Bishops endorse textbooks

Until now, Catholic schools have had to choose between using secular history textbooks or reproducing old, out-of-date history textbooks previously written for Catholic schools.

But now that’s changed.

The brainchild of a frustrated headmaster who couldn’t find suitable history textbooks for his students, the Catholic Schools Textbook Project was established to respond to the exhortation of the Second Vatican Council to lead students to "knowledge . . . illumined by Faith" (Gravissimum Educationis, No. 8).

A lot has happened in the last 40 years—moon landings, the ending of the Vietnam War, the Roe v. Wade ruling, the Second Vatican Council, the explosion of the Internet, two Gulf Wars, the worldwide travels of Pope John Paul II, his apostolic letters and encyclicals, the saintly example of Mother Teresa, and the canonization of more than 200 new saints worldwide.

These events present a host of new challenges for today’s Catholic student. Many of the newly canonized saints also provide strong new role models for children of our modern world, such as St. Maximilian Kolbe, who resisted the Nazis and who also embraced the most advanced technology of this age.

Endorsed by nine U. S. bishops, with a seven-member Episcopal Advisory Board and many history project advisors, this new series now has two of its projected nine-book series produced, with three more near completion.