The Catholic Evidence Guild is a loose international association of Roman Catholic lay volunteers which researches and presents clear and compelling explanations of the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church. Their objective is to address incorrect impressions about the Church and its teachings. Individual groups are subject to the respective diocesan bishop.
The organisation was founded in the Diocese of Westminster, England towards the end of 1918. [1] By 1925 there were 20 to 30 branches throughout England. That year Maisie Ward published a practical training outline.
The Westminster branch has spoken regularly at Speakers' Corner since its inception. [2] Prospective speakers were put through a strict training system by the Guild, with the goal of enabling "the ordinary Catholic to explain the truths of his religion in such a way as to reach the understanding of the crowd." [3]
A branch was formed in New York City by students of Fordham University, which in 1931 undertook radio broadcasts published pamphlets, and wrote magazine articles. Their first outdoor meeting was held in 1936 at Columbus Circle. Guild member Paul Dearing, who worked for the National Catholic Welfare Council War Relief was one of fourteen people killed July 28, 1945 when a B-25 crashed into the Council's offices in the Empire State Building. Dearing had given a talk only the evening before. [4]
There is also currently a branch in Guam (est. 2003).
Chalcedonian Christianity is a term referring to the branches of Christianity that accept and uphold theological resolutions of the Council of Chalcedon, the fourth ecumenical council, held in 451. Chalcedonian Christianity accepts the Christological Definition of Chalcedon, a Christian doctrine concerning the union of two natures in one hypostasis of Jesus Christ, who is thus acknowledged as a single person (prosopon). Chalcedonian Christianity also accepts the Chalcedonian confirmation of the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, thus acknowledging the commitment of Chalcedonism to Nicene Christianity.
Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the catholic heritage and identity of the various Anglican churches.
William George Ward was an English theologian and mathematician. A Roman Catholic convert, his career illustrates the development of religious opinion at a time of crisis in the history of English religious thought.
The Oxford Movement was a movement of high church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the University of Oxford, argued for the reinstatement of some older Christian traditions of faith and their inclusion into Anglican liturgy and theology. They thought of Anglicanism as one of three branches of the "one, holy, catholic, and apostolic" Christian church. Many key participants subsequently converted to Roman Catholicism.
In denominations of Christianity, a godparent or sponsor is someone who bears witness to a child's baptism (christening) and later is willing to help in their catechesis, as well as their lifelong spiritual formation. In the past, in some countries, the role carried some legal obligations as well as religious responsibilities. In both religious and civil views, a godparent tends to be an individual chosen by the parents to take an interest in the child's upbringing and personal development, to offer mentorship or claim legal guardianship of the child if anything should happen to the parents. A male godparent is a godfather, and a female godparent is a godmother. The child is a godchild.
Walsingham is a civil parish in North Norfolk, England, famous for its religious shrines in honour of Mary, mother of Jesus. It also contains the ruins of two medieval monastic houses. Walsingham is 27 miles (43 km) northwest of Norwich.
The Tablet is a Catholic international weekly review published in London. Brendan Walsh, previously literary editor and then acting editor, was appointed editor in July 2017.
The Society of the Atonement, also known as the Friars and Sisters of the Atonement or Graymoor Friars and Sisters, is a Franciscan religious congregation in the Catholic Church. The friars and sisters were founded in 1898 by Paul Wattson and Lurana White as a religious community in the Episcopal Church. The religious order is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the Marian title of Our Lady of Atonement.
Pauline Perry, Baroness Perry of Southwark is an educator, educationist, academic, and activist. She is a Conservative politician and was for 25 years a working member of the British House of Lords. In 1981 she became Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools in England. In 1986 she became Vice-Chancellor of South Bank Polytechnic, and serving during its transition to a university, became the first woman in history to run a British university.
Wilfrid John Joseph Sheed was an English-born American novelist and essayist.
Bernard William Griffin was an English cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Westminster from 1943 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1946 by Pope Pius XII.
Caryll Houselander was a British lay Roman Catholic ecclesiastical artist, mystic, popular religious writer and poet.
A Catholic lay association, also referred to as Catholic Congress, is an association of lay Catholics aiming to discuss certain political or social issues from a Catholic perspective.
Francis Joseph Sheed was an Australian-born lawyer, Catholic writer, publisher, speaker, and lay theologian. He and his wife Maisie Ward were famous in their day as the names behind the imprint Sheed & Ward and as forceful public lecturers in the Catholic Evidence Guild.
The Guild of St. Stephen or Archconfraternity Guild of St. Stephen is an international organization of altar servers.
The Congregation of Jesus is one of two congregations of religious sisters founded during the 17th century through the work of the nun Mary Ward, who was dedicated to female education. The other congregation is the Sisters of Loreto, a name they shared until recently, which is also spread widely around the world. In England their primary house is the Bar Convent in York, the oldest such community in the country. Members of the congregation add the postnominal initials of C.J. or CJ after their names.
John Stanley Kenneth Arnold is the eleventh Roman Catholic Bishop of Salford. He was formerly an auxiliary bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Westminster and held the titular see of Lindisfarne.
Catholic laity are the ordinary members of the Catholic Church who are neither clergy nor recipients of Holy Orders or vowed to life in a religious order or congregation. Their mission, according to the Second Vatican Council, is to "sanctify the world".
Mary Josephine "Maisie" Ward Sheed, who published under the name Maisie Ward, was a writer, speaker, and publisher. In 1926 Maisie's brother Leo Ward was invited to be co-founder of the publishing house Sheed and Ward, but he proved ill-suited to the work. Maisie took his place when Leo left to become a priest.
Josephine Mary Ward was a British novelist and nonfiction writer whose works were informed by her Roman Catholic faith. She published ten novels and a novella, including One Poor Scruple (1899), Out of Due Time (1906), The Job Secretary (1911) and Tudor Sunset (1932). Her novels were generally well received during her lifetime, but fell into obscurity after her death. Some of her fiction has been reprinted in the 21st century. She also wrote articles and religious tracts, and edited her husband Wilfrid Ward's lectures for publication. She provided the initial finance for the Catholic publishing house Sheed and Ward, founded by her daughter Maisie Ward and her husband.