Here for the first time, the compelling story of the Catholic Modernists is presented as a chronological narrative of events, with special emphasis placed upon the persons involved, their interrelations and opinions.

Through a study of the participants, Marvin O'Connell traces the emergence of Modernism and the controversies related to it, offers a careful examination of the movement's multiple causes and ramifications, and places the events within the political, social, and intellectual context of the time.

Rather than analyze the phenomenon called Catholic Modernism or argue one side or the other, the author tells the story of the Modernists themselves. These intellectuals - scripture scholars, philosophers, apologists, priests, and laypersons - were bound together by a mutual concern that the Church could not survive the challenges of the modern world unless it brought its teaching and its constitution into line with contemporary thought.

They offered unconventional solutions to the religious questions of the day, solutions they were convinced would reform and revivify their church.