Inside Catholicism

Rating:
Summary: A illuminating but perplexing look at Catholic worship
Review: Inside Catholicism is Richard McNeil's pictorial attempt to present the rites and practices of the Roman Catholic Church to outsiders. Anyone familiar with US history knows that certain historical eras were marked by fear and hostility of we "papists" and "Romanists." A getting-to-know-you book is not a crazy idea. Using photographs of a variety of Catholic churches and settings, McBrien shows Catholics at public and private worship -- at Mass, during Baptisms, anointing the sick, and so on.

As helpful as the book sometimes is, it does have significant drawbacks. McNeil's photos were taken in a variety of settings -- from American churches of the Latin and Orthodox rite, to St. Peter's in Rome, to Hispanic settings, to out-of-the-way locations I could not identify and which were not well-identified in the credits. A photo supposedly illustrating a sanctuary has no visible altar or lectern -- a perplexing omission. If I, a lifelong Catholic in a ministerial master's program, was confused by this hodge-podge of images, imagine the reaction of someone less experienced.

Missing from illustrations was evidence of Catholic devotional life (except for one photo of a woman holding a rosary and a vignette of the Stations of the Cross). Catholic music is represented by a page of Gregorian chant, something 90% of Catholics have never heard of. There are no shots of Catholics as lectors or Eucharistic ministers, and so on. The photographs varied widely in quality, from National Geographic beauty and compositional grace down to photos that seemed cut out of the local newspaper.

If I were writing a book aimed at explaining Catholic worship to an audience of possibly-hostile non-Catholics, I would have omitted references to the supposedly pagan roots of some Catholic practices. Christmas trees (shown in a sanctuary at Christmas) and the Easter lilies (used as Easter decoration) may well have been used for pagan purposes millennia ago, but their liturgical use is hardly unique with Catholics. Pointing out the pre-Christian origin of these items just brings up the old libel that Catholic practices are barely-papered-over idolatrous practices.

"Inside Catholicism" is beautiful in its own way, but I wouldn't suggest it as an aid to prospective Catholics or as an apologia to someone with anti-Catholic leanings.

Rating:
Summary: Heretic
Review: McBrien is a fallen away Catholic who has spent most of his life in conflict with the Catholic Church. Why he doesn't
leave the Church that he so detests is a mystery. This book like
all his others strays from Church doctrine and serves as fodder
for the liberial media,who have his phone number on speed dial.

Rating:
Summary: Great book, but too summarised.
Review: This is a great book for people who want to know more about Catholicism. This book is rathered summarised that they infact missed out certain points of Catholicism. I meself is a Catholic. The book emphasizes alot on somethings like child baptism, and communion breaking. They should include things like famous saints, and famous Popes. Hope that there will be a book that shows more things that reflect Catholicism, and show our society to the non-believing world.

Rating:
Summary: A nice start for the not catholic
Review: This is a nice book that explains a few basics of Catholicism. It is filled with wonderful illustrations and full color pictures. It doesnt touch on all important Catholic subjects, but it is a nice visual book for someone wanting to learn more about The Catholic Faith and its sacraments.