History of the Catholic Church: From the Apostolic Age to the Third Millennium   James Hitchcock    NEW
The Catholic Church is the longest-enduring institution in the world. Beginning with the first Christians and continuing in our present day, the Church has been planted in every nation on earth. The Catholic Church claims Jesus Christ himself as her founder, and in spite of heresy from within and hostility from without, she remains in the twenty-first century the steadfast guardian of belief in his life, death, and resurrection. The teachings and redemptive works of Jesus as told in the Gospels are expressed by the Church in a coherent and consistent body of doctrine, the likes of which cannot be found in any other Christian body. The history of the Catholic Church is long, complicated, and fascinating, and in this book it is expertly and ably told by historian James Hitchcock. As in the parable of Christ about the weeds that were sown in a field of wheat, evil and good have grown together in the Church from the start, as Hitchcock honestly records. He brings before us the many characters-some noble, some notorious-who have left an indelible mark on the Church, while never losing sight of the saints, who have given living testimony to the salvific power of Christ in every age. This ambitious work is comprehensive in its scope and in incisive in its understanding, a valuable addition to any school or home library.

Seven Lies About Catholic History   Diane Moczar    
Infamous Myths about the Church's Past and How to Answer Them. The world hates the Church that Jesus founded, just as He said it would (John 15:18). It reviles her doctrines, mocks her moral teachings and invents lies about her history. In every age, but especially in our modern day, historians and political powers have distorted the facts about her past (or just made up novel falsehoods from scratch) to make the Church, and the civilization it fostered, seem corrupt, backward, or simply evil. In Seven Lies about Catholic History, Diane Moczar (Islam at the Gates) tackles the most infamous and prevalent historical myths about the Church popular legends that you encounter everywhere from textbooks to T.V. and reveals the real truth about them. She explains how they got started and why they re still around, and best of all, she gives you the facts and the arguments you need to set the record straight about: The Inquisition: how it was not a bloodthirsty institution but a merciful (and necessary) one Galileo s trial : why moderns invented a myth around it to make science appear incompatible with the Catholic faith (it s not) The Reformation: why the 16th-century Church was not totally corrupt (as even some Catholics wrongly believe), and how the reformers made things worse for everybody and other lies that the world uses to attack and discredit the Faith. Written in a brisk style that s fun and easy to read, Seven Lies about Catholic History provides the lessons that every Catholic needs in order to defend and explain not just apologize for the Church s rich and complex history. [more details...]
Code: B1695        £10.50  
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St Anthonys Scotland Road Liverpool   Michael ONeill    25% OFF
The inner-city English Catholic parish of Saint Anthony's, close to Liverpool docks, embodies two hundred years of Liverpool's heritage and history. Using documentary evidence and the reminiscences of the people who have lived and worked there, this book tells the fascinating story of the parish, from its origins in the aftermath of the French Revolution with the mission of Fr Jean Baptiste Antoine Gerardot. Woven into its rich history are the threads of Recusancy, of Portuguese, Lithuanian, Italian and Irish influences, of the Great Famine, Immigration, Epidemics, Riots, the Blitz and the baleful impact of the urban planners' post-1945 dreams, the divided loyalties of the parishioners split between supporting Liverpool and Everton football clubs, and even Cilla Black, who attended the parish school. [more details...]
Code: B1710        £15.00  £20.00
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The Autobiography of a Hunted Priest - hardback   Fr John Gerard, SJ    
A Personal Account of the Persecution of Catholics in Elizabethan England. Fr John Gerard (1564-1637), a Jesuit priest sent to the English missions during the reign of Elizabeth and her successor, James I, penned this first-hand account of his ministry, arrest, torture and dramatic escape from the Tower of London. "The Plainly written account of a spiritual mission as thrilling as a modern spy story." - Time, February 1952. This hardback edition of 287 pages is a reprint of 1952 edition. It includes the notes, appendices & index. [more details...]
Code: B1900        £12.50  £13.95
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The Autobiography of a Hunted Priest - paperback   Fr John Gerard, SJ    
Truth is stranger than fiction. And nowhere in literature is it so apparent as in this classic work, The Autobiography of a Hunted Priest. This autobiography of a Jesuit priest in Elizabethan England is a most remarkable document and John Gerard, its author, a most remarkable priest in a time when to be a Catholic in England courted imprisonment and torture; to be a priest was treason by act of Parliament. But more than the story of a single priest, The Autobiography of a Hunted Priest epitomizes the constant struggle of all human beings through the ages to maintain their freedom. It is a book of courage and of conviction whose message is most timely for our age. [more details...]
Code: B1743        £11.50  £12.99
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Come Rack! Come Rope!   Robert Hugh Benson    
Some years before this book was written, H. Belloc wrote that R. Benson would be “the man to write some day a book to give us some sort of idea what happened in England between 1520 and 1560.” Come Rack! Come Rope! is the most vivid and gripping novel ever written about how the Reformation happened. In this book, the appalling events come to life. This novel tells of the struggles and sufferings of Catholic Recusants under Queen Elizabeth I of England. One such Recusant, Robin Audrey, is shocked to learn his father has decided to leave the Catholic Church for the safety of the Church of England. The narrative follows Robin’s struggle with the call of faith, as he is torn between his dream of marriage and a priestly vocation, which would entail further persecution and might even end in martyrdom. [more details...]
Code: B1381        £9.95  
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Charles I   Hilaire Belloc    NEW
Belloc has written elsewhere that the victory of the Reformation in England led to its victory in much of the rest of Europe. That victory unleashed the forces of social disintegration, Protestantism, Capitalism, and anti-Catholicism and let them to challenge the tradition of Monarchy on the field of battle. This book tells the story of how Charles I came to face those forces, manipulated by the Money Power, and how and why he failed. Charles I reads like "a ripping yarn", but it explores the personalities, the issues, the clashes, and the circumstances as they were. Thus it is not "acceptable orthodoxy." But it is real history. [more details...]
Code: B2086        £14.25  
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Charles II: The Last Rally   Hilaire Belloc    NEW
In The Last Rally, Belloc narrates with clarity and vigor a central episode in the decline of the English Monarchy. Restored to the throne following the interlude of Cromwell’s “Commonwealth,” Charles II devoted his life as King of England to maintaining the integrity of the throne against all the forces arrayed against it: the power of the great landowners who worked through the Parliament; the influence of the Lawyer’s Guild; and the irresistible mercantile and financial strength of the City of London. The story that Belloc brings to life is thus one of survival: the story of a ship of state brought “through peril and storm under a great captain.” It is also the story of manhood and determination in the face of overwhelming odds; as such it is a story that Hilaire Belloc was eminently qualified to write. “If kingship would have remained, the Peasantry would have been saved. Also there would have been a considerable and well-organised traditional Catholic body, which might have been a quarter of the nation, or at least a sixth . . . As it was, with the fall of the Stuarts, the Catholic Church in England was utterly crushed out. “ — Hilaire Belloc, 1939 [more details...]
Code: B2087        £12.75  
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Heretics   G K Chesterton    
One of Chesterton’s earliest books, Heretics, is also one of his best. Overflowing with characteristic wit, incisiveness, and splendid gusto, here is Chesterton’s razor-sharp analysis of the fallacies of modern thought as exemplified in the leading writers of the time. Nietzsche, Shaw, Yeats, Kipling, Ibsen, H.G. Wells and others, are all submitted to a ruthless Chestertonian examination. However, true to his character, Chesterton gives the antagonist his due, while allowing the reader to celebrate the real value of his work. [more details...]
Code: B1382        £6.95  
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The Forty Four: Martyrs of the Venerable English College Rome       
Portraits of the forty-four men who were executed, tortured, or incarcerated for ministering the Catholic faith to their countrymen. "Each biography - and this is the book's genius - allows the reader to witness for himself the heroic willingness with which these men were faithful to the Catholic faith unto death in spite of most gruesome suffering and torture." - The Catholic Herald [more details...]
Code: B1065        £18.95  
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Reginald Cardinal Pole: The Last Archbishop of Canterbury   Michael Hutchings    
There is no better way of examining the truth of what happened at the Reformation than by looking at the life and times of Cardinal Pole. Michael Hutchings achieves the rare success of a book that is thoroughly scholarly and accurate but at the same time reads like a thriller, all in 116 pages. This new book on Pole also makes a disturbing comparison with the public stance of many of our contemporary bishops. The life of Cardinal Reginal Pole - 1500-1558 - is most edifying. Had he been put to it, he would certainly have rejoiced in martyrdom and he would be in our list of saints. Hutchins quotes others on Cardinal Pole and he is able to quote an enthusiastic writer about Pole, none other than a certain Cardinal Ratzinger who has since changed his job. Hutchings quotes the then Cardinal Ratzinger in Church, Ecumenism and Politics on Pole’s stand for unity and papal primacy; “in the actual case of England, the denial of the Papacy means transferring to the State the Church’s external order, the system of a State Church and, along with this secular domination over the Church, the disappearance of martyrdom. In turn this means that for Pole the martyrs are the unequivocal indication of where the Church is to be found – and here we touch on the real reason, both psychological and theological, which turned Pole into a defender of the Papacy.” Aren’t we fortunate to have a Pope with such an understanding of English history? And do not these words have relevance to the current condition of the Catholic Church in England? Beautifully presented hardbound, with watercolour illustrations by Madeleine Beard, themselves based on ancient documents. The cover has a fine colour reproduction of a notable work of art: the portrait of Cardinal Pole by Sebastiano del Piombo. The book is on high quality paper and is well printed. It is a required purchase for any Catholic school library. [more details...]
Code: B1622        £12.99  
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The Gunpowder Plot   Hugh Ross Williamson    
This book explains what happened almost 400 years ago in England when barrels of gunpowder were found under the House of Lords. A plot was undoubtedly discovered, but what kind of plot? Was it a conspiracy of Catholics against the Government or the Government against the Catholics? This is a fascinating story of intrigue and suspense—involving heroic actions, cowardly politics and unwavering faith. But even more fascinating is the fact that it is a true story. Hugh Ross Williamson writes a clear and exact account of one of the most controversial episodes of the English Reformation, but in a style interesting even to the casual reader. The book includes excellent end notes, illustrations, complete index, bibliography. Gold embossed imitation leather cover, cream paper, quality sewn signatures. [more details...]
Code: B1612        £19.50  
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Martyrs of the English Reformation   Dr. Malcolm Brennan    
This is the bloody chronicle of twenty-four English saints who laid down their lives as a testimony to the truth of the Catholic Faith during the English "Reformation." Champion men and women. Inspiring to the young. Find strength in the heroic lives of those who watched the destruction of the Catholic Faith in their country. Through their death they planted the seed of restoration. [more details...]
Code: B1510        £8.95  
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The Suppression of the Society of Jesus   Sydney F Smith, SJ    
Sydney F Smith (1843-1922), the son of a well-to-do Anglican vicar, became a convert to Catholicism, and a Jesuit. While reflecting the nineteenth century debate, his account of the Suppression of the Society of Jesus in 1773 by Pope Clement XIVth remains by far the fullest, most wide-ranging and most detailed treatment of the subject available in English. Ed Joseph A Munitiz, SJ. [more details...]
Code: B1011        £17.99  
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Walled about with God   Dom Jean Prou, OSB and the Benedictine Nuns of the Solesmes Congregation    
Trans. / ed. By Br David Hayes, OSB. This unique book, written by cloistered nuns themselves, answers many questions about the nature, justification, and history of the cloistered life, particularly for women. For example it shows that far from being an invention of the Middle Ages which was imposed on women by a male-dominated Church and society, enclosure was in fact freely chosen by nuns themselves from the very beginning and only later became an object of canonical legislation. Drawing on the riches of Christian tradition, this book examines enclosure from a biblical, historical, spiritual and theological perspective, showing how it aids the prayer-life and mission of cloistered nuns. This book will be of interest to all who are seeking to deepen their understanding of the contemplative life and prayer. [more details...]
Code: B1230        £12.99  
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Church History   Fr. John Laux, M.A.    
From the beginning to 1940. Written for both students and adults. The author intersperses the history with many brief, interesting biographies of famous people, and at the end of each chapter he quotes briefly from a famous writing of the era, blending a medley of elements into a comprehensive historical composition that is at once brilliant and fascinating. A story of the Church unparalleled in its scope, depth, variety and impact, and a book all Catholics should read. [more details...]
Code: B1251        £20.95  
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The Council in Question   Moyra Doorly, Aidan Nichols, OP    
A Dialogue with Catholic Traditionalism. The lifting of the excommunication of four bishops of the Society of St Pius X by Pope Benedict XVI on January 2009 attracted widespread media attention at the time, and the continuing conversations between the Holy See and the Society remain a controversial issue among many Catholics. It is easy to dismiss the position of the Society of St Pius X as being merely a question of Latin, birettas and a cultural attachment to a particular form of liturgical expression. But the arguments of the Society are essentially doctrinal in nature, as Pope Benedict XVI has himself acknowledged - drawing its inspiration from Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre's famous "Open Letter to Confused Catholics", shadows these discussions, exploring the key issues of this dialogue in a series of letters and responses. The journalist Moyra Doorly, writing as 'a confused Catholic', presents the position of the Society of St Pius X, while the Dominica theologian Aidan Nichols responds on behalf of the post-Conciliar Church, working to demonstrate that the Society can indeed be reconciled. The Society of St Pius X maintains that the Second Vatican Council has brought about a radical reorientation in the Church, of which the liturgical reform is one result, and that in its documents a new, Liberal and Modernist inspired theology can be found which is contrary to the Traditional teachings of the Church. Traditional teaching, although not in its entirety, is certainly also present in the Council documents, but has the presence of a new theology severely diminished the ability of the Conciliar Church to fulfill her divinely appointed mission? [more details...]
Code: B1754        £7.99  
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Forty Martyrs of England and Wales   James Walsh, SJ    
The immortal stories of forty men and women who, to the last, joyfully died for their faith. Margaret Clitherow, Edmund Campion, John Southworth, to mention a few, rank among this group of courageous people whose lives were inextricably caught up in the religious persecution in England and Wales during the 1500s and 1600s. [more details...]
Code: B0940        £1.95  
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The Crusades   Jonathan Riley-Smith    
CTS Concise Histories series. Recent world events, in particular the struggle against Islamic terrorism, have seen the word ‘Crusade’ widely used in political rhetoric. This booklet looks at modern conceptions of the crusades and compares them with the aims and motivations of those who took part. There is also a timeline detailing the major events of this period. [more details...]
Code: B1156        £2.50  
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The Reformation in England   Raymond Edwards    
CTS Concise Histories series. The events of the ‘Reformation’ led to centuries of bitter theological disputes, wars, persecutions and power struggles, and its consequences endure to this day. This booklet looks at the events which led up to the Reformation in Europe, and particularly in England. It shows how much that was good was lost in this conflict. [more details...]
Code: B1157        £1.95  
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The Inquisition   Fernando Cervantes    
CTS Concise Histories series. The Inquisition has become a byword for persecution and intolerance, and is often given as a reason for distrusting the Catholic Church. This booklet looks at what led up to this most controversial chapter in the Church’s history, what really happened during it, and what changes of perspective led to Pope John Paul’s famous ‘apology’ in 1997. [more details...]
Code: B1158        £1.95  
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