How did we get here? How did we go from a seemingly robust Faith to an era of apostasy, confusion, loss of vision, uncertainty about mission, and heresy? One purpose of this Substack is to show that, at least as represented in Catholic books of the Twentieth Century, the seeds of trouble had already been sown. Pope St. Pius X was right.
Good, solid writing abounded. For example: The Occasional Sermons of Ronald A. Knox NY: Sheed & Ward, 1960, cloth, 1960 imprimatur). Fr. Knox was a spirited and skillful writer and homilist, as these sermons illustrate. He had a gift for explanation. Reprinted by Cluny. In the same league: Morals and Man by Fr. Gerald Vann, O.P. (NY: Sheed & Ward, 1960 revised edition, cloth, 1959 imprimatur). Vann, a Dominican, was also a gifted explainer. In this particular book Vann shows himself worthy to wear the same habit as Aquinas, not because of a like profundity, but due to the clarity in thought. (Here.) The breadth of Catholic talent and depth of thought is on display in A Century of the Catholic Essay, Raphael Gross (ed.) (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1946, cloth, 1946 imprimatur) with essays from Newman, Knox, Belloc, Sheen, Baring, and many others. On Internet Archive. Adding to the host of solid introductions to Catholicism is Facts of the Faith by Msgr. J.D. Conway (NY: All Saints Press, 1959, pb, 1959 imprimatur). On Amazon.
On a more puzzling and problematic note is Images of Hope: Imagination as Healer of the Hopeless by William Lynch, S.J. (NY: Mentor-Omega, 1966, pb). Fr. Lynch seems to propose adopting a psychological approach to counter despair and acedia. His approach has not fared well in the intervening years. Reprinted by Notre Dame, most recently in 1990.