: For decades, the 1967 NCE was the gold standard in Catholic seminaries and university libraries. Citing page 299 is an appeal to a consensus of mid-20th-century Catholic scholarship, just before the post-conciliar reforms of the Ordo Paenitentiae (Rite of Penance, 1973) changed some of the practical forms.
Volume 14, in particular, is known for its dense articles on:
Page 299 draws a sharp, pre-modernist line: The teaching authority of the Church (the Magisterium) does not sit above the Word of God, but serves it. For a mid-century Catholic, this was a crucial clarification against the charge that the Pope could just "make up" new dogmas. new catholic encyclopedia -1967- volume 14 page 299
Following the entry on Vocation, or appearing adjacent to it on page 299, are shorter biographical entries. The NCE is famous for its exhaustive catalog of saints, historians, and theologians. A researcher might find here an entry on a figure such as , a surname shared by several notable ecclesiastical figures, such as the German theologian or a martyred saint. These brief entries are vital for historians; they often contain genealogical data, bibliography of primary sources, and corrections to earlier historical misconceptions.
Further reading suggestion: For a comparison, consult the 2003 edition of the NCE, Volume 10, page 456 (updated article on "Penance: Form and Matter"). : For decades, the 1967 NCE was the
Here is what a reader in 1967 would have found on that page:
Based on the structural mapping of the 1967 edition, page 299 falls within the critical entry on (specifically, the subsection on The Transmission of Divine Revelation ). For a mid-century Catholic, this was a crucial
There is a certain magic—and a distinct weight—in pulling down a hefty, burgundy-clad volume of the New Catholic Encyclopedia from the shelf. Published in 1967, this set sits exactly at the crossroads of tradition and earthquake. It was the first major Catholic reference work to be published after the close of the Second Vatican Council (1965), but much of its content was written during the whirlwind of the Council itself.