Funding for the digitization of this title was provided by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta.
About The Georgia bulletin (Atlanta) 1963-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 12, 1987)
PAGE 10 — The Georgia Bulletin, November 12, 1987 Book Offers Inquirers Answers To Stir Faith Easter Catholic Is Baptized At Sacred Heart Church In 1986. Theologians' Essays Claim Vatican Betrays Council THE CHURCH IN AN GUISH: HAS THE VATI CAN BETRAYED THE COUNCIL? Edited by Fa ther Hans Rung and Leon ard Swindler. Harper and Row (San Francisco, 1987). 288 pp., $16.95. REVIEWED BY JON NILSON NC News Service Read these essays not so much for their analytical sweep and rigor but for their disclosure of a deep, painful and ominous polar ization in the church today. Twenty-five authors, mainly European and American theologians, share the conviction that the present pope and curial officials are not following the mandates and agenda established by the Second Vatican Council for the “ad intra” life of the church. (Too few of the essays, however, argue this thesis through close readings of the council documents.) Instead, they say, Pope John Paul II, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, et al., have embarked on a restorationist — if not an in- tegrist — program. Some of the authors are quite specific in their ac cusations. If the events they recount could be shown to be legitimate exercises of teaching authority and jurisdiction in the church (which the authors do not grant), the fact remains that these authors and many others do not per ceive them as such. Thus, whether one agrees with the authors or not, the book manifests a depth of polarization and alienation in the church which de serves the name “crisis. The root of this polariza tion, some authors argue, is the clash of two different world views with cor respondingly different theological methods. Each side has its own interpreta tion of Vatican II. One side (represented by the authors of this volume) sees the council as the foun dation for a new way of be ing church in and for a new world. The other (the leadership in the Vatican) considers the council s ac complishment to be that ol simply casting preconciliar traditions and theology into contemporary language. What is to be done? Father Hans Rung suggests that nothing less than Vatican Council III (or Jerusalem II) will be suffi cient. Leonard Swidler calls upon Catholics to stand firmly and lovingly in their present vocation to democracy, dissent and dialogue in the church. Not surprisingly, the quality of the essays is uneven. Most helpful are those by Ronald Modras on Pope John Paul’s early writings, Hermann Haring on consistency in Cardinal Ratzinger’s theology, Rnut Waif on the preconciliar spirit in the new canon law, Dietmar Mieth on the gap between church teaching on sexual morality and the “lived convictions’’ of Christians, and Madonna Rolbenschlag on the dif ficulties and pain now felt by religious women. The book manifests the urgent need for mediators and peacemakers in our church today. Nilson is associate pro fessor of theology at Loyola University of Chicago and a member of the joint com mittee of the Canon Law Society and the Catholic Theological Society of America on relationships between theologians and the ecclesiastical magis- terium. ...the book mani fests a depth of polarization and alienation in the church which de serves the name “crisis.” PRESENTING THE CATHOLIC FAITH, by Frank P. DeSiano, CSP.. Paulist Press (Mahwah, N.J.) 150 pages, $3.95. REVIEWED BY THELMA DONAHUE Father DeSiano has written a book that “presents” the Catholic faith in a simple and direct manner. He is concerned primarily with the "inquirer,’’ the person who is seeking information about the Catholic faith and poses questions that, given an open and inquiring mind in the reader, will create a desire for more infor mation. As parishes around the world begin their RCIA processes, it is a timely and informative representation of what Catholics believe and should give insight into the faith as well as dispel many myths for people who are beginning inquiry ses sions. Father DiSiano recommends that the book may be helpful for Catholics as well as those outside the church. Perhaps for those who have not been attending Mass or who just want to update their catechism. The book is divided into ten sections with questions and answers at the end of each chapter which should be especially helpful. Many times people are seeking answers to questions they really don’t know how to articulate or to ask. There is helpful material in boxed sections throughout such as the Apostles’ Creed, Order of the Mass, How to Go to Confes sion, Rites of Baptism, Marriage and Or dination, Lay Ministries in the Church and others. Almost any question an inquirer might have regarding how Catholicism is practiced can be found in the boxes in language easily understood by the lay per son. The section on “The Christian Life: Spirit” offers an interesting way of think ing about encounters with Christ. Many in stances in the New Testament are related where people had encounters that certain ly changed their lives, (many had en counters that did not change their lives). He observes that the encounter was only the beginning, that life continued after the experiences, and that is what an encounter leads to...a Christian way of life! As we read the New Testament, it becomes clear that what is revealed is “carefully selected memories of those who followed Christ, and those memories, as a whole, form a handbook of Christian life.” The revelation of the Holy Spirit was the answer to many questions relating to how to live out the Christian life. The vague way in which the Holy Spirit is referred to in the New Testament, e.g., the Helper, the Consoler, etc., indicates that it is a grace that is to be experienced, and will continue the formation of the full Christian life. The explanation of prayer, “Lifting our hearts and minds to God, as individuals or as community" and what constitutes prayer, "prayer is as varied as the people who pray, or the kinds of situations we bring to God,” lifts one to a level of expect- any of being able to communicate with our God that is truly reassuring. This is material that is informative and enlightening and presented in such a way as to promote faith, hope and growth in Christian living. (Thelma Donahue, an Easter Catholic in 1985, is RCIA Sponsor Coordinator at All Saints Church. Dunwoody.) Role Models For Today's Women SAINTS FOR CONTEM PORARY WOMEN, by Sister Mary Hester Valen tine, SSND, Thomas More Press (Chicago, 1987). 213 pp., $11.95. REVIEWED BY RUTH ANN HANLEY NC News Service Back in the ’50s a chauvinist said, “The worst you can do to a woman is ig nore her." Today it would be safe to say, “It’s your loss if you ignore the 11 spunky women in this little volume.” The first thing a reader notices is the abundance of research supporting each biography. The second realization is that the author has chosen the right and bright facts to carefully and lovingly reconstruct each woman’s story. Though the recall of these gallant women will likely bring a throb of pride to many womanly hearts, the stories are neither political nor self-serving. Though they show woman at her best, they show her serving God and church as faithful daughter. They show saints and almost saints. This reviewer took per sonal delight in two saintly women: Hilda of Whitby and Margaret Clitheroe. Of course I enjoyed Joan of Arc (Why, as the writer Mother Seton asks, was God pro- French?) and Catherine of Siena (who had enough gumption to move an en trenched man) and Dor othy Day, whose early Bo hemian lifestyle made her an unlikely candidate for holiness. Nevertheless, Hilda is a favorite: a seventh-cen tury, church-building ab bess who presided over a men’s as well as a women's abbey. Hilda had actually been elected by both. Her monastery was the learn ing school for bishops. Her generous, unprejudiced heart set up a simple, mid dle-aged, uneducated cow herd as a poet; and in dis covering Caedmon, Hilda earned the title of “Mother of English Literature.” I particularly liked Hilda’s story because my beloved aunt, as hospitable and gracious, but with little education, shared that name. What a great faith my aunt had too. How it draws the two of them together. Margaret Clitheroe was my other favorite. She died a martyr’s death for har boring priests in Eliza bethan England. She died * beneath a heavy door set upon her by soldiers and loaded with heavy stones. For me, the unbelievable ' detail was that Margaret never told her Protestant husband of her activi ties. ..and he maintained he (J never knew. But the child ren knew; and the wonder ful end to the story, many ^ years later, is that all re mained true to their faith. What a marvelous saint for us moderns. , These two women are my favorites. Another may suit you: Edith Stein, the Jewish convert; Simone, Weil, also caught in the tur bulence of war; Elizabeth Seton and Theresa of Jesus Gerhardinger who braved ». many obstacles to maintain newly founded orders; merry and mystic Teresa of Avila; and Anchoress Jul-' ian of Norwich, born in 1342. Julia n was a ble to bridge the centuries with a small book of prayer popular today on' college campuses. So much has been said of role models today. This lit- __ tie, well-written book by a teacher, author, School Sister of Notre Dame has much to offer. Ms. Hanley is a free-lance writer based in Indianap olis. ' t » I 1 ! ti ■ o £. » ti ; Sj «s a . ai - * ‘ Si ; ?• A , 8 SI , Si hi ! 81 Pi ,, St . It ar . Pi [ to Vi till Pf i ■ m , „ T Go
