Catholic Truth Society (CTS) is a body that prints and publishes

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

, including

apologetics Apologetics (from Greek , "speaking in defense") is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs against critics and ...

, prayerbooks, spiritual reading, and lives of saints. It is based in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

The CTS had been founded in 1868 by

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

Herbert Vaughan Herbert Alfred Henry Vaughan, MHM (15 April 1832 – 19 June 1903) was an English prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Westminster from 1892 until his death in 1903, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1893. He was th ...

, but became defunct when he was made a bishop, since he no longer had time to devote to it. Some years later, others came up with the same idea and were directed to Vaughan, who suggested that they revive the defunct body.Britten, James, and Thomas Meehan. "Catholic Truth Societies." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 28 February 2019 Accordingly, the organization was refounded on November 5, 1884, under the presidency of Cardinal Vaughan, with Msgr. W. H. Cologan and

James Britten James Britten (3 May 1846 – 8 October 1924) was an English botanist. Biography Born in Chelsea, London, he moved to High Wycombe in 1865 to begin a medical career. However he became increasingly interested in botany, and began writing paper ...

, a layman and the principal spirit behind its refounding, serving as honorary secretaries.

International societies

The Catholic Truth Society of Ireland was founded in 1899, the International Catholic Truth Society was incorporated in New York in 1900, and the Australian Catholic Truth Society was started in 1904.

CTS in the 21st century

The Catholic Truth Society in the UK publishes a large range of religious booklets and leaflets on topics including Catholic apologetics, morality, doctrine,

sacraments A sacrament is a Christian rite that is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol of the real ...

, various

saints In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual res ...

, Church history, spirituality, and

prayer Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified a ...

, as well as booklet editions of the four

Gospels Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

and other Biblical texts. The booklets are often sold inexpensively in Catholic parishes in the United Kingdom. In recent years the CTS has also diversified into study courses, Bibles, catechisms including the ''YouCat'' youth catechism, and The Compendium of the

Catechism of the Catholic Church The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' ( la, Catechismus Catholicae Ecclesiae; commonly called the ''Catechism'' or the ''CCC'') is a catechism promulgated for the Catholic Church by Pope John Paul II in 1992. It aims to summarize, in book for ...

. In 2007 the Catholic Truth Society published the "CTS New Catholic Bible", consisting of the text of the original 1966

Jerusalem Bible ''The Jerusalem Bible'' (JB or TJB) is an English translation of the Bible published in 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd. As a Catholic Bible, it includes 73 books: the 39 books shared with the Hebrew Bible, along with the seven deuterocanonical ...

revised with the name "

Yahweh Yahweh *''Yahwe'', was the national god of ancient Israel and Judah. The origins of his worship reach at least to the early Iron Age, and likely to the Late Bronze Age if not somewhat earlier, and in the oldest biblical literature he posse ...

" replaced by "the Lord" throughout the

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

, and the

Psalms The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...

completely replaced by the 1963 Grail Psalter. This revised version presents the texts as used in Catholic Liturgy in England, Wales, and most English-speaking countries outside the United States and Canada, conforming to the directives of the

Pontifical Biblical Commission The Pontifical Biblical Commission () is a pontifical commission established within the Roman Curia to ensure the proper interpretation and defense of the Bible. Since 1988, it has been closely attached to the Congregation for the Doctrine of t ...

. The revised text is accompanied by new introductions, textual, and liturgical notes, supplemented as needed with material from the notes to the New Jerusalem Bible. CTS publishes the new English translation of the

Roman Missal The Roman Missal ( la, Missale Romanum) is the title of several missals used in the celebration of the Roman Rite. Along with other liturgical books of the Roman Rite, the Roman Missal contains the texts and rubrics for the celebration of the m ...

for use in Catholic parishes throughout England, Wales, Scotland and Australia, as well as the new " Divine Worship"

Anglican Use The Anglican Use is an officially approved form of liturgy used by former members of the Anglican Communion who joined the Catholic Church while wishing to maintain "aspects of the Anglican patrimony that are of particular value". The use's m ...

liturgies to be used by formerly

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

Catholics of the

personal ordinariates A personal ordinariate for former Anglicans, shortened as personal ordinariate or Anglican ordinariate,"...the liturgies approved for the Anglican ordinariates..." "Bishop Stephen Lopes of the Anglican Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter..." ...

around the world. In 2014, CTS entered into a distribution agreement with

Ignatius Press Ignatius Press is a Catholic publishing house based in San Francisco, California, US. It was founded in 1978 by Father Joseph Fessio, a Jesuit priest and former pupil of Pope Benedict XVI. Ignatius Press also produces '' Catholic World Report'' ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

to "bring the famous CTS bookstands to North America." In 2017, Christian book distributor Hymns Ancient & Modern of

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

announced they would distribute CTS texts for non-parish orders. Additionally, various bodies still exist in Britain and internationally which bear the name "Catholic Truth Society", but none of these is connected with the original CTS except for the CTS Bookshop in front of

Westminster Cathedral Westminster Cathedral is the mother church of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. It is the largest Catholic church in the UK and the seat of the Archbishop of Westminster. The site on which the cathedral stands in the City of ...

. Some of these organisations have direct descent from the original societies, but some simply claim inspiration from the original name and have adopted it accordingly.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Religious organizations established in 1868 Religious organizations established in 1884 Catholic organizations established in the 19th century Catholic Church in England and Wales 1868 establishments in the United Kingdom