The Crisis of Confidence in the Catholic Church


Book Description

The Catholic Church in the United States and Europe has seen declining numbers both in regular attendance and in clergy and religious life.Scandals have torn at people's allegiance, and feelings of disappointment, disillusion, and anger have become widespread. Church authorities have seemed reluctant to acknowledge or address these problems and have responded with vexation to those who raise them from the Right or Left. The Crisis of Confidence in the Catholic Church examines the roots of this crisis in light of the nature of the Church community, its institutional structure, and the historical experiences that have brought it to this pass. Raymond Helmick, SJ, traces the problems of the Catholic Church far back in its history - concentration of Church leadership on control of the Christian population, a requirement of obedience to their rulings rather than on the Gospel values of Jesus, the defensiveness and self-righteousness in the face of any criticism. Helmick also emphasizes the role of the Second Vatican Council as it brought the Church to an awareness of its potentiality for an active life of faith by its total membership. How will the Church revive? Helmick believes that a new growth of Christianity can come now only by a return to the love and care of its original premises, to the things that are redolent of the life of Jesus. The 'new evangelization' can only be done by living a Christian life, giving an example.




54 Years That Changed the Catholic Church


Book Description

What should Catholics think about the New Rite of the Mass in the language of the people? What should we think about the Latin Mass now being granted by Benedict XVI, following in the foot steps of John Paul II? What should we think about the assembly in Assisi, which is justified by the Vatican II? Do Moslems worship the same God as Catholics? In 1958 the Catholic Church had not been plagued with an Antipope for over a half a millennium. And then Pope Pius XII died and Angelo Roncalli took the name and number of the claimants to the papacy from the Western Schism, John XXIII. Like the first John XXIII, this John XXIII also called for a Council. The first John XXIII resigned in favor of the new election at the Council of Constance, which led to the end of the Western Schism. This John XXIII called for a Council in the Vatican that led to the Great Apostasy, as prophesied in Sacred Scripture. Soon the New World Order had a New Mass and New Sacraments to go along with the New Theology of the Second Vatican Council also called Vatican II. Soon the altars in Catholic churches were replaced with tables and the priest became the President of the Assembly on his throne where once the holy altar stood. What were Catholics to do? An Archbishop rose up and called these New Sacramental Rites bastards and Catholics rallied around him, but were soon dismayed when he compromised with the very bastards who had give us these bastard rites. Another Archbishop rose up and declared the John Paul II an Antipope and began arranging to end the vacancy in the Papacy by consecrating Bishops to call for a Papal Election, but this would not come to pass. Catholics soon began to realize that we were in worse times than the catacombs, for at least in the catacombs there was a Pope huddling with the persecuted Catholics. Now Catholics found themselves without priests who would preach the whole truth of the Faith to them. What was the solution? The second Archbishop actually had the solution, but was betrayed by the very men he consecrated to carry it out. The faithful realized that they could lawfully take the matters into their own hands and began the restoration of the Church in our head, so that the members could rally around the Vicar of Jesus Christ and bring an end to the Great Apostasy. All was done in accord with the teachings of the Catholic Church as found in the Councils, Canon Law and even the basic Catechism all had studied from their youth. Soon the Great Apostasy will end and the universal conversion all of the Fathers of the Church predict will happen after the death of Antichrist will occur. This is the period of peace the Blessed Virgin Mary predicted would soon happen. This book is a must read for any Catholic who wants to make sense of the last half a century of events in the Catholic Church. In addition to discussing the many things that have occurred some key little known documents are reproduced in the Appendices.




T&T Clark Companion to Liturgy


Book Description

In the decades following the Second Vatican Council, Catholic liturgy became an area of considerable interest and debate, if not controversy, in the West. Mid-late 20th century liturgical scholarship, upon which the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council were predicated and implemented, no longer stands unquestioned. The liturgical and ecclesial springtime the reforms of Paul VI were expected to facilitate has failed to emerge, leaving many questions as to their wisdom and value. Quo vadis Catholic liturgy? This Companion brings together a variety of scholars who consider this question at the beginning of the 21st century in the light of advances in liturgical scholarship, decades of post-Vatican II experience and the critical re-examination in the West of the question of the liturgy promoted by Benedict XVI. The contributors, each eminent in their field, have distinct takes on how to answer this question, but each makes a significant contribution to contemporary debate, making this Companion an essential reference for the study of Western Catholic liturgy in history and in the light of contemporary scholarship and debate.




Catholicism and Religious Freedom


Book Description

The late Pope John Paul II frequently invoked Dignitatis Humanae as one of the foundational documents of contemporary Church social teaching. In this timely new edited collection, Catholicism and Religious Freedom: Contemporary Reflections on Vatican II's Declaration on Religious Liberty, Kenneth L. Grasso and Robert P. Hunt have assembled an impressive group of scholars to discuss the current meanings of one the Vatican's most important documents and its place in Catholic social thought. The theological issues brought forth in Dignitatis Humanae go to the heart of the contemporary debate about the nature, foundation, and scope of religious liberty. Here, the contributors to this volume give these considerations the serious and sustained attention they deserve.




America's Alternative Religions


Book Description

This is a single-volume source of reliable information on the most important alternative religions, covering for each such essentials as history, theology, impact on the culture, and current status. The chapters of the book were written by experts who study the movements they have written about.




An Open Letter to Confused Catholics


Book Description




Sociological Studies in Roman Catholicism


Book Description

A study of Catholicism in the diverse contexts of French and English Canada, Italy, Switzerland, Latin America, the British Isles and the United States. Not intended as a geographical survey, the text offers perspectives on various sociological approaches to Catholicism.




Encyclopedia of American Religions


Book Description

This encyclopedia, revised and expanded, contains over 2600 descriptive entries on the religious and spiritual groups of the United States and Canada.