The Catholic Church: What Everyone Needs to Know®

The Catholic Church: What Everyone Needs to Know®
ISBN-10
0199976791
ISBN-13
9780199976799
Series
The Catholic Church
Category
Religion
Pages
224
Language
English
Published
2013-03-20
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Author
John L. Allen Jr.

Description

Roman Catholicism stands at a crossroads, a classic ''best of times, worst of times'' moment. On the one hand, the Catholic Church remains by far the largest branch of the worldwide Christian family, and is growing at a remarkable clip. Yet the Church has also been rocked by a series of scandals related to the sexual abuse of minors by clergy, and, even more devastating, the cover-up by the Church hierarchy. The decade-long crisis has taken a massive financial toll, but the blow to both the internal morale and the external moral standing of the Church has been even steeper. Today, the Church has enormous residual strength and exciting future prospects, but also faces steep internal and external challenges. The question of ''whither Catholicism'' is of vital public relevance, for believers and non-believers alike. In The Catholic Church: What Everyone Needs to Know®, John L. Allen, Jr., one of the world's leading authorities on the Vatican, offers an authoritative and accessible guide to the past, present, and future of the Church What Everyone Needs to Know® is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press.

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