Part One: News and Events: The Year in Review and News in Depth(includes segments on Pope Benedict XVI, Papal Documents and Announcements, Special Reports on International News, Special Reports on National News, Life Issues and Meetings of U.S. Bishops) Part Two: The Teachings of the Catholic Church Doctrine of the Catholic Church, Glossary, The Church Calendar, Liturgical Life of the Church, The Sacraments of the Church and The Communion of Saints. Part Three: The Church Universal Dates and Events in Catholic History, The Papacy and the Holy See, The Roman Curia, Hierarchy of the Catholic Church, The Universal Church, Eastern Catholic Churches, The Catholic Church in the U.S., United States Hierarchy, Biographies of American Bishops, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Minority Catholics in the U.S., Statistics of the Church in the U.S., The Catholic Church in Canada, The Catholic Church in Mexico. Part Four: The Life of the Church in the World Consecrated Life, Apostolates and Ministries, Catholic Social Services, Education, Catholic Communications, Ecumenism and Interreligous Dialogue, Separated Eastern Churches, Reformation Churches, Interreligious Dialogue.

Before the start of World War II, he tried unsuccessfully to get the contending nations - Germany and Poland, France and Italy- to settle their differences peaceably. During the war, he offered his services to mediate the widened conflict, spoke out against the horrors of war and the suffering it caused, mobilized relief work for its victims, proposed a five-point program for peace in Christmas messages from 1939 to 1942, and secured a generally open status for the city of Rome. He has been criticized in some quarters for not doing enough to oppose the Holocaust. This is a matter of historical debate, but it is a fact that through his direct intercession many thousands of Jews in Rome and Italy were saved from certain death, and he resisted wherever possible the threat of Nazism to human rights. Such were his contributions to assisting Jews that the rabbi of Rome, Dr. Abraham Zolli, was converted to Catholicism, and upon his death, Pius was praised by Golda Meir for his efforts. After the war, he endorsed the principles and intent of the U.N. and continued efforts for peace.

• Books of the Bible (including information on books that are rejected by Protestant denominations and overviews of each book)
• A mini Old Testament Bible timeline
• A list of Apostolic Fathers, Fathers of the Church and Doctors of the Church with a brief biography of each
• A 32 page Catholic Glossary
• A detailed liturgical calendar
• An overview of major Holy Days and other Observances
• Extensive listing of saints, including a list of traditional Patrons and Intercessors and recent Canonizations
• A ten page timeline of Catholic History
• A listing of all Papal Encyclicals from 1740 to the present day (The most recent encyclical included here is Deus Caritas Est)
• A Chronology of U.S. Catholic History
• A list of missionaries (with very brief biographies) to the Americas
• Lists of Cathedrals, Basilicas and Shrines in the United States
• An extensive listing of Catholic Colleges and Universities, including website and phone number, and current enrollment.

This is a wonderful, very readable, book on history and apologetics that takes readers (chronologically) through 30 myths about the papacy and provides very clear answers. The myths cover topics such as: that Peter wasn't really a pope (because he refered to himself as a "fellow presbyter", that the Rock referred to in Matthew 16:10 was not really Peter, that Peter wasn't the ultimate authority in the Church because he was rebuked by St. Paul, that the papacy is merely a medieval Roman invention, that the existence of bad popes disqualifies the papacy as being part of Christ's plan for His Church, that Pope Pius XII was the last validly elected pope (the sedevacantist argument) and that Pope Pius XII was silent in the face of Nazi atrocities against the Jews during World War II.

In the tradition of St. Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologica, Patrick Madrid argues against some fairly compelling beliefs of "the other side" in order to help readers more fully understand Catholic doctrine and tradition, as well as be prepared to answer difficult questions posed by non-Catholics and confused Catholics.

Anecdotes and well-chosen quotes really help to illustrate the fallacies of the arguments and make the counter-arguments quite memorable. These responses include quite a bit of pertinent historical details, references to the Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church and lots of apologetics "ammunition" for conversations with those who stand against the Pope and the Catholic Church.

Suitable for high school and adult reading.

New American Bible Translation (copyright 1970-1991)

Also contains seven full-color multipage inserts.

This Bible offers a creative and colorful format to help encourage teens to read the real text of the Bible. It is a real, complete Bible with inserts tucked in between the text. The full-color, glossy inserts run from eight to sixteen pages in length (a total of sixty pages). These inserts highlight and discuss important topics of the faith while continually encouraging the reader to do further study within the Bible itself (with lots of specific Bible references to help facilitate that). The text of these inserts is meaty, but easy to understand. The layout is attractive and contemporary, combining images of Christ and the Saints with photos of modern teens. You can see that the author has aimed at appealing to the best in teens by helping them make sense out of the Catholic faith.

The introductory insert offers some tips for getting started and a table of contents for the insert sections.

The first insert, "God; How do I know God exists?", explores the topic of basic Christian belief through scripture, tradition and reason (logic). This segment also explores the topics of: "Who is God?", "What is the Trinity?", "One God?", Consequences of the existence of God, "Why do people suffer?", and "Made in God's image."

The second insert, "Jesus" covers questions and the basic facts about the Life of Christ. This segment grapples with the following topics: "Who is Jesus?", "Can I trust the gospels?", "What did Jesus do?", "What's a miracle?", "Mary, Mother of God", "Jesus died for my sins. What does that mean?", "Jesus was a great teacher. Can't I just believe that?", "The Resurrection", "If Jesus is Lord, then...", and "When will Jesus come again - and how?"

The third insert is on the Church. This covers "What is the Church?", What does Jesus have to do with the Church?", "How can the Church be holy when it has sinners in it?", "What is the Church for?", "The Sacraments: Meeting Jesus", "Can People who aren't Catholic be saved?", "If Jesus is present in the Church, then..." the basics of what it means to be a Caholic (attending Mass, receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation, etc.)

The fourth insert covers the topic of prayer, including "What is prayer?", "Great Moments in Prayer", "Different forms of prayer", "Learning to Pray", "Doesn't God already know how I feel?", "What should I feel when I pray?", "Why pray to saints?", "Does God answer prayers?", "I should trust prayers that have helped others draw closer to God."

The fifth section is entitled "You". This segment very cleverly handles topics involving: the Sancity of Life, Vocations, the Sanctity of Marriage, the Commandments and Beatitudes, Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy, and more.

The final section, "The Map" outlines the guidelines the Church gives us to follow Christ and keep his laws. It covers the Commandments, the Virtues, Gifts of the Holy Spirit, Fruits of the Holy Spirit, "Wrong Turns", the Four Last Things and prayers, including the Stations of the Cross and directions for saying the Rosary.

This book offers a very creative concept for encouraging teens who wouldn't ordinarily be drawn toward reading the Bible into picking it up and at the same time delving deeper into their Catholic faith. The one real downside is the translation. Although the New American Bible translation is commonly used at Mass throughout the United States (and it is not overtly evil!), it is reputed to have subtle inaccuracies that can distort or confuse the meaning of certain passages. However, as Catholic Answers succinctly put it, "So, which Bible is the best? Perhaps the best answer is this: The one you'll read." Keeping that in mind, I think this Bible would make an excellent Confirmation present for teenagers in your life - particularly those who have very little experience with the Bible and/or their faith in general. Homeschool students may also enjoy using this book to explore the Bible on their own. My own 11 year old daughter is eager to get her hands on my copy as soon as this review is complete. :) It would be best if this isn't the only translation studied, but it doesn't seem like a bad place to start.