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Unmasking Catholicism Mary Ann Collins, a former Catholic nun |
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Foreword Unmasking Catholicism is based on a lot of research. It deals with subjects that are often presented in a complex or academic fashion. I have tried to be simple and straightforward in my presentation, in order to be easily understood by people from a wide variety of backgrounds. I have thoroughly documented the information in Unmasking Catholicism. In addition to using resource books, I have included references to hundreds of Internet articles. You can study these issues yourself and come to your own conclusions. Much of my information comes from Catholic books and websites. I have also drawn from my personal experience with Catholicism. This book confronts some touchy issues. I have tried to do so with compassion and objectivity, but sometimes I have had to be blunt in order to make my point clear. Jesus told us to speak the truth in love. I have tried to do that. I want to make it clear that my problem is with the Catholic system—not the people. I love the people. There are many Catholics who really love the Lord. I used to be one of them. When I was a Catholic, I loved the Lord. I was sincere, devout, and zealous-and confused. My Catholic training and my devotional practices were in conflict with Scripture. However, I did not realize that there was a conflict. It took many long years for me to gradually understand that there was a problem. You have my permission to quote from Unmasking Catholicism, as long as you do it accurately and fairly. You may also copy portions of it to share with your friends, or to use in Bible studies or other classes. I wanted to give you some good quotations from some papal encyclicals. However, I don't have permission to quote the material. So I paraphrased the information. You can read the encyclicals for yourself. They are online, and I have provided you with Internet addresses for them. I created a website for Unmasking Catholicism. You can read the book online. You can also contact me through the website. I encourage you to tell your friends about it. In quoting from The Catholic Encyclopedia, I have used the classic 1914 edition. This edition has two advantages. First, it is online, so you can read the articles for yourself. Second, it was written before the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). Following the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic Church placed a strong emphasis on ecumenism. It made many changes in its outward appearance, in order to be more palatable to Protestants. The 1914 edition of The Catholic Encyclopedia speaks openly and frankly about some things that more modern editions would probably avoid or water down. My biography mentions that I left the convent when I was a novice. I never made vows. Some people have asked me why I refer to myself as a "former nun" when I never made vows. According to the 1914 edition of The Catholic Encyclopedia, if a novice has been accepted into a religious order (I was), and has been given a habit (I wore it), then he or she is a monk or a nun in the broad sense of the term. You can buy Unmasking Catholicism online at Amazon.com and iUniverse.com. If you have a bookstore, you can get a discount at iUniverse. If your bookstore is online, tell them that you have a "dot-com" store so that you can get a better discount. In order to get the discount, you have to order the book by phone (877-823-9235). This book gives references to hundreds of Internet articles. Some of them have addresses that are too wide for this book, so I divided them into two sections. If you put the sections together (with no spaces in between), then the address should work. I always indicate when I have divided an Internet address. All Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible. May the Lord bless you and speak to your heart as you read this book.
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Copyright 2003, 2007 by Mary Ann Collins. All rights reserved. |
UM 001 08/19/2005