STH: Roman Catholic Church Resources

The first edition of this reference work, called the Catholic Encyclopedia, was published around the turn of the 20th century, with the last revised edition appearing in 1967. This new edition includes the best of the previous entries - many completely revised and updated - as well as new entries, written by subject experts, covering the latest topics of interest. Many thousands of articles are biographical profiles of the people who make up the history of the Catholic Church.

This lucid and accessible account explains how Roman Catholicism and its beliefs and practices came to be what they are. The authors move through history to sum up the present characteristics of Catholic Christianity and the major challenges it faces in the third millennium. Explaining mattersin a fresh and original way, they do justice to the Catholic heritage and show that Catholicism is a dynamic and living faith. Well-structured, highly informative, and clearly written, the book does not duck critical problems and the negative side of history. Rather, O'Collins and Farrugia explorethe challenges which Catholics and other Christians must face and engage with contemporary moral issues. This is an authoritative, lively, and up-to-date introduction to Catholicism for the modern reader.