Contemporary Catholic Theology

The St. Mel Adult Religious Library has recently acquired the following books which The Justice and Peace Committee recommend for their content in presenting various viewpoints and opinions on Catholic social teaching and for researching Church hierarchical issues.

"Witness to Integrity", by Anita M. Caspary, I.H.M., Ph.D., former president of the Immaculate Heart College, mother general of the Immaculate Heart Sisters , and president of the Immaculate Heart Community.

This is the story of one of the most important controversies in the post Vatican II U.S. Catholic Church, and the Immaculate Heart Sisters painful struggles with the Cardinal Archbishop of Los Angeles in the 1960's. This book is the subject of Msgr. Loftus' excellent letter in the August 31st issue of the St. Mel parish bulletin.

"The Brother of Jesus", by Hershel Shanks and Ben Witherington III, Shanks is the founder and editor-in-chief of Biblical Archaeology Review and Archaeology Odyssey. Witherington is an expert on the historical Jesus and is Professor of New Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary in Lexington, Kentucky.

This book is based on the discovery of a limestone burial box with the inscription "James, son Joseph, brother of Jesus". The book details the family life of Jesus and the earliest Christians. It should be noted that the authenticity of this first century ossuary continues to be questioned by archaeological experts.

"The General Councils: A history of the Twenty-One Church Councils from Nicaea to Vatican II", by Christopher M. Bellito, Ph.D.. Bellito is a church historian who teaches, lectures and comments on church matters in periodicals, radio, and television.

This is a reference book which is an overview of the twenty-one councils that began in Nicaea, in Asia Minor, in 325, and convened at intervals throughout the first millennium and medieval period, struggled with the age of reformations in the sixteenth century, and continue in the modern world.

"Catholics on the Internet", by Brother John Raymond, B.S., M.A., the "Cyber Monk". Brother John is a cofounder of The Monks of Adoration, a contemplative community in Petersham, Massachusetts.

This is a reference book and is a useful guide of web sites for locating Catholic resources on the internet. Covered , for example, are such subjects as books, publications, Dioceses and churches, schools, The Vatican, theology, liturgy and prayer, and finally "odds and ends".