This book aims to fill a gap in the historical record of American Catholicism by presenting a portrait of Cardinal William Henry O'Connell and his significance in the Church and in his times. It examines his cultural and symbolic leadership of New England's Catholic population, and describes O'Connell's role in defining American Catholicism as both militant and triumphant; asserting its cultural vision beyond narrow denominational boundaries into broader areas of public morality, and confident of its eventual triumph over secular standards.
This book aims to fill a gap in the historical record of American Catholicism by presenting a portrait of Cardinal William Henry O'Connell and his sig...
"For generations, American Catholics . . . lived out their faith through countless unremarkable routines. Deep questions of theology usually meant little to them, but parishioners clung to deeply ingrained habits of devotion, both public and private. Particular devotions changed over time, waxing or waning in popularity, but the habits endured: going to mass on Sunday, saying prayers privately and teaching their children to do the same, filling their homes with crucifixes and other religious images, participating in special services, blending the church's calendar of feast and fast days...
"For generations, American Catholics . . . lived out their faith through countless unremarkable routines. Deep questions of theology usually meant ...
Shaken by the ongoing clergy sexual abuse scandal, and challenged from within by social and theological division, Catholics in America are at a crossroads. But is today's situation unique? And where will Catholicism go from here? With the belief that we understand our present by studying our past, James O'Toole offers a bold and panoramic history of the American Catholic laity.
O'Toole tells the story of this ancient church from the perspective of ordinary Americans, the lay believers who have kept their faith despite persecution from without and clergy abuse from within. It is an...
Shaken by the ongoing clergy sexual abuse scandal, and challenged from within by social and theological division, Catholics in America are at a cro...
