The Church: Our Story: Catholic Tradtion, Mission, and Practice

I used this as a textbook with high school freshmen. It was very informative, but challenging for that level. Driedger takes a thematic approach to church history. So this book is better for understanding who and where the Catholic Church is now than as a comprehensive survey of church history. In fact, it would be helpful to know the basics of Christian history before you delve into this text. The author's religious approach is open minded. She presents the official teachings without being too fundamentalist or rigid. Once the reader gets used to the author's style, this book has much to offer for understanding the contemporary Catholic Church.

This text is a helpful introduction to Catholicism. I highly recommend it for those who are interested in learning the fundamental Catholic convictions about the Church. It works well in RCIA discussions.