SHOULD MOTHERS WORK?

Rev. George. Kelly

ONE of the most significant changes of our time-perhaps the most important of all-has been the gradual and insidious breakdown of the family unit which has served man since his earliest moments. And no aspect of this breakdown is more alarming than the growing number of mothers who spend their days at work outside the home.

The extent of this trend is dramatically illustrated by figures compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau. In 1890, about

4,000,000 women in the United States-one in seven-were employed outside the home. By 1920, there were about

8,000,000 female jobholders-and most were single women, widows, or mothers whose children had grown and no longer required their care. Even after World War I, the typical American husband considered it his shame if his wife worked to augment his income; it meant to him that he was an incompetent provider.

Contrast those statistics with today's. In 1958, according to the same government sources, about 23,000,000 women were in the labour force. One worker in three was female. For the first time in our history, more married than single women are employed by business and industry. Even more startling is the fact that one of every five mothers with children under five has a full-time job. Economists have estimated that if present trends continue, the married woman between 35 and 65 who remains at home will be in the minority within fifteen years; before this century ends, the woman who strives to fulfill her historic role as educator of her children will be virtually extinct.

What lies behind the frantic effort by so many American mothers to relinquish their position in the home and to place themselves on a payroll?

An obvious answer might be that their family needs the money. Actually, however, a survey by the U.S. Department of Labor has revealed that only about one woman worker in seven is the sole support of her family. Such bread-winners are usually widows or are separated from their husbands. They can see no alternative to work. They either take outside employment to support their families or go on relief.

The vast majority of mothers work for reasons other than absolute economic necessity, however. Most seek to provide higher standards of living than would be possible on the husband's income alone. For instance, many take jobs so that the family may have a more expensive home, better furniture, an automobile, the opportunity to take vacations and similar privileges. Another category of working mothers consists of those who seek creative satisfactions which they feel that they cannot obtain by caring for their children. Many in this group have been educated to work in the professions, or as secretaries, typists and the like.

Other factors-and combinations of factors-doubtless contribute to the decision of mothers to work. A woman may desire to avoid the loneliness which frequently accompanies the job of caring for small children. She may want to feel independent of her husband. She may seek the excitement often found in the business world where there are new challenges and people to meet. But regardless of why a woman leaves her children in other hands and becomes a wageearner, one fact is paramount: unless she has a compelling economic reason for doing so, she is downgrading motherhood as her career. And since civilized people have long agreed that the development of young minds and souls is the greatest and most rewarding task that can be entrusted to humans, it is obvious that the woman who voluntarily turns away from her responsibility is changing the function of motherhood which has existed for ages. She is thus encouraging a revolution which will have a powerful effect upon society for generations to come.

In fairness to working mothers, however, it must be stated that the majority probably do not fully realize the consequences in terms of harm to their families and themselves that result from their long daily absences from the home.

Harm to the child. The young child needs his mother. No one else can adequately substitute. A child needs her constant affection and tender guidance, because only upon these foundations can he build the sense of security he needs for his full emotional development. He cannot get this affection at a nursery school. Nor can he obtain it from a succession of trained nursemaids who-however conscientious-cannot give the continuity of love essential for his growth.

The obligation of the woman who bears a child to care for it during its early formative years is recognized even by primitive societies. But what every woman instinctively knows is confirmed by the cold, analytical studies of scientists. For example, in a historic report on 'Maternal Care and Mental Health, published in Geneva in 1952, Dr. John Bowlby declared that the child's entire personality development depends upon the continuity of his relationship with his mother. If the child learns to give his love intimately and consistently to one person throughout his early years of growth, he develops a trust in human goodness and an inner security that enables him to meet confidently the problems of growing up.

What are the effects upon a child deprived of his mother's love during his early, crucial years? Medical records provide a voluminous and terrifying answer. During World War II, governmental authorities in Europe decided to evacuate children from zones in danger of enemy attack. Doctors had the opportunity to compare the psychological effect upon evacuated youngsters separated from their mothers, and upon children who remained with their mothers in areas where bombs fell. The doctors found that the incidence of neurosis and psychosis was fantastically higher among the evacuated children. Those who remained at home could endure even the threat of death without permanent psychological injury, because the security of their mothers' love sustained them in every time of danger.

The feeling that he has been deserted is one of the most terrifying experiences a young person can face. As proof, consider the hysterical scenes in a hospital ward. A child deposited in strange surroundings may experience such an intense fear of the unknown that it etches itself into his memory for the rest of his life. Psychiatrists report that the loss of their mother- through death, desertion, divorce or other factors-gives some children a fear and insecurity that they never entirely lose. Such a child may revert to infantile habits-his attempt to recapture the days when he had his mother's love. He may resist all efforts at discipline, and may whine or cry for no apparent reason. As an adult, he may require psychiatric care, for the adult patient who lost his mother during his early childhood sometimes is unable to give unstinting love to his wife-or to any human being- because he dreads the pain he would feel anew if his love were rejected again.

Of course, few children suffer in this acute way if a working mother shows her love when she and her child are together. Nonetheless, the child suffers more psychological damage than a parent perhaps realizes. The extent of the damage depends, naturally, on the amount of maternal deprivation.

Dr. Bowlby, in a report quoted by the 'Ladies' Home Journal of November 1958, says that the commonest result is a tendency to feel anxious and unhappy and to dread solitude. These symptoms are related to a feeling of basic insecurity. Dr. Bowlby says that children who have never received continuous loving care from one person cannot learn to love and develop emotional depth. 'They act from whim, he says, 'and are very sad, unreliable people indeed.

'Children who have known real mothering fo r a time and then have lost it before they are three sometimes grow up full of hate and mistrust, mixed with a desire for love that they are afraid to admit but which comes out in such things as stealing and promiscuity-lone wolves and lost souls, they are. Deprivation after the age of three isn't quite so bad, but it still results too often in excessive desires for affection and excessive jealousy which cause acute inner conflict and unhappiness.

Many working mothers report that on Saturdays and Sundays, when they are at home, their little ones are with them constantly and do not want to let them out of their sight. The mother interprets this as an indication that she retains her child's love and trust. True, but it also indicates the child's insecurity and his fear that she will again leave him.

Harm to the husband . The damage that a working wife may inflict upon her husband may be almost as great as that done to her child. Man by nature must be the head of the home. From our earliest day, and through all stages of our civilization, he has been the family's provider. He is best fitted for this role: he is naturally active and decisive; he is muscularly stronger than woman; his physical reflexes are better developed. These characteristics have enabled him to hunt, fish and provide the other necessities of life to enable the family to live together. Even today, when physical prowess is not the most important attribute for the provider, typical masculine traits are required to achieve success in the business world.

By taking a position outside the home, a mother throws the historic relationship with her husband out of balance. How can he be the head of the house when he is not considered capable of performing his basic function? The very qualities she must develop in the working world- masculine traits of aggressiveness, decisiveness, coldness, impersonality-are the antithesis of those she needs in dealing with husband and children. She no longer complements her husband as nature intended. She becomes his rival. However much husbands sometimes encourage or accept the employment of the wife outside the home, the situation is not normal and not conducive to a good husband-wife relationship.

In other days, the mother always was responsible for the care of the home, and boys and girls knew that it was her job to mend clothes, prepare meals, wash diapers and clean the house. Today, husbands of working wives often do all of these tasks. Their youngsters have a difficult time in determining where Father's job begins and ends, and where Mother's function begins and ends. But as we have seen, a human being's full development can come only if he knows clearly what is expected of him as an adult. Boys must know what a man's work is. Girls must know how mothers should act. When there is a vast neutralized area, neither clearly masculine nor feminine, the sexual development of youngsters and their ability to comprehend their own responsibility in marriage are impaired. One of the great causes of marital unhappiness is the uncertainty of partners as to their respective roles. This confusion was first created in their childhood experience.

In view of the fact that her act of working outside the home downgrades her husband, his resentment might often be expected. Researchers of the Marriage Council of Philadelphia found this to be a fact. They studied the causes of troubled marriages referred to them for help, and they concluded positively that tensions in a home tend to increase when both partners produce incomes. The largest number of disagreements centred around management of the house, finances, the wife's job, the husband's work, the sharing of household tasks and the upbringing of the children. The researchers concluded flatly that the very existence of the marriage is threatened if a wife works against her husband's wishes.

Harm to the family unit. A working mother may cause more subtle damage to the family unit. For instance, if she works merely to improve material standards of living and not from sheer necessity, she may tend to put false values in first place. The family may come to believe that a new rug, steak on the table instead of hamburger, or clothes that reflect the latest decrees from Paris all are necessary to the enjoyment of life. Such standards may accustom her children to view life's successes and failures from a materialistic point of view. They thus may be taught, by example if not by word, to put spiritual and emotional values in a lower place.

Once materialism takes over in a home, the birth-control mentality almost surely follows. When a mother works to raise her family's living standards, she may more easily succumb to the temptation to prevent the birth of a new life which would force her to quit her job and thus lower her standard of living. Or if she becomes pregnant, the child may be held responsible for reducing the family income-and may never receive the loving acceptance which is his right. Family limitation almost always goes hand in hand with the young working mother. The great tragedy of this arrangement is that it deprives children of brothers and sisters who contribute to a well-rounded and affectionate family life.

Harm to herself. The harm a working mother does to her children and her husband may be equaled by that she does to herself. First, she takes the risk that once she gets a job-even a temporary one-she will not be able to become a fulltime homemaker again. As millions of working wives can testify, it is all too easy for a family to live up to its new income.

One mother, by no means atypical, once took a sales clerk's position to earn extra money for Christmas. She boarded her two small children, four and two years old, with her married sister who lived a mile away. Thanks to her earnings, her children had better clothes and her husband purchased expensive photographic equipment he had always wanted. After Christmas, however, the family was as badly off financially as before, and the mother decided to continue working-just for a few months more, of course. But soon the family was spending the additional income as soon as it came in. The husband was a salesman who could take days off at his convenience-without pay-and now that his wife had a dependable income, his days off became increasingly frequent. Before long the family depended as much upon the mother's earnings as they had upon the father's. The children continued to spend their days under their aunt's care. It is now eleven years since the mother took her 'temporary job. Her husband has become steadily lazier and her children respond less warmly to her than to her sister. She has been trapped into a lifetime of unrewarding drudgery.

The emotional harm that working mothers may do to themselves is often overlooked. One group of researchers interviewed young mothers and found that 64 per cent cited neglect of their home, their family and their housework as the main disadvantages of working. It would be an odd mother who did not feel concern when she went to a place of business leaving her sick child behind to be cared for by someone else. Few mothers can remain totally serene as they give their young sons latchkeys so that they can let themselves into the home after school to spend several hours without adult supervision. Indeed, one psychologist has described the typical working mother as a person subject to opposing pressures-the pressure to concentrate all her energies and efforts on succeeding at her outside job, and the pressure of being a good wife and mother. When she devotes herself to business, she cannot help but be aware that she takes time and energy away from the service she owes her husband and her children. Few mothers can avoid the nagging, emotionally harmful sense of guilt that results.

In order to compensate for this time spent away from home, some seem determined not to let their home and family suffer. After working outside all day, they plunge into frantic housework, preparing meals, scrubbing floors, mending clothes-tasks which stay-at-home mothers perform during the day. By trying to fill two jobs, they often become so tense that they cannot relax and enjoy their family's company. They become martyrs to their dual obligations-and their conduct hardly presents to the child an appealing picture of the burden of motherhood. It is likely that more than one spinster is unmarried today because she was determined not to duplicate the life endured by her mother who worked outside the home by day and inside it far into the night.

Does it really pay mothers to work? Many economists have pointed out that the actual financial gain achieved by the average working mother may be considerably less than she imagines. Many go further and state that she often is not substantially better off financially than if she remained at home.

Economists of the Department of Agriculture recently interviewed 365 wives with jobs outside their homes. This survey established that for every dollar a working wife earns, only sixty cents is actually added to the family's income. The average wife earned $2,200 a year. But she paid almost one third of that sum'$614'for transportation, lunches and other items. In addition, she had to pay $184 for laundry, child care, etc. She also paid $105 for clothing and personal grooming which she probably would not have needed had she remained at home. Instead of $2,200, therefore, she actually had only $1,297 to show for her year's work-before taxes!

Other economists have found that a working mother's expen ses may be much greater even than this survey shows. For instance, taxes must be deducted from her salary and the government usually takes a greater percentage from her than from her husband, because the tax rate increases as family income increases. A typical working woman no longer has time to prepare low-cost meals or to shop for food bargains. As a result, her family eats more prepared foods-canned or frozen foods or restaurant meals-which are naturally more expensive. Out of her earnings, she often must pay someone to care for her children, and medical bills tend to shoot up sharply. Unable to care for her children personally and often distrustful of the person she hired to do so, she seeks a doctor's advice more often than would normally be the case. There are also extra expenditures for cleaning help, laundry, and possibly for the sheer luxuries she feels entitled to because she is doing two jobs. When these factors are considered, it can be seen that the working mother often merely changes jobs and does not receive any substantial financial gain from doing so.

Alternatives to work outside the home . Deploring the fact that more and more women seek work satisfactions outside their family circle will not reverse this trend, of course. Women must come to realize anew that their greatest contribution to God and society, and their greatest personal accomplishment, can come only when they bring new lives into existence and teach these beings to walk a path to earthly and eternal happiness. Frank Gavitt, one of the country's outstanding public relations executives, has recommended that universities award honourary degrees to outstanding mothers as they do to distinguished political, business and professional leaders. His suggestion would help to confer on motherhood the dignity and prestige it apparently needs before modern women will give it their total commitment.

It is ironic that a major trend of recent years has been that of 'doing it yourself. It seems that men obtain so few satisfactions from their work that they develop projects at home to give their creative energies an outlet. But while fathers return to the home, mothers are neglecting the creative aspects of home-making. Many of us can remember mothers or grandmothers who baked bread and cake, canned fruits and vegetables, and made their own clothing. The work not only saved money but gave a feeling of worthwhile accomplishment. If today's mothers used fewer of the costly products that take much of the creative joy out of homemaking, they might contribute almost as much to their families economically as they do by taking outside jobs.

What about mothers who must work because of real financial need? They should try to obtain employment which will enable them to be near their young children when they are needed most-during the daytime. There are more of such jobs than one might imagine. One mother obtained a position soliciting magazine subscriptions; she wheels her infant in a carriage from door to door, meeting his needs whenever they arise. Another woman runs a 'day nursery, caring for the children of neighbourhood mothers who wish to shop in freedom. A mother of three small children earns the family income as a typist, working at home for local businessmen while her children play under her supervision. Books listing hundreds of jobs which mothers can profitably perform in or near their homes are available at most public libraries.

Mothers of school-age youngsters can find many opportunities for part-time employment. A typical job is that of sales clerk. Most shoppers are women with children, and they visit the stores while their own young ones attend school. Many stores therefore require special help to handle the extra crowds from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Women who work during those hours can see their children off to school and can return home when they do.

The problem of 'moonlighters. Some of the reasons which prompt mothers to take outside employment also are responsible for the growing number of 'moonlighters-men who hold jobs at night as well as in the daytime. According to the Census Bureau, one male employee in twenty holds a second job.

Like the working mother, the father who holds two jobs can harm the family unit, his mate, his children, and himself. The family suffers because in effect it lacks his leadership. The man away from home sixteen hours a day, who returns only to sleep and to eat a quick meal or two, hardly gives the personal example which his children need to learn to be adults. When mother and children do not see the father except when he is asleep, they cannot be said to have a real family at all.

The wife suffers, because she is denied her husband's companionship. As is pointed out in detail in 'The Catholic Marriage Manual, mothers are justifiably tired of childish company after a long day spent exclusively with their little ones. They have a right to expect the attention, companionship and affection of their mates for at least a few hours of the twenty-four-hour period. The man who is busy earning money may love his wife and may want to make life easier for her. But a willingness to spend his free hours with her, even at the expense of material comforts, would be a greater indication of his affection-and would do far more for her.

The 'moonlighter's children suffer because they los e the opportunity of knowing their father at leisure. It is usually only after his day's work is done and the evening is at hand that he can talk to his children-recount his own experiences, prepare them for their future, and instill standards of conduct that will guide them throughout their lives. It is the father who gives his son his ideals and ideas of manhood and who teaches his daughter by example what to expect in her own husband when she marries. By his absence for prolonged periods, therefore, themoonlighter may be denying his children direction and example as much as does the father who does not live at home.

Nor should we overlook the fact that the man who holds two jobs for long periods may cause intense physical harm to himself. When he must bolt his meals to get from one job to another, when he works such long hours that he cannot get adequate sleep, when his schedule denies him any opportunity for recreation, he increases his nervous tension and susceptibility to the many diseases, such as heart trouble, high blood pressure and ulcers, which result at least partially from an inability to develop relaxed habits of living. The man who 'moonlights over a long period of time certainly will find that some, if not much, of his increased earnings must be used to pay doctors' bills.

We Americans make a fetish of our high standard of living. Advertisers and others bombard us with the concept that we can achieve happiness only if we have a better house, richer food, thicker rugs, more powerful cars than those commonly possessed even ten years ago. Acceptance of this false set of values is generally what prompts the mother to work and the father to 'moonlight. They overlook the basic fact that a family's essentials for life-food, shelter, clothing-cangenerally be obtained on the father's salary. When misguided ambition makes it necessary for the mother to work or the father to take a second job, the family achieves not true happiness but only a few materialistic substitutes for it.

NIHIL OBSTAT:

John A. Goodwine, J.C.D., Censor Librorum

IMPRIMATUR:

Francis Cardinal Spellman, Archbishop of New York

The nihil obstat and imprimatur are official declarations that a book or pamphlet is free of doctrinal or moral error. No implication is contained

therein that those who have granted the nihil obstat and imprimatur agree with the contents, opinions or statements expressed. August 22, 1959

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SIGNIFICANT DATES IN CHURCH HISTORY

FIRST CENTURY

30-Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, birthday of the Catholic Church. St. Peter preached to Jews at Jerusalem; 3,000 became converts.

33-St. Stephen, deacon, stoned to death at Jerusalem; first martyr of the Church.

35-67-St. Paul, formerly Saul, persecutor of Christians, converted and baptized, added to company of the Apostles. 'The Apostle of the Gentiles and New Testament author made missionary journeys to Cyprus, Asia Minor, Macedonia, Corinth, perhaps even to Spain. Beheaded at Rome, c.67.

39-Cornelius became the first Gentile convert; baptized by St. Peter.

42-Herod Agrippa persecuted Christians in the Holy Land. St. James the Greater beheaded, first Apostle to die; St. Peter imprisoned but miraculously released; many Christians fled to Antioch and elsewhere. At Antioch the followers of Christ were first called Christians.

42-67-St. Peter arrived at Rome, c.42, established his seethere; Rome thus became the seat of the papacy. 'The Prince of the Apostles left Rome for a time, did missionary work in the Holy Land, presided over the Council of Jerusalem; returned to Rome and was martyred there, c.67.

49-Christians at Rome, considered members of a Jewish sect, suffered because of the decree of Claudius which forbade Jewish worship there.

51-The Council of Jerusalem, in which the Apostles participated under the presidency of St. Peter, decreed that circumcision and the observance of various Mosaic prescriptions were not necessary for converts. The decree was issued to oppose the error of Judaizers who contended that observance of the Mosaic Law in its entirety was essential for salvation.

64-Nero set fire to Rome and accused the Christians therefor, thus beginning the era of great Roman persecutions. Sts. Peter and Paul were casualties of this persecution.

70-Titus destroyed Jerusalem.

88-97-Pontificate of St. Clement I, first of the Apostolic Fathers, third successor of St. Peter as pope. His letter to the Church at Corinth, concerning a schism there, gave clear evidence of the primacy of the See of Rome. 95-Domitian persecuted Christians, chiefly at Rome.

c.100-St. John, last of the Apostles, died at Ephesus. With his death, the Deposit of Faith (revelation through the inspired works of the Old and New Testaments and Tradition) was complete.

SECOND CENTURY

c.107-St. Ignatius of Antioch martyred at Rome. First to use in his writings the expression, 'The Catholic Church. 112-Rescriptto Pliny. 'The emperor Trajan instructed Pliny, governor of Bithynia, not to search for Christians but to

punish them if they were publicly denounced and refused to adore the gods. The rescript set a pattern for Roman magistrates.

117-138-Persecution under Hadrian. Many Acts of Martyrs date from this period.

c125-Spread of Gnosticism.

c.155-St. Polycarp martyred; Bishop of Smyrna and disciple of St. John the Evangelist.

c156.-Beginning of Montanism.

161-180-Reign of Marcus Aurelius. His persecution more violent than those of his predecessors. 165-St. Justin martyred at Rome; leading apologist.

c.180-St. Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, 'Father of Catholic Theology, wrote 'Adversus Haereses; stated that the teaching and tradition of the Roman See is the standard for belief.

196-Easter Controversy.

The Didache was written in the second century; important record of Christian belief, practice and government in first century.

Latin was introduced in the West as a liturgical language.

The Catechetical School of Alexandria increased in importance.

THIRD CENTURY

202-Persecution under Septimus Severus, who wanted to establish one common religion in the Empire. 206-Tertullian, a convert since 107, joined the heretical Montanists; charged that Pope St. Callistus was too lenient in readmitting to the Church persons guilty of certain grave sins. Died in 230. Before joining Montanists, was the first great ecclesiastical writer in Latin.

215-Death of Clement of Alexandria; teacher of Origen and a founding father of the School of Alexandria. 217-235-St. Hippolytus, the first antipope; reconciled to Church while in prison during persecution in 235. St. Hippolytus, the first antipope; reconciled to Church while in prison during persecution in 235. -Origen established School of Caesarea after being deposed in 231 as head of the School of Alexandria. Died in 254; Voluminous writer and scholar, one of the founders of systematic theology; exerted wide influence for many years.

c242-The beginning of Manicheism in Babylonia, Persia.

249-251-Persecution under Decius. Many of those who denied their Faith (Lapsi) sought readmission to the Church at the end of the persecution In 251. Pope St. Cornelius had correspondence with St. Cyprian on the subject: Lapsi were to be readmitted after suitable penance. The letters gave evidence of the primacy of Rome. 250-300-Neo-Platonism of Plotinus and Porphyry gained followers.

251-Pope St. Stephen upheld the validity of baptism administered by heretics. Controversy on this subject was a disciplinary matter, and involved St. Cyprian.

257-Persecution under Valerian, who attempted to destroy the Church as a social structure. St. Cyprian martyred 258.

c.260-St. Lucian founded the exegetical School of Antioch.

c.260-Dionysius condemned the teachings of Sebellius and the Marcionites.

c.260-St. Paul of Thebes became first Christian hermit.

261-Gallienus issued an edict of toleration which ended general persecution for nearly 40 years. c266-Sabellianism condemned and Paul of Samosata deposed.

292-Diocletian divided the Roman Empire into East and West. The division emphasized political, cultural and other differences between the two parts of the Empire. Prestige of Rome began to decline.

FOURTH CENTURY

c.303-The Council of Elvira in Spain legislated regarding clerical celibacy; declared the indissolubility of marriage. 303-Persecution under Diocletian, at the urging of Galerius; ended in West in 306, continued for 10 years in East; particularly violent in 304.

305-St. Anthony of Heracles established an eremetical foundation near the Red Sea, in Egypt. 310-St. Hilarion made a similar establishment in Palestine.

311-An edict of toleration issued by Galerius at the urging of Constantine and Licinius officially ended persecution; some persecution continued in the East.

313-The Edict of Milan issued by Constantine and Licinius recognized Christianity as a lawful religion and the legal freedom of all religions; provided that the Church was to be compensated for losses sustained in the persecutions. 314-The Council of Aries condemned Donatism in Africa, declared that baptism by heretics is valid. 318-St. Pachomius established the first foundation of the cenobitic (common) life, as compared with the solitary life of hermits in Upper Egypt

325-The First General (Ecumenical) Council at Nicaea condemned Arianism and formulated the Nicene Creed. 337-Baptism and death of Constantine.

c.342-Beginning of 40 years persecution in Persia.

343-4-Council of Sardica reaffirmed the Nicene Creed, declared that bishops had the right of appeal to Rome as the highest authority in the Church.

361.3-Julian the Apostate tried to restore paganism as the state religion campaigned against the Church by persecution, legal and other measures.

c.365-Persecution under Valens in the East.

374-At the Council of Rome, Pope St. Damasus published the list (Canon) of the inspired works of the Old and New Testaments.

e.376-Beginning of barbarian invasions in the West.

379-Death of St. Basil, the 'Father of Monasticism in the East. His writings contributed greatly to the development of rules for the religious life.

381-The Second General (Ecumenical) Council of Constantinople condemned Arians, Semi-Arians and Macedonians; reaffirmed the Nicene Creed.

382-c.406.-St. Jerome translated the Old and New Testaments into Latin; his work is called the Vulgate version of the Scriptures.

396-St. Augustine became Bishop of Hippo in Africa.

397-Council of Carthage.

397-Death of St. Ambrose.

FIFTH CENTURY

410-Visigoths sacked Rome.

411-Donatism was condemned, again, by a council at Carthage.

415-St. Augustine refuted the Pelagians, who discounted and denied the necessity of grace for salvation. 430-St. Augustine died.

431-The Third General (Ecumenical) Council of Ephesus condemned Nestorius, who denied that Mary was the Mother of the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity made Man; issued a final condemnation of Pelagianism. 432-St. Patrick arrived in Ireland. By the time of his death in 461 most of the country had been converted, monasteries founded and the hierarchy established.

438-The Theodosian Code, a compilation of decrees for the Empire, was issued by the emperor. It had great influence on subsequent civil and ecclesiastical law.

444-St. Cyril of Alexandria died.

449-The 'Robber Council of Ephesus, which had no ecclesiastical authority, declared itself in favour of the heretical teachings of Eutyches; he contended that Christ had only one nature.

451-The Fourth General (Ecumenical) Council of Chalcedon condemned Monophysitism (Eutychianism)-i.e. the error stated in the previous paragraph. Pope St. Leo I, the Great refused to approve Canon 28 issued by the Council; this canon falsely asserted that the primacy of Rome was based on political position.

452-Pope St. Leo the Great persuaded Attila the Hun to spare Rome.

455-Vandals sacked Rome. The decline of Imperial Rome, already underway, dates approximately from this time. 494-Pope St. Gelasius I declared in a letter to Emperor Anastasius that the pope had power and authority over the emperor in spiritual matters. The letter is an important document regarding the concept of papal authority. 496-Clovis, King of the Franks, was converted, and became the defender of Christianity in the West. The Franks became a Catholic people.

SIXTH CENTURY

520 and later-Irish monasticism flourished; monasteries were training places for missionaries, and centres of study where scholars were developed and manuscripts of importance preserved and copied for posterity. 529-The Second Council at Orange condemned Semi-Pelagianism. St. Benedict founded the Monastery of Monte Cassino. A few years before his death in 543 he wrote the monastic rule which exercised tremendous influence on the future of the religious life.He is the 'Father of Monasticism in the West.

533-John II became the first pope to change his name. The practice of changing the name, however, did not become general until the time of Sergius IV (1009).

533-534-Emperor Justinian promulgated the 'Corpus Juris Civilis for the Roman world; it influenced subsequent civil and ecclesiastical law.

e.545.-Dionysius Exiguus died; he introduced the division of history into periods before and after Christ-b.c., a.d. His calculations were at least four years in error (late)

a.d. His calculations were at least four years in error (late)

The Fifth General (Ecumenical) Council (Constantinople II) condemned the 'Three Chapters, writings of Theodore of Mopsuestia, Theodoret of Cyprus and Ibas of Edessa, which contained Nestorian errors. 585-St. Columban founded the influential monastic school at Luxueil. He died in 615.

589-The Council of Toledo was held in Spain. The Visigoths renounced Arianism, and St. Leander successfully began the organization of the Church in Spain.

590-604-Pontificate of Pope St. Gregory I, the Great. He initiated liturgical and disciplinary reforms, enforced clerical celibacy, upheld the prerogatives of the Holy See. Gregorian Chant is named in his Honour. 596-Pope St. Gregory I, the Great sent St. Augustine of Canterbury and 40 monks as missionaries to England. 597-St. Columba died. He founded the important monastery at Iona, established schools, and did notable missionary work in Scotland. By the end of the century, monasteries of nuns were common; Western monasticism was flourishing, monasticism in the East, under the influence of Monophysitism and other evils, was losing its vigour.

SEVENTH CENTURY

610-633-Mohammed, born c.570, claimed divine delegation to establish a religion for the Arabs. First taught openly in 613; was forced to flee from Mecca to Medina (Hegira) in 622; thereafter spread Mohammedanism by the sword; died in 632. By the end of the century Mohammedanism claimed almost the entire southern Mediterranean area. The sacred book is the Koran, substantially the work of Mohammed; 622 is the Year 1 of the Mohammedan era. 613-St. Columban established the influential Monastery of Bobbio in Northern Italy.

629-Emperor Heraclius recovered the True Cross from the Persians.

636-St. Isidore of Seville, 'the most learned man of his day died.

649-A Lateran Council condemned two erroneous formulas ('Ecthesis and 'Type) issued by emperors Heraclius and Constans II as means of reconciling Monophysites with the Church.

664-Actions of the Synod of Whitby advanced the adoption of Roman usages in England, especially regarding the date for the observance of Easter.

680-681-The Sixth General (Ecumenical) Council, Constantinople III, condemned the error of the Monothelites, who contended that there was only one will, the divine, in Christ. The Council declared that Christ had a human will and a divine will. During the century, the monastic influence of Ireland and England in-creased in Western Europe; schools and learning in general declined; regulations regarding clerical celibacy became more strict in the East.

EIGHTH CENTURY

711-The Moslems began their conquest of Spain.

723-St. Winifrid, 'Apostle of Germany, became Bishop Boniface.

726-Eastern Emperor Leo III, the Isaurian, is sued an edict which declared that the veneration of images, pictures and relics was idolatrous, and ordered their removal from churches. This was the error of Iconoclasm, or imagebreaking.

727-A synod at Rome declared that the veneration of images was in accordance with Catholic tradition. Pope Gregory III condemned Iconoclasm in 731.

731-Venerable Bede issued his 'Ecclesiastical History of the English People.

732-Charles Martel defeated the Turks at Poitiers, thus halting any farther advance by them in the West. 744-The Monastery of Fulda was established by St. Sturm, a disciple of St. Boniface.

c750-St. John Damascene, last of the Greek Fathers of the Church, died.

754-A council of bishops at Hieria endorsed Iconoclast errors. This council and its actions were condemned by the Lateran Synod of 769.

754-Pope Stephen III crowned Pepin ruler of the Franks. Pepin twice invaded Italy, in 754 and 756, to defend the Pope against the Lombards. His land grants to the papacy, called the Donation of Pepin, were later extended by Charlemagne (773) and formed part of the States of the Church.

c755-St. Boniface (originally Winfrid)was martyred. Called the 'Apostle of Germany for his missionary work and organization of the hierarchy there.

781-Alcuin was chosen by Charlemagne to organize the Palace School, which became a centre of intellectual leadership.

787-The Seventh General (Ecumenical) Council (Nicaea II), condemned Iconoclasm and Adoptionism. Adoptionists contended that Christ was not the Son of God by nature but by adoption; the error was condemned by Pope Adrian I in 785 and 794, and by several councils.

792-A council at Ratisbon condemned Adoptionisin. The famous Book of Kells, 'The Great Gospel of Columcille, dates from the early eighth or late seventh century.

NINTH CENTURY

800-Charlemagne was crowned Emperor by Pope Leo III on Christmas Day.

800-Egbert became King of West Sazona unified England, strengthened See of Canterbury.

813-Emperor Leo V, the Armenian, revived the Iconoclast heresy and persecuted Catholics holding to the true belief Emperor Leo V, the Armenian, revived the Iconoclast heresy and persecuted Catholics holding to the true belief 829), continued Leo's policies.

814-Charlemagne died.

842-A Synod at Constantinople countered Iconoclasm by asserting decrees of the Seventh Ecumenical Council (787).

843-The Treaty of Verdun split the Frankish kingdom among Charlemagne's three grandsons.

844-A Eucharistic controversy involving the works of Paschasius Radbertus. Ratramnus and Rabanus Maurus helped to formulate theological terminology regarding the doctrine of the Real Presence.

846-The Moslems invaded Italy, attacked Rome.

848-The Council of Mains condemned Gottschalk for heretical teaching regarding predestination. He was also condemned by the Council of Quierzy in 853.

857-Photius was illegally appointed Patriarch of Constantinople after the deposition of Ignatius, the legitimate incumbent. Thus began the Photian Schism, which was condemned by the Roman Synod of 863 and the Eighth General (Ecumenical) Council in 869.

865-St. Ansgar, 'Apostle of Scandinavia, died.

868-Sts. Cyril (d.869) and Methodius (d.885) were consecrated bishops. The 'Apostles of the Slays devised the Slavonlc alphabet and translated the Gospels and liturgy.

869-The Eighth General (Ecumenical) Council (Constantinople IV), condemned Iconoclasm. deposed Photius and restored Ignatius to the Patriarchate of Constantinople.

restored Ignatius to the Patriarchate of Constantinople.

-Reign of Alfred the Great the only English king ever anointed by the pope at Rome.

TENTH CENTURY

910-William, Duke of Aquitaine, founded the Benediction Abbey of Cluny, which became a centre of monastic and ecclesiastical reform.

911-Catholicism began in Normandy, following the baptism of the Norman leader Rollo.

915-Pope John X led the expulsion of Moslems from northern Italy.

955-St. Olga, of the Russian royal family, was baptized.

962-Otto I, the Great, crowned by Pope John XII, revived Charlemagne's kingdom, which became the Holy Roman Empire. The sovereignty of Germany and Italy was thus vested in a German prince.

966-Mieszko, first of a royal line in Poland, was baptized; he brought Latin Christianity to Poland. 989-Vladimir, ruler of Russia, was baptized; Russia was subsequently Christianized by Greek missionaries. 993-John XV was the first pope to decree the official canonization of a saint (Urlich) for the universal Church. (From the very beginning, the Church venerated saints; public official honour always required the recognition of heroic sanctity or martyrdom, and the approval of the bishop of the place.)

997-St. Stephen became ruler of Hungary. He assisted in organizing the hierarchy and establishing Latin Christianity.

999-1003-Pontificate of Sylvester II (Gerbert of Aquitaine), a Benedictine monk and the first French pope.

ELEVENTH CENTURY

1012-St. Romuald founded the Camaldolese Hermits.

1025-The Council or Arras, and other councils, later, condemned the Catharists (Neo-Manicheans, Albigenses). 1027-The Council of Elne proclaimed the Truce of Gad as a means of stemming violence. The Truce involved armistice periods, which were later extended.

1038-St. John Gaulbert founded the Vallombrosians.

1047-Pope Clement II died; the only pope ever buried in Germany.

1049-54-Pontificate of St. Leo IX, who inaugurated a reform movement of wide and lasting influence. His, and later, reforms of the period centred around papal elections, clerical celibacy, control of ecclesiastical offices, and other matters.

1054-Michael Caerularius, Patriarch of Constantinople, quarreled with the pope, disputed usages of the Latin Church; refused to obey, and led most of the Eastern churches (called (Orthodox) into schism.

1059-The Lateran Council issued new legislation regarding papal elections. The voting power was entrusted to the Roman cardinals.

1066-William the Conqueror invaded England; later he opposed the independence of the Church in England from secular control.

1066-St. Edward the Confessor died; established Westminster Abbey.

1073-85-Pontificate of St. Gregory VII (Hildebrand, experienced advisor of several popes). He continued programmes of reform and took measures against lay investiture. He opposed Henry IV and even absolved Henry's subjects from allegiance to him; this was the first case of the deposition of an emperor by a pope. 1077-Lay investiture and pope-emperor relations reached a climax when Henry IV (1056-1105) submitted to Gregory VII at Canossa. Henry later repudiated this action and finally abdicated.

1079-The Council of Rome condemned Eucharistic errors of Berengarius who retracted.

1084-St. Bruno founded the Carthusians.

1095-99-The Council of Clermont inaugurated the First Crusade The Crusaders took Jerusalem in 1099. 1093-St. Robert founded the Cistercians.

TWELFTH CENTURY

1103-Beginnings of the influential abbey and school of St. Victor.

1111-As a solution to the problem of investiture of prelates, Pope Paschal II proposed that prelates should surrender feudal lord rights and that the emperor should give up rights to investiture.

1115-St. Bernard established the Abbey of Clairvaux and inaugurated the Cistercian reform.

1115-St. Anselm died; important figure in the development of Scholastic philosophy and theology. 1118-Christian forces captured Saragossa in Spain; Moslem power began to decline in that country. c.1120-Pope Callistus II issued the Bull 'Sicut Judaeis; in defence of the rights of Jews. The measure was republished by four other popes during the century.

1120-Beginnings of the Norbertines or Premonstratensians; the first order was for men, the second for women, the third for lay persons.

The Norbertine Third Order was the first in the history of the Church.

1122-The Concordat of Worms (Pactum Callixtinum) contained these provisions regarding the investiture of prelates: the emperor could invest prelates with the symbol of temporal authority but had no right to invest them with symbols of spiritual authority (since ecclesiastical jurisdiction was from the Church alone); the emperor was not to interfere in papal elections. This was the first concordat in history.

1123-The Ninth General (Ecumenical) Council (Lateran I) at Rome endorsed provisions of the Concordat of Worms. This was the first General Council in the West.

1139-The Tenth General (Ecumenical) Council (Lateran II) at Rome adopted measures against the schism organized by anti-pope Anacletus, against the followers of Arnold of Brescia and Peter Brays, and issued disciplinary decrees. 1140-St. Bernard met Abelard in debate at the Council of Sens. Abelard was first condemned in 1121 for rationalistic tendencies. He died in 1142 at the Abbey of Cluny where he had retired alter being ordered by Innocent II to stop teaching.

1147-The Second Crusade, preached by St. Bernard, started for the Holy Land; ended unsuccessfully at Damascus. 1148-The Synod of Rheims enacted stricter disciplinary decrees for religious communities of women. 1152-The Synod of Kells reorganized the Church in Ireland.

1153-St. Bernard died; outstanding figure of the century, founder of mediaeval mysticism.

1154-55-A community of monks founded by St. Merthold marked the beginning of the Carmelite Order. 1160-Gratian died; compiled a Decretum which became a basic text of Canon Law.

c.1160-Peter Lombard died; compiled the 'Four Books of Sentences, a standard text until the time of St. Thomas Aquinas.

1170-St. Thomas a'Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, who had clashed with Henry II regarding clerical immunities, was murdered in his cathedral.

1171-Pope Alexander III reserved the process of canonization to the Holy See.

1179-The Eleventh General (Ecumenical) Council (Lateran III) at Rome enacted measures against the Waldenses and Albigensians; provided that popes should be elected by a two-third vote of cardinals present. 1184-The Waldenses, and others, were excommunicated as heretics by Pope Lucius III.

1192-The Third Crusade ended in a truce; Moslems held Jerusalem but granted permission for Christian pilgrims to visit the Holy Sepulchre and other Holy Places.

THIRTEENTH CENTURY

1204-Fourth Crusaders sacked Jerusalem; Latin Empire of East begun; leaders of the Crusade excommunicated by Pope Innocent III.

1205-13-Papal struggle with John of England over the election of the Archbishop of Canterbury; England under Interdict for five years.

1208-Innocent III called for a crusade against the Albigensians. This was the first crusade in a Christian country. 1209-Verbal approval given by Innocent III for foundation of the Order of Friars Minor (Franciscans) by St. Francis of Assisi.

1213-Poor Clares founded

1212-Children's Crusade a complete failure.

1215-The Twelfth General (Ecumenical) Council (Lateran IV) at Rome enacted 70 reform decrees, ordered annual confession to the parish priest and Easter Communion, issued a creed against the Albigensians, made first official use of the term 'transubstantiation.

1216-Death of Pope Innocent III, who raised the papacy to a new height of prestige.

1216-St. Dominic received formal papal approval for his new Order of Preachers (Dominicans). The famous Portiuncula Indulgence was granted by the Holy See at the request of St. Francis of Assisi.

1221-Death of St. Dominic.

1221-Founding of Third Order of St. Francis, for lay people in the world.

1226-Death of St. Francis of Assisi, popularizer of the Christmas Crib custom (1223); received the Stigmata in 1224. 1227-Death of Pope Honorius III, who had exerted great influence in moral reform and education. 1228.29-Peaceful negotiations during the Fifth Crusade secured possession of Bethlehem and Jerusalem. 1231-Death of St. Anthony of Padua, famous Franciscan preacher and miracle-worker.

1233-Papal Inquisition instituted to oppose heresy.

1244-Turks recaptured Jerusalem.

1245-The Thirteenth General (Ecumenical) Council (Lyons I) considered measures against Frederick II. 1247-Carmelite Order received preliminary approval.

1248.54-Sixth Crusade, a failure.

1250-Death of Frederick II, who had been hostile to the Holy See for many years.

1253-Death of St. Clare of Assisi.

1261-End of the Latin Empire in the East.

1264-St. Thomas Aquinas composed the Mass and Office for the new feast of Corpus Christi. 1270-Death of St. Louis IX, King of France; France at this time was the strongest nation in Europe. 1270-Beginning of papal decline.

1274-Fourteenth General (Ecumenical) Council (Lyons II) effected temporary reunion with the Eastern Church. 1274-Died: St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church; author of the 'Summa Theologica; St. Bonaventure, Doctor of the Church, Franciscan theologian and author.

1280-Pope Nicholas III died; made the Breviary official for the Roman Church; it had been edited and published in a single book by Innocent III.

1281-The excommunication of the Greek Emperor by Pope Martin IV ruptured the union effected with the Eastern Church in 1274.

1296-Pope Boniface VIII issued the Bull 'Cleris Laicos which forbade the clergy to submit to lay taxation.

FOURTEENTH CENTURY

1300-Jubilee observed at Rome; attended by thousands from all over Christendom.

1301-Pope Boniface VIII withdrew privileges of the French King, Philip the Fair, who had arrested a bishop and refused his appeal for trial at Rome.

1302-Boniface VIII issued 'Unam Sanctam which stressed the primacy of the spiritual over temporal power. 1309-Pope Clement V began the Babylonian Captivity of the papacy, establishing residence at Avignon; beginning of the line of French popes.

1311-12-Fifteenth General (Ecumenical) Council of Vienne condemned a number of errors, subpressed the Knights Templar, sought aid for the Holy Land.

1321-Dante died;completed his 'Divine Comedy the previous year.

1323-Beginning of the struggle between Pope John XXII and Louis of Bavaria, during which Louis was excommunicated and the pope called a heretic by Louis' followers.

1327- 'Defensor Pacis by Marsilius was condemned; it upheld the Conciliarist Theory, i.e., that a general council was superior to the pope, thereby threatening the primacy of the pope.

1328-After invading Italy and being accepted by the people as emperor, Louis deposed John XXII and set up an antipope. Nicholas V. the antipope, later sought reconciliation with the Holy See.

1337-Beginning of the Hundred Years' War.

1338-In the Declaration of Rense, the German electors stated that the pope had only the right to formal coronation of the emperor at Rome.

1348-The Black Death spread throughout Europe, taking a terrible toll of life; a shortage of priests was one of the effects.

1351-53-New laws in England were designed to limit papal powers there.

1356-The 'Golden Bull of Charles IV renewed the Declaration of Rense, eliminated papal rights in election of the emperor.

1364-65-Universities of Cracow and Vienna established.

1367-Pope Urban V, nearly 60 years after the residency of the papacy had begun at Avignon, went to Rome. 1370-Urban V returned to Avignon; Rome was in a state of anarchy.

1374-Petrarch died.

1377-Partly due to the influence of St. Catherine of Siena, Gregory XI ended the Avignon residency of the popes and moved to Rome. Italy was in a disturbed condition; Florence was placed under interdict.

1378-Wycliff denied the doctrine of transubstantiation.

1378-Beginning of the Western Schism.

1397-The Turks besieged Constantinople.

FIFTEENTH CENTURY

1409-The Council of Pisa, which had no authority for its action, chose a third claimant to the papacy after stating that Gregory XII and Benedict XIII were schismatics, thus complicating the Western Schism. The seeds of the Conciliar Movement began to develop from such action on the part of the cardinals.

1414-18-The Sixteenth General (Ecumenical) Council of Constance marked the end of the Western Schism, condemned Wycliff and Hus, issued decrees for ecclesiastical reform. Martin V began an era of concordats made necessary by the rise of nationalism, which opposed the supernational character and mission of the Church. Agreements with states were necessary to safeguard the Church's rights and those of the faithful. 1431-St. Joan of Arc was burned at the stake.

1431-The Council of Basle was called. The supreme power of the pope, which had previously been questioned by such writers as Marsilius of Padua and William of Ockham, was challenged; such an attitude had grown as a result of the Great Schism. Extreme advocates of the Consular Theory argued that, when the need arose, a general council could depose the pope.

1438-The French National Council at Bourges issued the Pragmatic Sanctions which affirmed Gallican liberties and limited the rights and powers of the Holy See.

1438-43-The Seventeenth General (Ecumenical) Council of Florence reaffirmed the primacy of the pope, thus dealing a death blow to the Conciliar Movement; attempted to effect union with the Greeks and other Oriental sects, and to establish peace among Christian princes.

1453-Fall of Constantinople and the renewal of schism on the part of the Orthodox churches of the East. Henceforth the popes concentrated on stopping the Turkish menace from the East; their pleas for crusades by the West generally had disappointing results.

1456-First printed edition of the Bible by movable type.

1476-Permission was granted for establishment of the Inquisition in Spain. Sixtus IV proclaimed that the feast of the Immaculate Conception should be observed by the universal Church on December 8.

1492-Discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus.

1493-Alexander VI issued a 'Bull of Demarcation which determined what might be called spheres of influence for the Spanish and Portuguese in the New World; it provided for the propagation of the Christian Faith in the newly discovered territories.

SIXTEENTH CENTURY

1512-17-The Eighteenth General (Ecumenical) Council (Lateran V) defined the relation of the pope to general councils, condemned errors regarding the nature of the human soul, called for a crusade against the Turks. 1517-Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses at Wittenberg; among other things they contained an attack on the doctrine of indulgences.

1520-Luther published his 'Address of the Christian Nobility of the German Nation concerning the Reform of the Christian Estate.

The papal Bull 'Exsurge Domine demanded his recantation. Luther burned the Bull publicly at Wittenberg in December; he was formally excommunicated the following month.

1524-Beginning of the Peasant Wars. Lutheranism became associated with strong German princes, from whom it gained political support.

1528-The Capuchin Order, a branch of the Franciscans, became leaders in the Counter-Reformation. 1529-The Catholic Church was abolished in Sweden.

1531-Protestant princes formed the Schmalkaldic League; soon all of Northern Germany was united in Lutheranism. 1531-Zwingli died; leader of Reformation in Switzerland.

1535-Henry VIII, excommunicated in 1533, proclaimed the Act of Supremacy and the Oath of Succession. St. John Fisher of Rochester and St. Thomas More refused to recognize the claims of Henry VIII and were martyred. The confiscation of monasteries in England followed.

1536-John Calvin published 'Institutes of the Christian Religion, and took up the work started by Zwingli in Switzerland.

1546-The constitutions of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) were approved; St. Ignatius Loyola was their founder. 1541-Geneva became the Protestant Rome, the stronghold of Protestant thought.

1542-The Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office was established and became a leading agency in the CounterReformation.

1545-63-The Nineteenth General (Ecumenical) Council of Trent issued canons and decrees which stated Catholic belief on matters of faith and practice which were under attack by the 'Reformers, and mobilized the CounterReformation.

1546-Legal Measures in Denmark virtually crushed Catholicism there; Norway and Iceland were gradually forced to adopt Lutheranism.

1546-Martin Luther died.

1546-Martin Luther died.

First 'Book of Common Prayer published; substituted Communion Service in English for the Mass, included errors about the Holy Eucharist.

1552-St. Francis Xavier, Jesuit, died; one of the greatest missionaries in Church history.

1553-58-During her reign as Queen of England, Mary Tudor took counter-measures against the actions of Henry VIII.

1555-Provisions of the Treaty of Augsburg stated that rulers of the German states had the right to decide what religion should be professed in their territories.

1558-Matthew Parker was invalidly 'consecrated Archbishop of Canterbury; all Anglican orders thereafter were invalid.

1560-Legal measures in Scotland destroyed the Catholic Church there; John Knox was a leading organizer of the Presbyterian Church there.

1563-Adoption of the 39 Articles and re-passage of the Act of Supremacy and the Oath of Succession during the reign of Elizabeth; the Church of England came into full being as an heretical body.

1564-John Calvin died.

1567-The errors of Baius were condemned; his teaching would have compromised with Lutheranism on the nature of original sin, grace and freedom of will.

1570-Queen Elizabeth was excommunicated.

1571-Defeat of the Turkish Armada at Lepanto staved off invasion in Eastern Europe.

1571-The Sacred Congregation of the Index was established to combat anti-Catholic writings. 1572-St. Bartholomew's Eve massacre of Huguenots in various places in France was a political manoeuvre of Catherine of Medici.

1579-The Union of Utrecht formed the alliance of the northern provinces of the Netherlands, which became the Dutch Republic, and made Protestantism the state religion.

1583-Death of St. Teresa of Avila.

1582-The Gregorian Calendar was put into effect and was eventually adopted by most countries of the world. 1587-St. Robert Bellarmine published 'De Controversiis, the greatest literary defence of the Faith issued during the Counter-Reformation period.

1593-Catholics were banished from England.

SEVENTEENTH CENTURY

1601-Matteo Ricci (d.1610), Jesuit missionary, settled at Peking, China.

1605-A few Catholic fanatics conspired in the Gunpowder Plot to blow up King James I of England and the houses of Parliament. The plot was discovered and the conspirators condemned to death. One of the results was the Oath of Allegiance, which was condemned by Pope Paul V in 1606.

1610-St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane de Chantal founded the first community of Visitation Nuns. 1611-Founding of the Oratorians by St. Philip Neri.

1613-42-The Galileo Controversy; Galileo died at peace with the Church.

1618-48-Thirty Years' War; ended by the Treaty of Westphalia, which confirmed the Peace of Augsburg, of 1555. 1625-Founding of the Congregation of the Mission (Vincentians) by St. Vincent de Paul. He founded the Sisters of Charity in 1633.

1642-Sulpicians founded by Jacques Olier.

1648-Bolland, a BelgianJesuit, began publication of the 'Acta Sanctorum, a critical work on lives of the saints; continued after his death by the Society of the Bollandists.

1649-Oliver Cromwell invaded Ireland and began a severe persecution of Catholics.

1653-Pope Innocent Xcondemned the errors of Jansen. Jansen's 'Augustinus, published in 1640, imputed erroneous ideas on grace to St. Augustine.

1657-Blaise Pascal's 'Provincial Letters in favour of Jansenism, were condemned.

1668-The 'Clementine Peace of Pope Clement IX quieted the Jansenist controversy for 30 years. 1673-The Test Act in England barred all Catholics from public office if they would not deny the doctrine of transubstantiation and receive Communion in the Anglican Church.

1678-The 'Popish Plot resulted in the deaths of many English Catholics; Titus Oates, a discredited Anglican minister, falsely claimed that Catholics planned to assassinate Charles I, land a French army, burn London, and place the government in the hands of the Jesuits.

1683-Bossuet drew upthe 'Four Articles of 1682 which expressed fundamental ideas of Gallicanism: the pope had no authority over princes in temporal affairs, the power of the pope was limited by general councils, the power of the pope was limited by customs and practices of the Gallican Church, decisions of the pope were infallible only with consent of the Church. The tenets were condemned in 1690.

1687-Quietism of Molinos was condemned by Pope Innocent XI; Molinos died repentant in 1696. 1688-The Toleration Act granted a certain amount of freedom of worship to English dissenters, but intentionally excluded Catholics.

EIGHTEENTH CENTURY

1718-Pope Clement XI issued the Bull 'unigenitus, in which he condemned 101 Jansenistic propositions of Quesnel.

1713-74-Catholics in Canada. The Treaty of Utrecht, 1713, ceded Newfoundland, Acadia and the Hudson Bay Territory to Great Britain and guaranteed freedom of religion to the almost entirely Catholic populations. In 1752, 7,000 Acadians were driven from their homes. In 1774 the Quebec Act gave legal rights to the Church in Canada. 1724-Catholics persecuted in China.

1733-St. Alphonsus Liguori founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists). 1738-Pope Clement XII condemned Freemasonry in the bull 'In Eminenti forbidding Catholics to join the Freemasons under pain of excommunication. The condemnation and prohibition were repeated by Benedict XIV in 1751, and by later popes.

1741-Papal approval was given to the Clerics Regular of the Holy Cross and Passion of Our Lord (Passionists); the founder was St. Paul of the Cross.

1743-Febronianism began in Germany with the publication of a book by John Nicholas von Hontheim, under the pseudonym Febronius, which was directed against papal authority. Febronianism was condemned in 1764, 1769 and 1775.

1759-73-Suppression of the Jesuits. They were expelled from Portugal in 1759, from France in 1764, from Spain in 1767; false accusations and political intrigue were principal factors in these developments. Clement XIV in 1773 issued a 'Brief of Suppression which contained no criticism of the Society nor of its members. The Society was restored in 1814.

1778-The Catholic Relief Act in England permitted Catholics to buy and inherit land, and abolished the penalty of life imprisonment for priests.

1780-The beginnings of Josephism in Austria; an attempt to make the Church in Austria almost independent of the pope.

1788-Proclamation of religious liberty in the United States.

1789-98-The Church in France. French Revolution, 1789; secularization of Church property and the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, 1790; persecution of priests, religious and laity who remained loyal to papal authority; Napoleon invaded the Papal States, 1796; persecution renewed from 1797-1799, and attempts were made to deChristianize France and establish a new religion; in 1798 French troops occupied Rome and carried the pope away to France; Pius VI died at Valence in 1799.

1794-Pope Pius VI condemned decrees of the Synod of Pistola, 1786, which favoured Jansenism and Gallicanism.

NINETEENTH CENTURY

1802-Concordat with France re-establishing and giving legal rights to the Church.

1808-Papal States incorporated in Napoleonic Empire.

1809-14-Exile and captivity of Pope Pius VII.

1814-Fall of Napoleon; return of Pius VII to Rome. Restoration of the Society of Jesus.

1817-Concordats signed with German states, granting limited freedom of action to the Church.

1822-Pontifical Society for the Propagation of the Faith established.

1829-Catholic Emancipation in Great Britain and Ireland.

1832-Pope Gregory XVI issued the encyclical 'Mirari Vos, condemning the movement known as Catholic liberalism.

1833-45-Development of the Oxford Movement which resulted in notable conversions in England, e.g. John Henry, later Cardinal, Newman in 1845.

1833-Founding of the Catholic University of Louvain.

1848-Flight of Pope Pius IX to Gaeta. Communist 'Manifesto issued.

1850-Catholic hierarchy re-established in England.

1852-Catholic universities founded at Dublin and Quebec (Laval).

1853-Hierarchy re-established in Holland.

1854-Proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

1858-Apparitions of the Blessed Virgin to St. Bernadette at Lourdes.

1880-Piedmontese began to occupy Papal States.

1884-Pope Pius IX issued the 'Syllabus a systematic condemnation of modernistic errors.

1867-Publication of the first volume of 'Das Kapital; organization of the (Communist) First International.

1887-Expropriation of Papal States completed.

1888-Disestablishment of the Anglican Church in Ireland.

1870-The Twentieth General (Ecumenical) Council of the Vatican, opened the previous year, defined the dogma of the Infallibility of the Pope. Formation of the 'Old Catholics who opposed the dogma of infallibility.

1871-Establishment of the new German Empire and the beginning of the Kulturkampf, the persecution of Catholics in Germany. Development of anti-clericalism in France. Pope Pius IX made himself a virtual prisoner in the Vatican when recognition was not given temporal possessions and papal sovereignty in Italy.

1873-May Laws in Germany.

1878-1903-Pontificate of Pope Leo XIII; promoted a revival of Scholastic philosophy; indicated proper approach to Scriptural study. Perhaps his best known encyclical is 'Rerum Novarum, dealing with conditions of the working classes and opposed to deceptive Communistic and Socialistic developments.

1881-The first International Eucharistic Congress was held at Lille, France.

1889-Catholic University of America founded at Washington, D.C.

TWENTIETH CENTURY

1903-14'Pontificate of St. Pius X. He began the codification of Canon Law, 1904; removed the ban against participation by Catholics in Italian national elections, 1905; issued decrees calling upon the faithful to receive Holy Communion frequently and daily, and stating that children should receive First Communion at the age of seven, 1905 and 1910, respectively; ordered the establishment of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine for religious instruction in all parishes throughout the world, 1905; condemned Modernism in the decree 'Lamentabili and encyclical 'Pascendi 1907.

1903-Expulsion of religious orders and congregations from France; confiscation of Church property, 1906. 1910-Laws of separation in Portugal. Breaking of diplomatic relations between Spain and the Holy See. 1914-18-World War I.

1914-23-Pontificate of Benedict XV, who was concerned with minimizing the material and spiritual havoc of World War I; in 1917 he offered to act as mediator between the belligerent nations, but his pleas for settlement of the conflict went unheeded. In 1919 he issued the decree 'Maximum Illud, in which he urged the recruiting and training of native clergy in missionary lands.

1917-Apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Fatima. Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, and the subsequent rise of Communism. New constitution in Mexico approved, giving the state control over religious worship; persecution under way.

1918-The new Code of Canon Law, promulgated in 1917, became effective.

1922-38-Pontificate of Pius XI. Concluded the Lateran Treaty, 1929, which settled the Roman Question and ended the voluntary imprisonment of popes in the Vatican since 1870; maintained the freedom and independence of Catholic Action in Italy, in the encyclical 'Non Abbiamo Bisogno, 1931; issued the encyclicals 'Quadragesimo Anno, developing the social teachings of Leo XIII in 'Rerum Novarum, and 'Divini Redemptoris, calling for social justice and condemning Communism, 1931 and 1937, respectively; condemned anti-Semitism, 1937.

1926-Catholic Relief Act in England removed legal disabilities of Catholics.

1931-Proclamation of the Spanish Republic and anti-Church measures by the government.

1938-Rise of Hitler in Germany and subsequent persecution which reached a peak in 1940.

1936-38-Persecution during the Spanish Civil War, in which some 30,000 priests and religious, and numerous lay persons, lost their lives.

1939-58-Pontificate of Pius XII.

1939-45-World War II.

1940-50-Decade of Communist conquest in 13 countries resulting in conditions of persecution for a minimum of 60 million Catholics-as well as members of other faiths.

1940-Mitigation of persecution in Mexico through non-enforcement of still existing laws.

1954-Canonization of St. Pius X.

1957-Attempt to begin national schismatic church in Red-controlled China.

1958-63-Pontificate of John XXIII.

1959-61-Fidel Castro's overthrow of Batista government in Cuba and campaign against the Church. 1962-Opening on October 11 of the Second Vatican Council, the twenty-first such council in the history of the Church.

1963-Election and beginning of the reign of Paul VI, 26th June, 1963, second session of Vatican Council is held. Constitution of Liturgy drawn up.

Nihil Obstat:

BERNARD O'CONNOR, Censor Deputatus.

Imprimatur:

@ JUSTIN D. SIMONDS, Archiepiscopus Melburnensis.

23rd June, 1964. ********