Customer Reviews

The Church: The Evolution of Catholicism

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One always expects Richard McBrien's books to be well organized and readable. THE CHURCH is a perfect example. It is a reference book that can be enjoyed as much as a history filled with the interesting people who influenced events. The book's organization makes it easy to choose at what level of detail you wish to read without interruption. He handles controversial subjects in a dispassionate and matter-of-fact way which is refreshing. This book helps put the Church of the 21st century into proper perspective.

The Reverend Father Richard P. McBrien, a Roman Catholic priest of the Hartford Archdiocese and for several decades a scholar and professor of theology at the Roman Catholic University of Notre Dame (Home of the Fighting Irish) was himself educated at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He has served as President of the Catholic Theological Society of America, and is the respected and accepted author of several academic reference works on Catholicism, as well as popular books for the Faithful and the curious. He has also long written his column popular in several diocesan newspapers across the nation, and which may also now be read at NCRonline. His latest column discusses the hierarchy under Pope Leo the Great, whose feast we now celebrate.

Among his better known publications are the essential The HarperCollins Encyclopedia of Catholicism, for which he served as editor-in-chief and sort of symphonic conductor, drawing together countless experts in their fields to submit items to this excellent Encyclopedia. The articles range from a few lines long to several pages in length and cover nearly every imaginable aspect of the Roman Catholic Church, religion, rituals, etc.

Another, simpler presentation may be his Inside Catholicism (Signs of the sacred) for which he wrote the text to this moving series of photographs of several aspects of the Catholic Church, and excellent gift for anyone from the curious, to the convert, to the newly confirmed to the cradle Catholic. Even the cafeteria Catholic may find full conversion here. He is also greatly appreciated for his comprehensive Lives of the Saints: From Mary and St. Francis of Assisi to John XXIII and Mother Teresa as well as his Lives of the Popes - reissue: The Pontiffs from St. Peter to Benedict XVI which has been updated to include the current papacy. These works are also available in pocket format.

This great Professor of Catholic Theology, the Reverend Father Richard P. McBrien, is also well known for his most widely used text: Catholicism: New Study Edition--Completely Revised and Updated which serves so well seminarians and others eager to enter more deeply the essence of our Faith.

Here in this most recent work we gratefully receive Father McBrien's study of our ecclesiology, beginning with our infant church and the struggles of the very first Christians through the challenges we face now as pilgrim Church in this new millennium. As the subtitle states, within this 500 page book Father McBrien traces our evolution as a community, as one family, as Roman Catholic Church, as a People of God.

Father McBrien as ever does not shirk the hard questions and scandals and embarrassing developments of our past and present, ever hopeful for our future. He examines the origins, for instance of the Inquisition, and the Vatican's position during World War II. He reveals the history of the celibate clergy and the male priesthood. He shows the Church's relationship to Islam. He marks the growth of the Roman Catholic Church in South America, Asia and in Africa, and the effects both upon those regions as well as upon the Church herself.

This is a truly scholarly work; it is not Catholicism for Dummies. It is not The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Catholicism. There are not graphic illustrations, no cartoons, not even historical photographs and sketches of the kind which so fully inform the HarperCollins Encyclopedia of Catholicism. This is an academic text of a serious subject: our ecclesiology.

What is Church? How did we get here? Where are we going? Through the careful and prayerful meditation and study of this great book we may come to understanding of these questions.

The Reverend Father Daniel J. Harrington, SJ, Professor of New Testament Studies in the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry calls this work "a remarkably successful blend of Biblical and historical learning and wise insights from a distinguished Catholic theologian. There is no better guide to recent developments in ecclesiology than McBrien."

The Foreword is written by the renowned past President of Notre Dame, the Reverend Father Theodore M. Hesburgh, CSC, who writes: "There is simply no other comprehensive, systematic ecclesiology available to general readers or to students and teachers who focus their attention and study on the mystery and mission of the Church (p. xv)." Father Hesburgh alludes to the work of Cardinal Yves Congar, to whom Father McBrien dedicates this book, and mentions why "Pere Congar" did not write a similar massive tome despite his frequently expressed desire. Father Hesburgh adds: "Fortunately, his devoted disciple has now done that for him and has, in the spirit of filial piety, dedicated the book to his esteemed mentor." Father Hesburgh draws his long and helpful Foreword to a close, declaring: " . . .I have no hesitation at all in warmly recommending this book to a wide and religiously diverse audience, whether in universities, colleges, and seminaries, or in
parish and diocesan adult education programs, or in the more advanced high-school programs and especially high-school teachers of religion. Whether used as a course text or as a personal resource, 'The Church' will serve the Christian Community well for many years to come."

I can add no more than this distinguished Catholic priest and scholar whom Father McBrien served so well so long. All Catholics do well to read this book carefully in its eight parts. No Catholic does well to condemn our greatest theologians without having examined carefully this evidence of their devotion to our Church, and the false standards by which they are so often cruelly and ignorantly judged. This faithful representation of our Church deserves the most caring attention of all who truly love our Church with all of our heart, mind and soul. Father McBrien more fully and wisely presents the issues involved in his Preface and in his Introduction; study them carefully before drawing your conclusions about a book you have not read. More fully you will come to knowing and loving our Holy Mother Church, by the careful study of this great Catholic work.

As I read more deeply this book, I pray that so shall you too!

This is a typical Richard McBrien book: Meticulously researched, beautifully written, and very accessible. All American Catholics who wish to know more about the richness of their Church will find this book well worth their effort. Father McBrien has presented us with another gift to ponder and savor.

This is an excellent work. Easy to read but very scholarly. Helps you to concisely understand the different viewpoints that have been expressed about Catholic ecclesiology. Very well organized and interesting to read. Very useful to help you to see the important writers and lead you to their works.

Many of Fr. McBriens detractors, and there are many, find this a heretical book.I have always found Fr. McBrien's Christology very solid, and unafraid to ask the tough questions. Some Catholics find the fact that the age of PAY, PRAY and OBEY is over, as it should be, very disconcerting. I have met some in the Hiearchy more interested in power and prestige, but I am glad to say that I personally know more decent priests and some bishops that are true Christians, than the fore- mentioned. We should always remember as St. Paul tells us to "test everything to make sure that it is from the Holy Spirit" and that can sometimes include Church leadership and their pronouncements.

It is a big and fascinating book which tells you more than you can possibly absorb even in a great number of sittings! We read it in a parish discussion group and I plan to keep it on my bookshelves to serve as a reference book for its incredible footnote references and bibliography. The writing is clear and marches right along. Lots of new (to me) ideas and facts. All in all, valuable but not an easy read.

This book should be read by everyone who would like an insightful understanding of the Church's past and where it may go. Written by one of the greatest Catholic theologians living today, it is presented in a clear, lively prose. Well worth the purchase.

This book is everything we've come to expect from Richard McBrien, detailed scholarship, meticulous analysis, elegant writing, and a compelling story. Read any of the fine reviews to learn more about the range of topics addressed in this book. Five stars for the text.

Regarding the Kindle edition which I purchased, I was very disappointed that the endnotes are not linked to the text. Authors like McBrien should be aware that Kindle versions are sadly inferior to the print edition if notes cannot be easily accessed. I suspect many read Father McBrien's works not just for the main text, but also for the informative notes. The Kindle is supposed to make reading more convenient, not more complicated. One star for the Kindle version.

This book includes insights into the history of Catholicism and how it's evolution was affected by diverse philosophies throughout the world through the centuries.

What a pity McBrien, who is a wonderful writer and possesses great depth of scholarship, prefers his liberal bias to full belief in the church Jesus left the world. Although he defines himself as "representative of the mainstream of contemporary Catholic theology and biblical scholarship" (p xxiii) this is simply false.

"There is no explicit basis for the doctrine of papal infallibility in the New Testament" (p 102) he insists, having forgotten the promise that the Holy Spirit would abide with us forever and teach us the truth. God knows it wasn't the keen intelligence or humble sanctity of Catholics we could rely on. Proof positive that the Catholic church is a divine institution is that it has survived Catholics. And 2000 years of them, at that. Truly, a miracle.

But not for McBrien, who actually argues that "Jesus's preaching of the Reign of God as imminent suggests that he did not anticipate a long interval between his own ministry and the final completion of the Kingdom" (p 31). Is McBrien serious? Does he really believe God Himself did not what was going to happen?

Moreover, how can he call himself a Catholic and have missed the fact that, for the last 2000 years or so, the Catholic church has declared itself the kingdom of God on earth? That's managing to miss a staggering number of books on the subject.

Although McBrien has clearly read widely, it is also plain that he has mostly read those who try to find errors in Catholicism. This is apparently how he can make some huge mistakes. For example, he says that Ignatius of Antioch is the first real witness to the primacy of Rome. No, that would be the earlier writing, circa 95 AD, of 1 Clement.

Much of what he writes, the long litany of accusations against the church, simply follow standard Protestant claims. For example, he argues that Peter's role was "often shared...with James and John" (p 95). Peter was the acknowledged leader, period. John refused to even enter the tomb ahead of Peter.

McBrien points out that Peter's role in the Council of Jerusalem was not papal. Yes, it was. After Peter speaks James merely stands up to agree with him.

McBrien seems torn between loving the church and despising her. He sighs deeply over "what is to be said about Catholicism in the light of its promotion...in the twelfth century of...the Inquisition...and the founding of the world's first universities" (p 73).

What can be said? How about this: Henry Kamen's recent investigation into the Inquisition has debunked much of the old, Protestant black legend about it. But clearly McBrien has never read much on the subject.

And as for the universities...why yes, Catholicism did invent them. And it began real science for the first time in human history, and it created the first free hospitals for the poor in the west, and on and on. It created a revolution in morality and argued from the first that all human beings had souls and were important. But much of this McBrien seems not to know.

McBrien asks, in regard to the early church, "Has the church always had the capacity to recognize the truth?" (p 65).

How can he call himself a Catholic and not know the answer? We humans are full of errors. All humans err, even those who become bishops or pope. But when the pope speaks ex cathedra, when, in fact, the Holy Spirit speaks, the church cannot err. And knowing and acknowledging that fact is what makes one a Catholic.