Promotional Information

Expanded and updated for the new millennium.

About the Author

THOMAS BOKENKOTTER, the author of the bestselling Church and Revolution, teaches at Xavier University. He is also the pastor of Assumption Church and is active in the social ministry, running a soup kitchen that he founded twenty years ago and a transitional living facility for homeless women and children. He lives in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Reviews

This expanded and updated edition of A Concise History of the Catholic Church is destined to continue the legacy of excellence established by pastor and professor Bokenkotter (Xavier Univ.) when the title was first published by Image Books. Now, 25 years later, he advances on the history of Catholicism to include contemporary issues of liturgical polarization, religious pluralism, theological dissent, and clerical immorality. The current reality of pedophilia and sexual abuse is incorporated into this honest and timely work. The text is divided into five dominant historical periods in Catholicism, beginning with the Church's triumph over paganism, the making and unmaking of Christendom (600-1650 C.E.), the Church in a state of siege (1650-1891 C.E.), and finally the Church in the 20th century. Each concisely written and fully documented chapter clearly develops those broad epochal sections. This new edition is appropriate for scholars, students, and the general reader seeking a balanced and thorough review of Catholicism's complex history. The 40-page annotated bibliography adds considerable depth and authority to the revised text. Black-and-while illustrations throughout and a helpful index add to the overall quality. Ecumenical, comprehensive, and accessible, this is recommended for all libraries even where the 1979 edition is owned.-John-Leonard Berg, Univ. of Wisconsin Lib., Platteville Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.