Monasticism and Civilization

Fr. O'Connor argues that Western civilization as we know it would not exist (or would have been radically different and far poorer) without the monastic movement. Far from being a withdrawal from the world, monasticism was one of the most powerful civilizing forces in European history. 
Written in the early 20th century by a Catholic priest, the book is unapologetically pro-monastic and Catholic. It was partly a response to anti-Catholic historians (especially Protestant and secular ones) who portrayed monasteries as parasitic or obscurantist. O'Connor uses extensive primary sources and quotations to show that popes, kings, and chroniclers repeatedly praised monasteries as indispensable to civilization. 

264 pages.

Author: Rev. John B. O'Connor

Year: 1921