A comprehensive history of the Roman Catholic Church from its origins to the mid-nineteenth century, this work by John Dowling is a valuable resource for scholars and students of church history. Drawing on a wide range of sources, including official documents, historical accounts, and scholarly analyses, Dowling provides a thorough and balanced analysis of the Roman Catholic Church's role in shaping the history of Western civilization. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.