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The Catholic Church in Mississippi, 1911-1984.- A History. By Michael V Namorato. (Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. 1998. Pp. xxiii, 313. $59.95 cloth.)
The Catholic Church in Mississippi seems like an anomaly in what some might think of as the heart of the Southern Bible Belt. We owe a debt to Michael Namorato for a well documented and well written study that tells us otherwise. This work, however, does more than simply chronicle the institutional development of the Catholic Church in inhospitable territory. Instead it is a narrative that allows the reader to see the development of the institution against the background of social and political developments in a predominantly Protestant Southern state. It is also a compelling story of the leadership, compassion, and dedication of those who guided the Church during her formative...