A welcome, thoughtful menu for the new pope on how to proceed with reform.
Beautifully conceived and wrought essays that systematically address the wrongheadedness of the Catholic Church over centuries—and the space therein for Francis’ long-needed reforms.
A pope determined to admit change and renounce “infallibility”—is this possible? Pulitzer Prize–winning intellectual and leading Catholic scholar Wills (Why Priests?: A Failed Tradition, 2013, etc.) is guided by his close scholarly readings of the Gospels, as well as by modern commentators, examining how the church can right itself—as it has repeatedly over the ages in the face of bad decisions—e.g., the adoption of Latin for sacraments and documents. This is Wills’ first example of the church’s attempts at controlling the message, at excluding versus including: adopting Latin as a “secret code of the elect” rather than the vernacular of the people of God. From there, the early church was able to exclude forbidden books and even forbidden ideas. From arriving at a language understood by all, Wills moves into a compelling study of how the early church evolved from a marginalized sect of martyrs to a state organization sanctioned by the Emperor Constantine at the Council of Nicaea in 325. The author reminds us that Jesus forbade his followers to have any pre-eminence among them (and rejected any earthly kingdom), yet by the third century, a “Vice Petri” or “stand-in” for Peter, the Rock of the Church, was established, essentially evolving into a monarchy by the 11th century. Wills also labels the long strain of anti-Semitism in the church as a “tragic absurdity," and he nods to the Second Vatican Council as a template for moving forward. He valiantly destroys the church’s unjustified stances (in the name of “natural law”) on birth control, abortion and the right of women to serve as priests.
A welcome, thoughtful menu for the new pope on how to proceed with reform.Pub Date: March 10, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-525-42696-7
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2014
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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