The Catholic Encyclopedia is an English-language encyclopedia published in 1913 by the Roman Catholic Church, designed to give "authoritative information on the entire cycle of Catholic interests, action and doctrine". Starting in 1993, the encyclopedia (now in the public domain) was placed on the Internet through a world-wide effort of volunteers. A supplement published in 1922 is also in the public domain, but as of 2005 has not been placed on-line.
The writing of the encyclopedia began on January 11, 1905 under the supervision of five editors:
The editors had their first editorial meeting at the office of The Messenger, in West Sixteenth Street, New York City.
In addition to having frequent informal conferences and constant intercommunication by letters, the editors subsequently held 134 formal meetings to consider the plan, scope and progress of the work, until April 19, 1913.
The encyclopedia was later updated under the auspices of the Catholic University of America and republished as the New Catholic Encyclopedia, first in 1967, and then in 2002.
In 1993, Kevin Knight, a 26-year-old resident of Denver, Colorado, inspired during the visit of Pope John Paul II to that city for World Youth Day, initiated the project to put the 1913 edition of the encyclopedia into cyberspace. Knight founded the website New Advent to house the undertaking. Volunteers from the United States, Canada, France, and Brazil helped in the transcription of the original material. The site went on-line in 1995 and was completed in 1997.
Nota bene
This encyclopedia was designed to serve the Roman Catholic Church. Therefore, it explains matters from the point of view of the official Roman Catholic doctrine. On issues that divide the Roman Catholic from other churches, the text will consistently present matters from the Roman Catholic point of view. Also, because the encyclopedia was undertaken in 1913, some of its entries are not up to date, either with the secular or Roman Catholic ecclesiastical world. In particular, it predates the Second Vatican Council, which introduced significant changes in Roman Catholic practice.
This does not necessarily mean that it is any more biased than other online religious dictionaries of the various faiths and religions of the world today; only that it should not be taken as unbiased.
Derived articles
Due to its public-domain status, the Catholic Encyclopedia can be incorporated into any work, and has also been incorporated into Wikipedia. Wikipedia articles which derive from a Catholic Encyclopedia article should bear this message:
-
The message can be added by inserting {{catholic}} in the article.
A list of such wikipedia articles may be found on this special page.
External links
- Sites hosting Catholic Encyclopedia material:
