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Practicing Catholic is a personal history of the American Catholic Church during James Carroll’s lifetime. It traces the transformation of a medieval institution suspicious of American ideas of freedom and democracy into a church that has begun to embrace basic American principles of pluralism and respect for conscience. The book tells the story of heroes (Pope John XXIII, Thomas Merton, Cardinal Richard Cushing, William Sloane Coffin), and great events (Vatican II, the Kennedys, the end of the Cold War). Considering the new meaning of belief in a secular world, it stands against the fundamentalisms of “neo-athetists” as well as of born again Christians. The book shows how and why the world needs a renewed, rational, vital Catholic Church. All of this is centered in the life-long journey of its author, who embraced the priesthood in his youth, but who finds in the writing life a renewal of religious belief. For James Carroll faith is a practice-- like all practice, it aims at getting better.
"Brilliant prose, historically insightful, and sincere passion remain hallmarks of the author's work. " - Library Journal.
"[O]verall the book is a page-turner and offers controversial insights on modern American Catholicism. A captivating look at the Church and a call for change from within its numbers." - Kirkus Reviews.
"Readers who, like Carroll, remain Catholic but wrestle with their church's positions on moral issues will most appreciate his story." - Publishers Weekly.
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