Books by Gerald O'Collins

The twenty men and women portrayed in this book went rejoicing, or at least patiently, to the house of the Lord. With choirs of angels and saints, they now sing "the everlasting hymn." Before they left us to join the heavenly company, they were for me the music of life. I spent many years in the company of some of them, much less in the case of others. Hence the chapters of this book are longer or shorter. My hope is that readers will draw inspiration and courage from all their stories. -- From the PrefaceGerald Glynn O'Collins SJ is an Australian Jesuit priest, author, academic and educator. For more than three decades, he was professor of systematic and fundamental theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University (Rome). In 2006, O'Collins was made a Companion of the General Division of the Order of Australia (AC).

What are the origins of the Catholic Church? How has Catholicism changed and adapted over the centuries? What challenges does the Catholic Church face in the twenty-first century? Gerald O'Collins answers these and other questions, and in this new edition considers the impact of Pope Francis' leadership of the Church since 2013.

Addressing the potential for confusion about basic Christian claims and beliefs, Gerald O'Collins sets out to relaunch fundamental theology as a discipline by presenting a coherent vision of basic theological questions and positions that lay the ground for work in specific areas of systematic theology.