The most accurate and faithful English translation ever produced of St. Peter Damian's Book of Gomorrah, an impassioned denunciation of the vice of sodomy among clerics. The work carries a foreword by Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iñiguez, endorsements by eminent scholars, and an account of Damian's struggle against corruption in the Catholic Church. It also includes a preface addressing and resolving certain historical controversies about the text.

The reprint you hold is, to our knowledge, one of only two book-length studies in the English language on St. Peter Damian. The other is The Theology of Peter Damian, by Prof. Emer. Patricia Ranft (Catholic University of America Press, 2012). Rev. Owen J. Blum, O.F.M. (1912-1998), a native of Indianapolis, Indiana, was orphaned at age 7 by an influenza epidemic. Under the sponsorship of a Franciscan priest, he completed seminary studies, was ordained, and then joined the Quincy, Illinois Franciscans. Father Blum's career as a historical scholar began at C.U.A. in 1941. It was thanks to Father Aloysius Ziegler that he became interested in St. Peter Damian and published the present work, his doctoral dissertation, in 1947. Apart from several years as a coeditor of the New Catholic Encyclopedia, Father Blum kept St. Peter Damian the object of his endeavors. He collaborated with Prof. Kurt Reindel on the latter's German critical edition of Damian's Letters. His own English edition of the Letters, published volume by volume by the C.U.A. Press and completed after his death, stands as a monument to his scholarship.

Some of the roots of the characteristic negative attitude to homosexuality can be found in Peter Damian’s appeal to Pope Leo IX. Though written 900 years ago by an Italian monk in a remote corner of Italy, The Book of Gomorrah is relevant to contemporary discussion of homosexuality. The Book of Gomorrah asks the Pope to take steps to halt the spread of homosexual practices among the clergy. The first part outlines the various forms of homosexual practice, the specific abuses, and the inadequacy of traditional penitential penances, and demands that offenders be removed form their ecclesiastical positions. The second part is an impassioned plea to the offenders to repent of their ways, accept due penance, and cease from homosexual activity. Payer’s is the first translation of the full tract into any language from the original Latin. In his introduction to the tract Payer places The Book of Gomorrah in its context as the first major systematic treatise in the medieval West against various homosexual acts, provides a critique of Peter Damian’s arguments, and outlines his life. The annotated translation is followed by a translation of the letter of Pope Leo IX in reply to Damian’s Treatise, an extensive bibliography, and indexes. The book will be of interest to students of medieval history and religion, to ethicists and students of social mores, and to persons generally concerned with the historical roots of present-day attitudes to homosexuality.

A much neglected field of study has been opened by the research of the author into the history of the Christian church from its apostolic origins to the close of the eighteenth century. Taking as his thesis the prominence given to the Church in the Wilderness in Bible prophecy, and the fact that “‘the Church in the Wilderness,’ and not the proud hierarchy enthroned in the world’s great capital, was the true church of Christ,” he has spent years developing this subject. In its present form, Truth Triumphant represents much arduous research in the libraries of Europe as well as in America. Excellent ancient sources are most difficult to obtain, but the author has been successful in gaining access to many of them. To crystallize the subject matter and make the historical facts live in modem times, the author also made extensive travels throughout Europe and Asia. The doctrines of the primitive Christian church spread to Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. As grains of a mustard seed they lodged in the hearts of many Godly souls in southern France and northern Italy — people known as the Albigenses and the Waldenses. The faith of Jesus was valiantly upheld by the Church of the East. This term, as used by the author, not only includes the Syrian and Assyrian Churches, but is also the term applied to the development of apostolic Christianity throughout the lands of the East. The spirit of Christ, burning in the hearts of loyal men who would not compromise with paganism, sent them forth as missionaries to lands afar. Patrick, Columbanus, Marcos, and a host of others were missionaries to distant lands. They braved the ignorance of the barbarian, the intolerance of the apostate church leaders, and the persecution of the state in order that they might win souls to God. To unfold the dangers that were ever present in the conflict of the true church against error, to reveal the sinister working of evil and the divine strength by which men of God made truth triumphant, to challenge the Remnant Church today in its final controversy against the powers of evil, and to show the holy, unchanging message of the Bible as it has been preserved for t hose who will “fear God, and keep His commandments” — these are the sincere aims of the author as he presents this book to those who know the truth. MERLIN L. NEFF.

In My Catholic Faith, Louis LaRavoire Morrow presents a comprehensive guide to the beliefs, practices, and traditions of the Catholic Church. This book serves as a valuable resource for both newcomers to the faith and lifelong Catholics seeking to deepen their understanding of their religious heritage. Morrow explores the core tenets of Catholicism, offering insights into the sacraments, prayer, and the role of the Church in daily life.