"Monumental in scope. McBrien clearly articulates the evolving self-understanding of this unique religious body's role and mission. Splendidly written, it is accessible to anyone interested in understanding the Catholic Church's history and theology from a modern global perspective. Destined to be definitive,"---Library Journal. 496 pages, softcover. HarperOne.

From the struggles of the very first Christians to the challenges and scandals of today, the Catholic Church has wrestled with how to organize itself, express its beliefs, and nurture its members. The Church has grown from a handful of disciples in the first century to over one billion members in the twenty-first, resulting in profound changes that demand a theological response. In this sweeping history, renowned scholar Richard McBrien reveals the evolution of the Church's relationship to the divine, its leadership of the faithful, and its role as a global religion. The Church answers the questions raised by this extraordinary history, including:

• Where did the idea of the pope's infallibility come from?
• Why are priests celibate and women barred from the priesthood?
• What inspired the Inquisition?
• What was the position of the Catholic Church on Hitler's policies in World War II?
• What is the Church's relationship to Islam?
• How will the growth of the Church in South America, Africa, and Asia shape its future?

McBrien helps the reader understand the evolution of the Catholic Church's understanding of itself through the centuries, its leadership, and its relationship to national governments and world religions. From Jesus's apostle Peter to Pope Benedict XVI, The Church explains in layperson's terms the evolution of the Catholic Church, its power, its scope, its theology, and its influence.

Richard P. McBrien is Crowley-O'Brien Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame. Educated at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, he has also served as president of the Catholic Theological Society of America. A leading authority on Catholicism, he is the bestselling author of Catholicism, Lives of the Popes, and Lives of the Saints, as well as the general editor of The HarperCollins Encyclopedia of Catholicism. Most recently a consultant for ABC News, McBrien offers regular commentary on all the major television networks. He is also a prizewinning syndicated columnist in the Catholic press.

As always McBrien’s work is clear, concise and comprehensive in scope. Undoubtedly this book will become a standard ecclesiological reference point for students and teachers alike.

With characteristic clarity, Richard McBrien artfully tells the story of how Catholic theology developed over two millennia. In tracing the insights, conflicts, and fundamentals of Catholic thought, he has provided a superb resource for readers of all traditions.

This is a superb book, as usual. What would we do without this great honest man and his great honest writing?

McBrien’s encyclopedic text examining Roman Catholicism is destined to be the definitive theological work on the topic. . . . [T]his superlative, splendidly written text is accessible to anyone interested in understanding the Catholic Church’s history and theology from a modern global perspective. Recommended for all libraries.

Catholicism expert Richard McBrien offers the first modern history of the Roman Catholic Church. . . . Encyclopedic is scope, but accessible and written in layman’s terms.

A work breathtaking in its scope and yet manageable in its presentation.

This distinguished scholar and professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame, candidly sketches out the pastoral challenges to, and the internal tensions within, the church today.

Catholicism expert Richard McBrien offers the first modern history of the Roman Catholic Church. Encyclopedic in scope but accessible and written in laymen’s terms...

The Church is a lucid, balanced, and readable book-a work of integration that is always reasonable, well informed, honest, and deeply hopeful.

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