One curious feature of our times is the co-existence of a nearly unimaginable rapidity of communications with an at-times slow, even glacial, movement of ideas. Narratives that have lost any genuine explanatory power, along with the biased historical scholarship of earlier centuries, have become entrenched in the minds of millions, seemingly immune from being dislodged. Such simplistic queries as “What about Galileo?” “What about the Crusades?” are still meant to draw Catholics up short, a conversation-stopper. Scholarship of recent decades, however, has thrown new light on these matters, and is finally allowing the truths of history to become more widely known. Here is the distillation of the best of that recent historical work for students and adults alike—an unadorned laying bare of the truth. The five myths analyzed in this book have each been shaped by post-Reformation propaganda and Enlightenment prejudices and their residual effects. With Gerard Verschuuren’s new book, Catholics now have sure and ready replies to these baneful narratives. “Gerard Verschuuren has written an extremely valuable and thoughtful response to issues Catholics encounter from an often doubtful and cynical world. Each of these five myths is well researched and thoroughly covered, avoiding excessive defensiveness, yet insisting on fairness and accuracy from our critics. This book is a gift to Catholics, historians, and also to critics who seek thorough and thoughtful analysis.”—MSGR. CHARLES POPE, Our Sunday Visitor columnist and blogger; pastor at Holy Comforter–St. Cyprian Parish, Washington, DC. “Is anti-Catholicism the last acceptable prejudice in America? In Five Anti-Catholic Myths, Gerard Verschuuren provides a clear, forceful, and eminently factual refutation of some of the foundational slurs aimed at the Church. Here is apologetics that is timely, intelligent, and done with a flare.”—RUSSELL SHAW, consultor of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, adjunct professor at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome. “Mary Ann Glendon, professor of law at Harvard, has stated that ‘it must be hard for Catholics brought up on movies and TV to avoid the impression that their Church holds a special niche in some historical hall of shame.’ We can be grateful to Gerard Verschuuren for correcting that unfortunate misconception. He has provided anyone interested in being liberated from anti-Catholic mythology a valuable service. Five Anti-Catholic Myths is readable, reliable, and rewarding.”—DONALD T. DEMARCO, Professor Emeritus, St. Jerome’s University, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. "Five Anti-Catholic Myths is an eye-opening resource and an excellent starting point for those who would explore controversial episodes of history. It is also a book which highlights the need for a radical alternative to the self-righteous progressive triumphalism so prevalent in Western discourse."-- Jerry Salyer in The Catholic World Report, 11/30/15"Gerard M. Verschuuren's book is an excellent guide to these controversial topics and a very useful corrective to what many see as some of the most dangerous anti-Catholic myths of our times."-- Donal Foley in The Irish Catholic"The myths examined in this wonderfully readable work are slavery, the Crusades, the Inquisition, Galileo and the Holocaust. [...] There are many other anti-Catholic myths. However, the author helps us destroy five of the biggest. This is an important book for Catholic apologists."-- DR PRAVIN THEVATHASAN in Catholic Medical Quarterly"I think the author did a good job of presenting the material in a fair and interesting way. I especially liked the way he handled controversial topics like the inquisition. Overall, a well delivered study and an interesting book."-- Roy T. James on Readers' Favorite"The information in this slim volume is excellent, but to debunk the anti-Catholic myths in the minds of many will take more of a sheepish grin than an angry snarl. This task must, therefore, fall to the readers of Verschuuren's mostly praiseworthy book."-- John T. Goerke in National Catholic Register"Five Anti-Catholic Myths is well written and well considered, faithful without being pugnacious, and myth-busting without being a whitewash."-- Christopher Beiting in New Oxford Review (April 2016) "Five Anti-Catholic Myths is an eye-opening resource and an excellent starting point for those who would explore controversial episodes of history. It is also a book which highlights the need for a radical alternative to the self-righteous progressive triumphalism so prevalent in Western discourse." -- Jerry Salyer in The Catholic World Report, 11/30/15 " Five Anti-Catholic Myths is well written and well considered, faithful without being pugnacious, and myth-busting without being a whitewash."-- Christopher Beiting in New Oxford Review (April 2016) The myths we are going to analyze in this book claim to lay bare the "dirty history" of the Catholic Church. Well, the Catholic Chur