Books received.

Books received from Catholic publishers

From Ignatius Press, 2515 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA, 94118, U.S.A. Tel: [phone] or 1-800-651-1531.

Dale Ahlquist, G.K. Chesterton: The Apostle of Common Sense, 2003, $13.95 U.S., sewn softcover, 188 pages. The author, who converted to Catholicism under the inspiration of Chesterton's writings, presents the reader with twelve of the literary giant's works as well as his Father Brown detective series. The book is a perfect initiation to Chesterton--the towering figure of the twentieth century Catholic Literary Revival is brought to "life" and make accessible for scholars and beginners alike.

From CCCB Publications, 2500 Don Reid Dr., Ottawa, ON, K1H 2J2. Tel: [phone].

Conversion, Discernment, Mission: Fostering a Vocation Culture in North America, 2003, $14.95 Cdn, softcover, 136 pages. This publication derives from the Third Continental Congress on Vocations held in April 2002 in Montreal and serves as a practical guide to encouraging a thriving "vocation culture" in the Church.

From Emmaus Road Publishing, Inc., 827 N. Fourth St., Steubenville, OH., 43952. Tel.: [phone].

Regis Martin, What is the Church? Confessions of a Cradle Catholic, 2003, 11.95 U.S., softcover, 136 pages. The author, a professor of theology at Steubenville's Franciscan University, challenges his readers to receive the gift of God and to live it without compromise nowhere else than in His Church. This scholarly yet agile work was endorsed by several bishops, due to its orthodoxy and genuine contribution to the emerging, more accurate understanding of Vatican II.

From Novalis, 49 Front St. E., Second Fl., Toronto, ON, M5E 1B3. Tel.: [phone].

Walter Vogels, Becoming Fully Human: Living the Bible with God, each other, and the environment, 2003, $16.95 Cdn or $12.95 U.S., softcover, 152 pages. Vogels argues that the Bible contains a number of fundamental life principles and values that transcend the bounds of culture and time. This book can serve as an introduction to the Bible; it inspires biblical application to our lives and a search for harmony with God and all of His creation.

Books received from various publishers

From Creative Book Publishing, P.O. Box 8660, 36 Austin St., St. John's, NL, A1B 3T7. Tel: [phone].

Bro. J.B. Darcy, C.F.C., Fire upon the Earth: The Life and Times of Bishop Michael Anthony Fleming, O.S.F., 2003, $18.95 Cdn, quality softcover, 286 pages. An impoverished bishop, with no influence beyond his own integrity, was successful in challenging the civil and religious establishments for the benefit of Newfoundland's Catholics, who were barely tolerated at the time. Bishop Fleming, a giant personality in the first half of the nineteenth century, built numerous churches and laboured unrelentlessly to finance them, to gather missionary priests, and to educate his people. (Reviewed in our June issue, p. 38.)

From Back Bay Books/Little, Brown and Co., 1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

The Investigative Staff of The Boston Globe, Betrayal: The Crisis in the Catholic Church, 2003, $14.95 U.S., softcover, 286 pages. This exposition of the clergy sex-abuse scandals throughout America includes victims accounts and court documents and an assessment of where the crisis has left the Catholic Church today. The book's authors were the first to investigate and report the scandals and their cover-up in The Boston Globe, a daily not sympathetic to the Catholic Church.

From Irwin Law Inc., Suite 501, 347 Bay St., Toronto, ON, M5H 2R7. Tel: [phone].

M.H. Ogilvie, Religious Institutions and the Law in Canada (2nd edition), 2003, $59.95 Cdn, softcover, 446 pages. This book presents the law as it applies to wide variety of religious concerns and institutions. Attention is given to Catholic, Protestant, and Evangelical interests. The author is a member of the Bars of Ontario and Nova Scotia, and is the Chancellor's Professor and Professor of Law at Carlton University. To be reviewed.

From Alpha Books, 201 W. 103 St., Indianapolis, IN 46290.

Mary Faulkner, Supreme Authority: Understanding Power in the Catholic Church, 2003, $20.99 Cdn or $13.95 U.S., softcover, 260 pages. Attempting to explain the background to the current-day sexual abuse scandals in the U.S.A., the author traces Church history and analyses the power structure. Totally disillusioned with the Church, she challenges papal infallibility, scoffs at the hierarchy, and promotes modem ideas, such as destructuring the Church by giving more power and "personal moral choice" to the laity. Not a Catholic perspective.

From Black Rose Books, 11 Baccarat Ave, Lorraine, QC, J6Z 3B1.

Ernest Lorca, One God: The Political and Moral Philosophy of Western Civilization, 2003, $31.99 U.S., softcover, 406 pages. The author presents a dark side of the three monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and connects each to intolerance and hatred. He believes that violence comes from the fundamental structures of the belief system of all major religions. Written from an anti-religious perspective.

From Random House of Canada Ltd., 2775 Matheson Blvd E., Mississauga, ON, L4W 4P7.

Wayne Muller, Learning to pray, 2003, $35.95 Cdn or $23.95 U.S., hardcover, 164 pages. A Protestant minister encourages prayer and offers his guidance on how to pray in this reflection on the Lord's Prayer.

Elaine Pagels, Beyond Belief: The secret Gospel of Thomas, 2003, $37.95 Cdn or $24.95 U.S., hardcover, 242 pages. The author of The Gnostic Gospels presents another work dealing with gnostic thought, which was rediscovered in Egypt in 1945. Thomas' gospel claims to give Jesus' secret teaching. Pagel's work is a combination of scholarly and personal thought, but not according to Catholic scholarship and tradition.