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Catholicism at the Dawn of the Third Millennium (Theology)

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After two decades of being away from the Church, I found myself wanting a second look and greater depth than I remembered from high school religion class. It was a pleasure to discover a book that pulls so much together. In "Catholicism at the Dawn of the Third Millennium," Thomas P. Rausch covers all bases: this is an overview of Catholic faith, beliefs, teachings, traditions and practice. He includes enough history to make it understandable, but the focus is contemporary: Where is the Church today? Where might we be going? It's a scholarly work -- plenty of footnotes for those who want to dig deeper -- but by no means intimidating. Effective organization and clear subheadings make it easy to pick out areas of interest, the writing is smooth and understandable, and each chapter ends with a short summary.

Revelation, faith, Jesus, the development of the Christian community, the institutional church, tradition, discipleship, sacraments, prayer and spirituality, salvation.....are all covered. Of course, there is a chapter on sin -- one that I found surprisingly helpful. He explores the challenges that lie ahead and addresses difficult issues like Catholic social teachings, ecumenism, the role of women in the Church, sexuality (including homosexuality), and Church authority. He clearly presents official Church teaching, while also reflecting on current theological trends.

For me, this reading has filled in gaps, deepened my appreciation and understanding of Catholic faith and life, and suggested areas for further study. The work will benefit anyone interested in a basic overview, whether motivated by personal searching, a question about Church teaching, or general interest in world religions and spiritual traditions.

This book is now available in a new edition new edition of Catholicism: In The Third Millennium. It is a great book for one raised in the Catholic tradition or someone who is curious about it. It looks back over the past thirty-odd years at the goals of Vatican Council II, and how the church is doing at living up to the expectations from that event.

This revised edition does not, at first look, appear that different. Yet the few differences make it well worth it. There is major revision of chapter 2, section two, which has gone from being `The People of God' to `God and God's People'. There are also discussion questions at the end of each chapter. That will help the reader digest the material, or help a group study the book together.

All in all, in a new edition written seven years after the first, I was hoping for much more. There was an expectation of newer and fresher analysis of the material. Yet, even with that letdown, the book is worth an examination by a member of the catholic community or the casual scholar.