Overview

The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, along with other clergy, ventured into the far west to convert the Natives and minister to European settlers in the mid 1800s. Reverend Dr McNally critically examines the Oblate evangelisation of the Natives through reductions and residential schools, and the development of a Catholic community for Euro-Canadian settlers in British Columbia. His insightful analysis of the Oblate establishment in 'far western Canada' also places it in the context of the history of the province and that of the Catholic Church. McNally doesn't hesitate to ask: Does the Church have a future in Canada?

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9780888643469

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Reviews

McNally's book provides more than historical recitation. He well recounts the story, but his assessments of what took place provide an important and serious wake-up call.. To read this book is to be confronted with a reality, shorn of propaganda and pious sentiment, that is both a bitter pill and a harbinger of hope. Wayne Holst, Catholic New Times Vincent McNally's monograph, published under the auspices of Oblate Project, is a sweeping and passionately written overview of the history of the Catholic Church in British Columbia and will justifiably become the standard reference work for professional historians, students, and those just simply interested in religion, missiology, or the Canadian west.... McNally is a tireless researcher, who has probed deeply into the primary sources, but who has considerable insight into how these rich sources materials must be read within the broader historical context of European Catholicism and its eventual importation into Canada and the United States. With considerable intellectual skill and a vigorous narrative, McNally invites us into a world in which the stories of Euro-Canadian missionaries, French- and Scottish-Canadian fur traders, American capitalists, ambitious churchmen, and numerous First Nations Peoples, are woven together into a vibrant and controversial social tapestry.... McNally's survey is not for the faint of heart, nor in any way does it smack of Catholic trimphalism.... The Lord's Distant Vineyard will be the subject of considerable debate in both Oblate and historical circles for years to come; this is a credit to the significance of the book, and the talent and insight of its author. Mark McGowan, The Catholic Historical Review ... those who want to know how the Catholic church in B.C. was formed will want to delve into this useful work. CanadianChristianity.com ....Its distinctiveness derives from the critical edge that pervades McNally's writing and spares neither the church's policies nor its clergy.... McNally has produced a thoroughly researched and well-written book that deserves to be consulted for its sharply critical accounts of missionary activity and of church social policy in British Columbia.

McNally's book provides more than historical recitation. He well recounts the story, but his assessments of what took place provide an important and serious wake-up call. To read this book is to be confronted with a reality, shorn of propaganda and pious sentiment, that is both a bitter pill and a harbinger of hope. Wayne Holst, Catholic New Times Vincent McNally's monograph, published under the auspices of Oblate Project, is a sweeping and passionately written overview of the history of the Catholic Church in British Columbia and will justifiably become the standard reference work for professional historians, students, and those just simply interested in religion, missiology, or the Canadian west... McNally is a tireless researcher, who has probed deeply into the primary sources, but who has considerable insight into how these rich sources materials must be read within the broader historical context of European Catholicism and its eventual importation into Canada and the United States. With considerable intellectual skill and a vigorous narrative, McNally invites us into a world in which the stories of Euro-Canadian missionaries, French- and Scottish-Canadian fur traders, American capitalists, ambitious churchmen, and numerous First Nations Peoples, are woven together into a vibrant and controversial social tapestry... McNally's survey is not for the faint of heart, nor in any way does it smack of Catholic trimphalism... The Lord's Distant Vineyard will be the subject of considerable debate in both Oblate and historical circles for years to come; this is a credit to the significance of the book, and the talent and insight of its author. Mark McGowan, The Catholic Historical Review ... those who want to know how the Catholic church in B.C. was formed will want to delve into this useful work. CanadianChristianity.com ...Its distinctiveness derives from the critical edge that pervades McNally's writing and spares neither the church's policies nor its clergy... McNally has produced a thoroughly researched and well-written book that deserves to be consulted for its sharply critical accounts of missionary activity and of church social policy in British Columbia.

Author Information

Reverend Vincent J McNally PhD (Dublin) is a Professor in the Department of Church History at Sacred Heart School of Theology in Wisconsin.

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