St. Patrick's is the oldest Roman Catholic parish in Washington, D.C. Since 1794 it has participated in all aspects of the life of the nation's capital, witnessing the city's evolution from a struggling community into a world capital. A history of this congregation provides a particularly useful vantage point from which to trace the development of ......
Washington DC's mother church has often assumed a role in church-state relations - this look at its history describes the city's development and the issues that have shaped national policies and Catholicism in the US: race relations, religious freedom, education, immigration, and others.
This is the fourth of five volumes of Rettig's translation of St Augustine's "Tractates on the Gospel of St John". In the "Tractates", Augustine progressively comments on the Gospel text, amplifying the orthodox doctrinal and moral lessons to be read there. Modern scholars generally concede that "Tractates" 55-111 fall within a distinct group, ......
Kenneth L. Schmitz examines the writings of Karol Wojtyla, from his early dramas to his later theological works. Wojtyla's primary philosophical interest lies in the field of ethics, but Schmitz also points out that Wojtyla's interest is worked out in the context of an understanding of the nature and destiny of human beings. Relying upon many ......
This is a translation of the first 20 distinctions of ""The Decretum"" or ""Concordance of Discardant Canons"", a compilation of extracts from Church councils, Church fathers and other ecclesiastical authorities, composed in the 12th century by Gratian, a Camaldolese monk. It offers a treatise on law.
In the early 1930s, Emile Brehier inaugurated a dispute regarding whether or not true philosophy could have existed during the ages of faith, the assumption being that real philosophers are untouched by faith and are, ideally, non-believers. Etienne Gilson and Jacques Maritain, among many others, entered the fray, seeking to clarify what is meant ......
Bavarian theologian Johann Auer (1910-1989) presents an understanding of the nature of the Church that is relevant for our time. Central to his discussion is the Vatican II concept of the Catholic Church as the universal sacrament of salvation. Firmly grounding his commentary in Scripture and in the history of doctrine, Auer clearly outlines the ......
A General History of the Polish Immigration in America
The first Polish presence in North America lies shrouded in the mists of historical legend. There most certainly were Poles in the Jamestown colony as early as 1608; yet there exists only fragmentary and inconclusive evidence regarding either an earlier Polish presence or the purpose and activities of those who settled in colonial Virginia. There ......