatory and Last Judgment to unlock new meaning when probed with a postmodern imagination. Forgiveness is the key. Thiel serves up the spirit and practice of forgiveness in compelling ways as central to resurrected life here and hereafter. In its movement from the grand to the most subtle nuances of hope, this is a most important theological work." —Elizabeth A. Johnson, C.S.J., Distinguished Professor of Theology, Fordham University"This book is a theological rarity in recent theology: a wonderfully imaginative, well and clearly argued, ‘thick eschatology’ about such ‘last things’ as judgment day, the communion of saints, the Beatific Vision, and particular judgment. Grounded in what Thiel calls a ‘noncompetitive spirituality,’ these reflections on a ‘Pauline sensibility in its Catholic style’ make an important and stimulating ecumenical conversation partner." —David Kelsey, Luther A. Weigle Professor Emeritus of Theology, Yale University"Icons of Hope is a bold foray into imagining the ‘last things.’ At once innovative and probative, this latest text from John Thiel argues on pastoral grounds the necessity for imagination to represent the unrepresentable other side of death. Not to imagine is to make an entire swathe of beliefs merely notional and thus effectively put them out of circulation. Among its many contributions, Icons of Hope helps breathe new life into an old topic, and its reimagining of the heavenly life of the blessed dead makes an indelible contribution." —Cyril O'Regan, The Catherine F. Huisking Chair in Theology, University of Notre Dame"Icons of Hope, John Thiel’s creative effort to explore Christian belief in eternal life, is clearly the work of a major theological thinker. . . . While highly speculative, Thiel’s vision is both imaginative and deeply Catholic. His fascinating analysis of Catholic and Protestant artistic representations of the Last Judgment—by artists like Federico Zuccari, Giotto di Bondone, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Lucas Cranach the Younger and Albrecht Dürer—enriches his narrative." —America"[Thiel's] theological writing has always combined poise and a sense of urgency, and this intricately argued treatise on eternal life is no exception. . . . Thiel's book . . . raises questions about the role of the imagination in theology, and especially in eschatology. His emphasis throughout is on 'imagining' the last things. But he ends up proposing ways to 'think' or 'speak' about these things as often as he proposes ways to imagine them. . . . [O]ne can only be grateful to Thiel for a book that stirs us from our dogmatic slumbers about the world to come." —Commonweal"The theological community owes Thiel a debt of gratitude for bringing eschatology back into our consciousness. His 'thick' description of the afterlife will surely provoke a lively discussion. I recommend it to graduate seminars in eschatology and contemporary Catholic theology." —catholicbooksreview.org“[Thiel] suggests that the key lies in the theology of forgiveness and that forgiveness is directly related to sanctity, especially to that sanctity to which Vatican II says all are called. He has thus struck theological and spiritual gold: this history of salvation is the history of God’s forgiveness of his people.” —Cistercian Studies“To read scripture and tradition for they can tell us about the eschaton is to discover models for our own existence. It is this method of correlation that is central to Thiel’s study and what gives Icons of Hope its almost pastoral dimension.” —Journal of Religion

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Book SynopsisWhen The Fundamental Agreement between the Holy See and the State of Israel was signed on December 30, 1993, it established diplomatic ties between the Vatican and Israel for the first time. Published during the tenth anniversary year of this historic document, The Vatican-Israel Accords brings together essays that analyze the legal, historical, theological, and political meaning of the Accords.The compelling essays in this collection explore not only the document and events surrounding its signing, but also the past, present, and future of Catholic-Jewish relations. Contributors, who include scholars from Israel, Italy, France, Spain, and the United States, contend that the history and structure of the Accords offer lessons that may be instructive for others involved in seeking peaceful resolutions to conflict, particularly those who work for peace between Palestine and Israel. This book is for anyone interested in law, political science, ecumenism, diplomacy, or peTrade Review“. . . essays are informed and cogent. This volume is a must read for all seriously interested in Middle East politics, Jewish-Christian relations, and international law. Highly recommended.” —Choice“Scholars of Jewish-Christian relations will use The Vatican-Israel Accords: Political, Legal, and Theological Contexts as a useful and detailed reference about an important event in the history of a complex and fascinating political and religious relationship.” —Perspectives on Political Science“…this collection offers a rare, intriguing glance behind the scenes into the visionary policy and hardball negotiations of Vatican diplomacy. The Vatican-Israel Accords: Political, Legal, and Theological Contexts is the proverbial stone that creates pervading rings in the ocean of life and politics.” —Fellowship of Catholic Scholars Quarterly“…this volume, should be of enormous value to specialists in international relations, church-state affairs, or Christian-Jewish dialogue.” —Catholic Library World". . . a serious study of a difficult and sensitive topic. The book should be assigned as a textbook for comparative religion and Jewish studies curriculum." —Journal of Church and State". . . highly recommend it. . . ." —Association of Jewish Libraries Newsletter". . . an interesting and useful compendium of analyses dealing with the historical, sociological, religious, and legal dimensions of the Fundamental Agreement between the Holy See and the State of Israel." —Journal of Palestine Studies"This volume could easily be the basis of a course or the focus of a study group. Each essay stimulates the mind, regardless of reader or author perspective. Contains bibliographic notes and index. Highly recommended as an important resource on the Middle East." —Church & Synagogue Libraries, Vol.XXXVII"This excellent collection of essays will be a must read for anyone interested in the Middle East, international politics and law, or Catholic-Jewish relations. It examines the historic 1993 accord between the Holy See and the State of Israel from a variety of scholarly points of view. The authors include participants in the negotiations that led to the agreement, making it the definitive interpreter of the accord and its historical and religious implications." —The Catholic Historical Review

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Book SynopsisFocusing on the identity and ministry of Jesus, adherents of some of the world's major religions comment on the tradition of Christian engagement with fundamental questions of Christology. Covering diverse themes, the essays in this volume are united by the conviction that the faith of the Church is open to development and understanding.

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Book SynopsisThis collection of original essays by literary critics and historians analyzes a wide range of Milton's writing, from his early poetry, through his mid-century political prose, to De Doctrina Christiana, which was unpublished in his lifetime, and finally to his last and greatest poems. The contributors investigate the rich variety of approaches to Milton's engagement with Catholicism and its relationship to reformed religion. The essays address latent tensions and contradictions, explore the nuances of Milton's relationship to the easy commonplaces of Protestant compatriots, and disclose the polemical strategies and tactics that often shape that engagement.The contributors link Milton and Catholicism with early modern confessional conflicts between Catholics and Protestants that in turn led to new models and standards of authority, scholarship, and interiority. In Milton's case, he deployed anti-Catholicism as a rhetorical device and the negative example out of which PTrade Review"Milton engaged with Roman Catholicism in a variety of contexts and in many different ways. This diversity, however, rarely attracts comment. This is a book that fills a gap, without competitors, and one that promises to open up new lines of enquiry. It is also (as the introduction notes) in tune with a renewed scholarly interest in the cultural history of Roman Catholicism in early modern England." —N. H. Keeble, emeritus, University of Stirling"This book is to be warmly welcomed as the first full-scale investigation of Milton’s engagements with Catholicism. It examines his fierce Protestant anti-Catholic sentiment, as well as his admiration for the culture and intellectual life of Catholic Italy. It considers how Milton’s responses to Catholicism interacted with his literary creativity and religious beliefs in his prose and poetry. Its contributors also offer fresh perspectives on the complex relation between intolerance and toleration in Milton and his contemporaries. This book is a major contribution to work on Catholicism and anti-Catholicism in early modern England." —David Loewenstein, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of English and the Humanities, Penn State–University Park"This timely and well-crafted volume breaks important new ground in showing how Milton’s responses to Catholicism are less binary, more imaginative, and more closely linked with his own poetic and national self-fashioning than has been recognized. A major new contribution to scholarly discussion of the construction of religious identity in early modern England, Milton and Catholicism should be of considerable interest and value not only to Miltonists but to students and scholars of early modern literature, religion, politics, and culture." —Laura L. Knoppers, editor, Milton Studies, University of Notre Dame"Milton’s anti-Catholicism is not a new scholarly topic, but this fine multifaceted collection of essays not only combs that author’s poetry and prose for the strong statements and creative expressions of his religious and political opposition to a religion he defined as a non-religion unworthy of toleration, but also explores some of the poet’s more nuanced attitudes—for example, his affection for particular Italian Catholic intellectuals and his emphatically positive treatment of the Virgin Mary in Paradise Regained. Corthell and Corns have gathered a surprisingly varied group of studies that should interest both Miltonists and a broader audience of literary scholars and historians." —Arthur F. Marotti, Distinguished Professor of English Emeritus, Wayne State University"The University of Notre Dame Press has now added to its Catholic Culture in Early Modern England (2007) a further exploration of the Catholic background of the modern world: Milton and Catholicism. . . . The new book . . . shifts the focus to a stridently anti-Catholic poet and polemicist. It admits that Milton's anti-Catholicism is a well-known topic, but explores some more nuanced aspects of the question. . . . [T]he book gives a thorough account . . . of his 'ideologically impassioned' hostility." —Times Literary Supplement"Milton and Catholicism shifts the focus to a stridently anti-Catholic poet and polemicist. It admits that Milton's anti-Catholicism is a well-known topic, but explores some more nuanced aspects of the question. . . . [T]he book gives a thorough account . . . of his 'ideologically impassioned' hostility." —Times Literary Supplement

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Book SynopsisThe saints are good company. They are the heroes of the faith who blazed new and creative paths to holiness; they are the witnesses whose testimonies echo throughout the ages in the memory of the Church. Most Christians, and particularly Catholics, are likely to have their own favorite saints, those who inspire and speak to believers as they pray and struggle through the challenges of their own lives. Leonard DeLorenzo's book addresses the idea of the communion of saints, rather than individual saints, with the conviction that what makes the saints holy and what forms them into a communion is one and the same. Work of Love investigates the issue of communication within the communio sanctorum and the fullness of Christian hope in the face of the meaningor meaninglessnessof death. In an effort to revitalize a theological topic that for much of Catholic history has been an indelible part of the Catholic imaginary, DeLorenzo invokes the ideas of not only many theological fTrade Review“DeLorenzo makes a singular contribution to the needed ‘recovery of an eschatological imagination’ for contemporary Christians. He brings new depth and clarity to the issue, both analytically and synthetically. A most impressive piece of scholarship, in which theology and spirituality enrich one another.” —Rev. Robert P. Imbelli, author of Rekindling the Christic Imagination"Work of Love: A Theological Reconstruction of the Communion of Saints is a masterly contribution by a promising young theologian. Building upon and irenically critiquing Thiel and Johnson, DeLorenzo shows why the communion of saints is not a mere pious add-on to Catholic theology, but instead belongs to its very heart. Today we are facing an urgent need to retrieve the theology of the communion of saints, lest our ecclesiology and pastoral practice wither away on a merely sociological vine. This book is a major first step toward revitalizing the core of Christian communio." —Matthew Levering, James N. and Mary D. Perry, Jr. Chair of Theology, Mundelein Seminary"Leonard DeLorenzo’s Work of Love attends to limitations in our modern ways of thinking and imagining the world. His 'lives of the saints' is no mere gloss over our fragmented world. In his study, the saints are living and active as we begin to see the deep connection between holiness and communion, between our good end in God and God’s ever-active presence to the world." —David M. McCarthy, Fr. James M. Forker Professor of Catholic Social Teaching, Mount St. Mary’s University"For Protestant readers, Work of Love is . . . a chance to experience the doctrine of the communion of saints in its Catholic fullness, to see how the veneration of one’s forebears in the faith might attest to and not distract from a robust belief in Christ’s Godhood. Most of all, though, the book is a work of love because it teaches us how to think about our own dead—that ever-lengthening mental list of people who, in their friendship or antagonism or both, give us bits of ourselves, then leave." —Christian Century“DeLorenzo delves back into the Trinitarian nature of God, the Paschal Mystery, and the ultimate meaning of our own death to imagine a connectedness of holiness transcending time and space. This text is meticulously researched and flawlessly written . . . highly recommended for all theological and academic libraries.” —Catholic Library World“DeLorenzo’s book accomplishes a great deal in this book’s middle chapters by welcoming many voices to the conversation – Karl Rahner, Joseph Ratzinger, Hans Urs von Balthasar, N.T. Wright, Augustine, and others. But his main contribution is to make readers feel the size of the gap between God as creator and God as the creator’s dead child.” —Christian Century“DeLorenzo’s book about the saints shines new light on the whole of the human life within Christ. It will certainly benefit any preacher who wants a better sermon for All Saints, for Holy Week, or for funerals.” —Anglican Theological Review“DeLorenzo has made a substantial contribution to contemporary Roman Catholic theology in this complex volume, one that fruitfully links modern reactions to the ultimate reality of death with traditional and contemporary scriptural and theological perspectives on Jesus Christ’s death and Resurrection." —Reading Religion

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Book SynopsisMore than an account of Ozanam’s life, Antoine Frédéric Ozanam is a comprehensive study of the teachings of the principal founder of Society of St. Vincent de Paul.Trade Review“This is likely to become the definitive biographical work on Ozanam for the foreseeable future. I was most impressed by the author's ability to personalize Ozanam without descending into the seductions of hagiography. This book fulfills the author's strategic plan of explicating Ozanam's impressive work as a leading lawyer and literary scholar, the worth and value of true friendship; and in setting the stage for central elements of Catholic social teaching to come to full fruition in our time. ” —David L. Gregory, The Dorothy Day Professor of Law, St. John’s University"Historian Raymond Sickinger’s affection for his subject surfaces throughout his new biography of Frederic Ozanam. It is an earned affection, as Sickinger meticulously documents, using rich archival and primary sources, the spiritual, civic and personal experiences that informed Ozanam’s life and led him to found the St. Vincent dePaul Society. Sickinger also offers a reading of Ozanam’s life that suggests the degree to which he identified and considered key problems of power, charity and systems change that remain present in the helping professions. Finally, Sickinger draws parallels between Ozanam’s lifelong efforts and the current civic engagement movement: helping young people find life purpose; restoring democracy; and making compassion and service core values of communal, public life. The book is a pleasure to read and a significant contribution to the global history of community service." —Keith Morton, Providence College"Raymond Sickinger’s insightful book on the founder of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul offers English-speaking readers an arresting portrait of a Catholic layman moved to prophetic action by the promptings of his faith as well as a grounding in the spiritual depths of a lay movement that challenges its members to grow in holiness in the course of serving the poor. Locating his subject amid the challenges of the political, intellectual, and religious turmoil of ninteenth-century France, Sickinger not only highlights Ozanam’s significant role in the history of Catholic lay spirituality but assesses him in light of the thought-provoking legacy he has left the contemporary church." —Wendy M. Wright, Creighton University"Antoine Frédéric Ozanam gives us not just the story of an interesting man living at an interesting time, but also a clear picture of why he should still matter to us today. Raymond Sickinger’s affinity for Ozanam yields contemporary insights into Frédéric's ideas about systemic thinking, servant leadership, suffering, politics, and spirituality. The book chronicles a legacy that will have relevance for any reader trying to integrate a meaningful spirituality into their professional, family, and political lives." —Ralph Middlecamp, president, National Council of the United States, Society of St. Vincent de Paul"Frédéric Ozanam was one of a number of influential Catholics in postrevolutionary France who was seeking ways Catholicism could authentically reconstitute itself after the disaster of the ancien régime. Raymond Sickinger does Catholic scholars a tremendous service by reframing Ozanam, analyzing his importance in his own context, and identifying the myriad ways his legacy remains relevant for the church today." —Thomas O'Brien, DePaul University"At last. Raymond Sickinger has gifted us: we now have an excellent biography of Blessed Antoine Frédéric Ozanam in English. It has been years since there has been any complete biographic work on Ozanam in English. There are several high-caliber biographies in French, but there has been no indication that they will ever be translated into English or Spanish." —Ronald Ramson, C.M., author of Praying with Frédéric Ozanam"Raymond Sickinger offers us a long awaited well researched and written biography of Frederic Ozanam, a model of holiness for the laity. Ozanam lived out the Gospel call to holiness through caring for the spiritual and material needs of people who are poor. This highly readable book will inspire the reader to service and love of neighbor." —Deacon Gene Smith, Past President of the National Council, St. Vincent de Paul Society"Sickinger . . . unveils the life of an early-19th-century Catholic who is surprisingly relevant to modern times. Ozanam was a devout French Catholic, a prominent scholar, and the principal founder of the lay Catholic charity St. Vincent de Paul. . . . Sickinger meticulously shows how, through visiting and supporting the poor, Ozanam became an advocate of ideas considered radical in his day, such as trade unionism, progressive taxation, and a guaranteed job. . . . the book effectively portrays Ozanam as a compassionate advocate for the poor and deftly highlights the powerful lessons in this 19th-century saint's witness." —Publishers Weekly"Ozanam (1813–1853), one of the founders and definite inspiration for the worldwide Society of St. Vincent de Paul, left an indelible mark on his native France at a time when the Church's social teachings were coming into greater clarity and practice. . . . Ozanam's life is given in detail by Sickinger, but what makes the biography more fulsome is an analysis of his impact, particularly upon the developing social teachings of the Church." —CatholicBooksReview "Thanks to Sickinger’s faithfulness to his authentic subject—which is to say, the man himself, not the image of the man—this book is sure to become the definitive biography of Ozanam for decades, if not longer. . . . Ozanam is a relatively unknown but important, even pivotal, figure in the Church’s recent history. Whether you are a Vincentian, Catholic Worker, both, or neither, I can’t think of a better introduction to the inspiring life and enduring legacy of Antoine Frédéric Ozanam." — Patheos "One question readers might have after reading Antoine Frederic Ozanam is this: When will this man be canonized a saint?. . . . While many are familiar with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and the charitable work it does, what they will learn here is how the society came to be and what made it different from the work of other charitable groups. " —The Visitor "Antoine Frédéric Ozanam, the Catholic teacher and writer best known as the principal founder of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, was born to a French family in 1813. He died at the relatively young age of 40, but his legacy continues to be felt around the world in the estimated 800,000 members of the Society who serve the poor in 135 countries today. His life offers many lessons for the contemporary reader, lessons that Dr. Ray Sickinger . . . explores in a new biography." —Rhode Island Catholic“Raymond L. Sickinger’s Antoine Frédéric Ozanamnow reigns as the definitive biography of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul’s principal founder. . . . [A] must-read not only for all Vincentians wishing to deepen their understanding of the society’s origins and ongoing mission, but also for anyone seeking an account of model Catholicism born in adversity and perfected through charity.” —Catholic Library World

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Book SynopsisJohn C. H. Wu's arresting autobiography recounts his life and influence on Chinese Christianity and develops a synthesis between Catholicism and the ancient culture of China.Trade Review“Now in a new edition that includes a foreword written by Wu’s son, John Wu, Jr., makes Beyond East and West a profoundly beautiful book by one of the most influential Chinese lay Catholic intellectuals of the twentieth century available for a new generation of readers hungry for spiritual sustenance.” —Midwest Book Review"John C. H. Wu's Beyond East and West is truly among the great classics of Sino-Western and Sino-Christian writing. It is a great service that the University of Notre Dame Press is making Wu's poignant memoir available again—scholars and general readers will rediscover the rich intellectual and spiritual reflections that only Wu can offer." —Anthony E. Clark, Edward B. Lindaman Endowed Chair, Whitworth University"John Wu's story of his conversion to Catholicism, although perhaps not as well known today, is rightly placed alongside the illustrious early to mid-twentieth century convert stories that we know so well: Thomas Merton, Dorothy Day, Karl Stern, Edith Stein, and others. This magnificent memoir is all the more remarkable because Dr. Wu brought his Chinese heritage into the Church to enrich her, rather than leaving it behind at the church door. Anyone interested in inculturation of the faith, Chinese Catholicism, profound and eloquent spiritual wisdom, or simply the dramatic story of a great soul, a learned scholar, and a husband and father (of thirteen children), will enjoy this book and profit from it greatly." —John Cavadini, University of Notre Dame"John C. H. Wu's autobiography, Beyond East and West, recounts the story of his early life, education (including his correspondence with Oliver Wendell Holmes), law career, and drafting of the constitution of the Republic of China. He also relates his conversion and first years as a Catholic, his translation of the Bible into Classical Chinese in collaboration with Chinese president, Chiang Kai-Shek, and service as China's ambassador to the Holy See. The book reveals the development of his thought, arriving through experience at the conclusion that the wisdom in all of China's traditions, especially Confucian thought, Taoism, and Buddhism, point to universal truths that originate from, and are fulfilled in, Christ." —John A. Lindblom, University of Notre Dame"The life-long pilgrimage of a Chinese intellectual full of wisdom, courage and faith." —Chien-Jen Chen, vice president of Taiwan (ROC)

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