"It is 1985 in a small Irish town. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, Bill Furlong, a coal merchant and family man faces into his busiest season. Early one morning, while delivering an order to the local convent, Bill makes a discovery which forces him to confront both his past and the complicit silences of a town controlled by the church."--

Pope Benedict's final days and Francis' battle to set the church on a new path. Pope Benedict made history when he announced his resignation, becoming the first Pope to step down voluntarily in six hundred years. In his wake he left a bitterly divided Vatican mired in scandals. But is Benedict's successor, Pope Francis, taming the forces that helped destroy Benedict's papacy? Is he succeeding in lifting the Church out of crisis? Nearly a year in the...

"How to Pray the Rosary as a Pathway to Contemplation" contains Scripture passages and beautiful art to help meditate on the twenty mysteries of the rosary including instructions on how to pray the rosary, meditate on the mysteries, and how to recognize the transition between meditation and contemplation from St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila. Kathryn Marcellino is a Secular Carmelite."--

"This book (2nd edition July 2011) explains the unique nature of the Church of Rome. The text explores the source of the Church's authority and provides informed commentary on some of the principal areas that divide Catholic and other Christian teaching. The book explains the Church's stance on such topics as scripture and tradition, Mary and the Eucharist."--

"The subject of Heart, Mind and Soul, based on thematic studies conducted by Fernando D'Amico and Jacques Wisman, is proposed in this book as a themed walk through the passages of Scripture from the Old and New Testament. The biblical text (KJV) is presented deliberately devoid of additional comments to offer an immediate and direct perception of the selected track. The thematic reading of the biblical text opens to the reader as a fascinating experience...

"Against the backdrop of 14th-century Europe-a time of social turmoil, outbreaks of the bubonic plague, a catastrophic war that devastated the continent, and an overall transition between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance-this intelligent and comprehensive biography of an oftentimes irreverent, intense, and fiery woman offers an entry point into the life of Catherine of Siena. Deeply researched and based on the latest sources, this history recalls...

"Is bacon fat meat? Chicken? Cheese? Eggs? All of these have been considered, at different times, meat or meatless foods by the Catholic Church. The eighteenth century historian Le Grand d'Aussy included several long passages on the complex history of Catholic fasting in France in his master work on the history of French food. Taken together, they explore the often surprising twists and turns this practice took from the time of the Franks to his own....

"A sequel to The Death of Christian Culture, this spiritual treatise covers social, cultural, and political topics. It explores the importance of religious knowledge and faith to the health of a culture, provides a historical sketch of the change in cultural and educational standards over the last two centuries, and illustrates how literary and other visual arts either contribute to a culture or conspire to tear it down. Compared to a series of sermons,...

Italian Protestants? Few people seem to have heard of them, but the author's mother's immigrant Italian family was Protestant while his father's were Catholic immigrants from Sicily. Relative Strangers describes the author's search for the religious roots of his parents' families in northern Italy and Sicily. He traces the history of the Waldensians, the Protestant sect which began in Lyon, France in the 12th century, often suffering persecution,...

"Aimed at a wide audience of readers, The Anthropology of Catholicism is the first companion guide to this burgeoning field within the anthropology of Christianity. Bringing to light Catholicism's long but comparatively ignored presence within the discipline of anthropology, the book introduces readers to key studies in the field, as well as to current analyses on the present and possible futures of Catholicism globally. This reader provides both...