Excerpt from
The Modern Catholic Encyclopedia
Edited by Michael Glazier and Monika K. Hellwig

A Michael Glazier Book published by Liturgical Press
Nihil obstat: Robert C. Harren, Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur: +Jerome Hanus, O.S.B., Bishop of St. Cloud, Minnesota, June 10, 1994.

© 1994 by The Order of St. Benedict, Inc., Collegeville, Minnesota. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or any retrieval system, without the written permission of Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota 56321.

INTRODUCTION

A generation has passed since Vatican Council II, and the enthusiasm and euphoria which exhilarated Catholic life in the years that followed the council are misted memories now. The council bequeathed us new hopes, new dreams, new challenges; but, above all, it gifted us with a fresh vision of the Church as a pilgrim people, and this volume is an attempt to give a succinct and contemporary view to the beliefs, practices, and history of this people.

The seeds which sprouted and became the harvest of Vatican II were mostly sown in the bleak century before it. The names of many of the sowers have slipped from memory, but the vision and work of others flowed, like tributaries, into the life of the Church and they are not forgotten: Migne, Newman, Lagrange, Beauduin, Jungmann, Michel, de Lubac, Daniélou, Rahner, Congar. They were men of tradition, deeply aware of the great heritage of two thousand years. The council invited us to a fresh appreciation of the gifts passed to us over the centuries, and we hope that in its limited way the new edition of The Modern Catholic Encyclopedia will help in this task.

It is edited for readers in English-speaking countries, drawn together by a common language and by shared pastoral concerns and challenges. Consequently, men and women from America, Canada, Australia, Ireland, and Britain have written this work for a multinational readership. In is a work of and for our time, and its topics and themes have been chosen to meet the inquiries and religious curiosity of people today. It is important to note that for the first time in history the vital center for scriptural and theological studies has shifted from continental Europe to America and the English-speaking world, and it has moved from seminary to the college campus. Furthermore, the sacred sciences are no longer exclusive clerical territory, today many of the most respected scholars are lay men and women. And never before has the study of Scripture become such an accepted and vital part of everyday Catholic life.

Ten years have passed since the first edition of The Modern Catholic Encyclopedia appeared. And what a landmark and tumultuous decade it has been! No doubt the Church, God’s pilgrim people, accomplished much, without fanfare, in multiple ways. But the revelations of the cover-up of sexual abuse of children and adolescents, over several decades, by a small number of clergy dominated public notice across the English-speaking world. Without pondering the causes and consequences of the scandal, it brought radical changes in Catholic attitudes. The long era of Catholic unqualified trust in their bishops and priests is over; and a more educated laity, opting for an ethic of responsibility rather than an ethic of control, expect a more participatory role in diocesan affairs. However it is too early to forecast how this will be satisfactorily accomplished.

The decade also closed the hope for the ordination of Catholic women to the priesthood. But it witnessed a more coherent and reasonable call for structural changes within the Church. Ideas that were outlandish ten years ago are no longer so. For instance, responsible Catholics now ask: Wouldn’t it make sense to reform the College of Cardinals in order to include lay cardinals? There is a growing need for a wider and more open discussion of ideas. And there is more than ample room for conservative and liberal voices, clarifying their positions with civility and courtesy.

It is too easy to stress the faults and failings of the Church and to overlook the wondrous achievements all around us. Over the last ten years we marked the death of so many men and women who gave so much and inspired so many: Mother Teresa, Basil Hume, Raymond Brown, Henri Nouwen, Ann Freemantle, Carroll Stuhlmueller ... and a legion of others far too large to enumerate. And may this new edition of The Modern Catholic Encyclopedia remind us that our pilgrim Church is a repenting Church made splendid by sharing the sanctity of Christ.

A popular reference work of this size has its obvious limitations. Omissions forfeited their space for the benefit of inclusions. This new edition of The Modern Catholic Encyclopedia contains many revisions and over 150 new entries. It is edited for quick and easy consultation, and may it help many men and women in their pilgrimage in our new century.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Abiding gratitude to Professor Anna M. Donnelly of St. John’s University, New York, and to Dr. Tricia Pyne of St. Mary’s Seminary and University, Baltimore. Their suggestions and help were invaluable.

A special word of thanks is due to many others including Professors Helen and Leonard Doohan of Spokane, Washington; Rev. Monsignor Thomas Shelley of Fordham University, New York; Dr. John Craghan of Appleton, Wisconsin; and Rev. Daniel Harrington, S.J., of Jesuit Weston School of Theology, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Deepest thanks to Sister Fay Trombley, S.C.I.C., Newman Theological College, Edmonton, Alberta, whose cheerful help and welcome suggestions made sure that Canadian contributors were well represented in the work; to Rev. Brendan Byrne, S.J., of Melbourne, who graciously helped us to contact and enlist Australian writers for the project; to publisher Michael Gill of Gill & Macmillan, Dublin, and to Rev. Austin Flannery, O.P., of Dominican Publications, Dublin, both of whom helped in so many ways.

Thanks also to Mr. Peter Dwyer, director of Liturgical Press and to his able staff, especially to Mr. Mark Twomey, Mrs. Ann Blattner, and Brother Aaron Raverty, O.S.B., whose editorial good counsel was always available.

Acknowledgment is gratefully given for the occasional use of texts from the New American Bible copyright 1970 by the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C., and from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, Catholic edition 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. All rights reserved.

M.G.