Inside Catholicism: A New View of Its Rituals and Symbols

Inside Catholicism follows the global reach of the church; from a somber soldier's mass in Sarajevo to a churchyard in Guatemala, where the Quich, Maya celebrate their unique blend of Catholic and native rituals. You'll visit Pope John Paul II in the painted halls of the Vatican, and a group of nuns as they feed the homeless in San Francisco. Through the camera lens, Inside Catholicism explores the faith of nearly a billion people, celebrating the sacraments, at prayer, on pilgrimage and in their communities.

Richard P. McBrien is Crowley-O'Brien Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame. Educated at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, he has also served as president of the Catholic Theological Society of America. A leading authority on Catholicism, he is the bestselling author of Catholicism, Lives of the Popes, and Lives of the Saints, as well as the general editor of The HarperCollins Encyclopedia of Catholicism. Most recently a consultant for ABC News, McBrien offers regular commentary on all the major television networks. He is also a prizewinning syndicated columnist in the Catholic press.