Historical Dictionary of Catholicism

Provides comprehensive coverage of Catholicism, with emphasis on theology, doctrine, and liturgy. It covers the entire Catholic tradition from the time of Christ, and includes the periods before the division of Christianity into Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant, but the main emphasis is on the development of Latin-rite ceremony in the United States. The introduction and an eight page chronological chart offer an overview of the history. The Dictionary contains five hundred brief articles complemented by about four hundred cross-references and index references. The volume discusses not only normative Catholicism but also heretical, schismatic, and dissident movements. On controversial issues, such as sexual morality, the dictionary endeavors to give a fair and sympathetic exposition of conflicting points of view. Appendixes list information on popes, councils, church documents, and prayers. The book concludes with a seventy-page bibliography, subdivided by subject.