Being Catholic Now: Prominent Americans Talk About Change in the Church and the Quest for Meaning

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Product Description
For Kerry Kennedy, who grew up in a devoutly Catholic household coping with great loss, her family’s faith was a constant source of strength and solace. As an adult, she came to question some of the attitudes and teachings of the Catholic Church while remaining an impassioned believer in its role as a defender of the poor and oppressed.

“Generations ago,” says Kennedy, “the search for spirituality came predefined and prepackaged. [The Church] not only gave us all the answers, it even gave us the questions to ask.” Now many of the old certainties are being reexamined. In an attempt to convey this sea change, Kennedy asked thirty-seven American Catholics to speak candidly about their own faith—whether lost, recovered, or deepened—and about their feelings regarding the way the Church hierarchy is moving forward.

The voices included here range from respectful to reproachful and from appreciative to angry. Speaking their minds are businesspeople, actors and entertainers, educators, journalists, politicians, union leaders, nuns, priests—even a cardinal. Some love the Church; some feel intensely that the Church wronged them. All have an illuminating insight or perspective.

Kerry Kennedy herself speaks of the joy of growing up as one of Robert and Ethel Kennedy’s eleven children, of the tragedies that eventually befell her family, and of how religion was deeply woven through good times and bad. Journalist Andrew Sullivan talks about reconciling his devout Catholicism with the Church’s condemnation of his identity as a gay man. TV newswoman Cokie Roberts recalls the nuns who taught her and “took girls seriously when nobody else did.” Comedian Bill Maher declares, “I hate religion. It’s the worst thing in the world”—and goes on to defend his bold assertion. Writer Anna Quindlen depicts a common parental challenge: passing along traditions and values to a younger generation sometimes deaf to spiritual messages.

Through these and many other voices that speak not only to Catholics but to all of us, Being Catholic Now redefines an ancient institution in the most contemporary of terms.

From Being Catholic Now

“When my mom asked if I wanted to be a nun, I said I’d rather be a priest. . . . The nuns were always wonderful, but the power was with the priest.” —Nancy Pelosi

“There are aspects of studying the saints, with the candles, incense, and Latin Masses and some of the pageantry of the Church that, as an American historian, make me feel part of a larger wave of history. That it’s not a newfangled religion, which some people get great solace from. I feel that I’m connected to places.”
—Douglas Brinkley

“Faith isn’t like picking courses off a menu. It’s a journey, and it’s a path. If your path and journey have been within one structure your entire life, then simply leaving isn’t an option.” —Andrew Sullivan

“Why stay Catholic? Because the hierarchy is not the Church. . . .We [the people of God] are the Church. They can’t take that away from us.” —Cokie Roberts

“I was told very early on by the nuns that I had an ‘overabundance of original sin.’ I was a quiet kid, but I was curious. I asked the wrong questions.” —Susan Sarandon

“I don’t believe you can be authentically Catholic without being committed to the social doctrine of the Church. When I was in grammar school, we had these little boxes to help the poor. That was good, but that is half of it. The other half is to find out why there are so many poor people and how we can do something to help them.” —Cardinal Theodore Edgar McCarrick

“I am reconciled to the oblivion that is coming. I see no proof of anything else, if it is a matter of faith. I admire people who have faith in God. It must be a great comfort to them, but I had to get out from under the fear and the guilt.” —Frank McCourt

“I went to church and the door was locked. I was knocking and ringing the bell. I waited and waited and nobody came. [The priest thought] there was an emergency, because of all the banging and ringing. He looked down at me and said, ‘What is it?’ I said, ‘I’m sorry to bother you, Father, but I’ve been away from the Church many, many years and I’d like to come back. I’d like to go to confession.’ He looked at me and something behind his eyes said, ‘You came to the right place.’ He knew that it was an important moment for me; he got it instantly.” —Martin Sheen

Customer Reviews: Read 22 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

Excellent September 12, 2008
63 out of 85 found this review helpful

I was riveted by this book. I am a practicing Catholic struggling to make peace with some of the Church's teaching. Kennedy presents her own journey, as well as those of other Catholics - practicing, non-practicing & somewhere in between.

The book's contributors vary widely in their experiences, as we all do. This book is for all Catholics - and those interested in Catholicism. It is a great way to begin to understand how & why Catholics believe what they do & act as they do.

Don't dismiss this book as anti-Catholic or pro-Catholic. Nothing could be further from the truth. The author presents many views, many journeys; and, the book challenges each of us to look at the Church and determine if it is truly following the teachings of Christ.

If you're a devout, practicing Catholic, don't be afraid to try reading this book. If you have left the Church, don't be afraid to try reading this book. It may open your mind to a better understanding of others (and isn't that one of the basic teachings of Christ?).

I read the book. It is especially insulting to read a review from someone who hasn't even read the book. This is a terrific and timely book.

1 out of 5 stars

Misleading Title September 13, 2008
44 out of 73 found this review helpful

The title of this book is misleading. I finished the book this morning and find it very odd that at least 6 of those presented left the Church years ago. I can't take their comments seriously about Catholicism today. The majority of the others are very clear that they disagree with most of Church teaching. Some appear to use the "DaVinci Code" as their catechism and not facts. Some clearly are incredibly angry and want to be as insulting as possible to the pope and those who believe. Others have clearly created their own mini churches. Only one or two appear to be Orthodox Catholics. The lone teen (19) is a true face of young adults today and displays wisdom beyond her years. She really represents the vast majority of young adults in the Catholic Church and our country who are prolife and taught by Pope John Paul and Pope Benedict. They can see the fallacies of the politically correct arguments and are starving for the truth. She and the 1 or 2 other Orthodox Catholics appear to be tossed in for the author's sense of "balance." I didn't learn anything new from the book but just deepened my confusion on why people who so clearly misrepresent Church teaching or even despise it claim to be solidly Catholic. This is dishonest, silly and very sad. I found this book to be a rush job hoping to sway Catholics from voting as Catholics. Please don't waste your money on the rants of angry feminists and uninformed, biased adults. Instead purchase Archbishop Chaput's book "Render Unto Caesar" for a clear, concise teaching and living as a Catholic today

5 out of 5 stars

on being catholic, by kerry kennedy September 14, 2008
38 out of 56 found this review helpful

For "On Being Catholic," by Kerry Kennedy...
Every person I know - especially women - are conflicted about the Catholic faith. What Kerry Kennedy did in these sensitive probing interviews is show that you can be conflicted but still love your faith. Her interviews give you permission to see how others make peace with some of the sexism and backward policies but simultaneously still care about the traditions and one's deep love of God. And most importantly, her own stories show her deep abiding love of Catholicism which makes her such a credible person to explore the contradictions and joys of the faith.

1 out of 5 stars

Faithful Catholics will want to avoid this one October 4, 2008
35 out of 56 found this review helpful

Anyone who loves the Catholic Church will be distressed by this book.

Kerry Kennedy, who collected these essays, writes she has a friend who endured "a sermon that amounted to a frontal assault on gay men's and women's rights"(p xxix). While she says she continues to love the Church, she wonders if it hasn't gone over to "the dark side" (p xxxi).

Then her book goes on to feature people who loathe the church, like Bill Maher, whose film "Religulous" is a long scream of hatred at God. Or those whose information about the church is embarrassingly ignorant, like Anna Quindlen, who believes the old, wholly discredited story of a woman pope.

One striking essay is by Nancy Pelosi, Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives. She snips, "I've always been pro-choice. To me, it's like saying, `Should we surrender our brains?'" (p 79). How many bishops have rebuked her advocacy of abortion recently? Is it 14, 20? I've lost count.

Over 40 million babies have been killed in the United States since abortion was legalized. That's a continent of human beings lost forever. Not to mention the lives of the mothers and fathers who so often experience emotional turmoil for decades after. Why is Pelosi so uncaring, so sure her way is right?

Archbishop Raymond Burke, the US Vatican prelate, has said the Democratic party is at risk of becoming the "party of death" for its strident advocacy for abortion and euthanasia. Why won't Pelosi listen to the Church? Or read about the beliefs of the Church, or pray, or consult her bishop? Catholic belief about abortion and birth control has been constant, ever since the first years of Christianity.

Pelosi also writes of being hopeful about "Humanae Vitae" until she read it and realized "It was a missed opportunity for the Church" (p 79). As if the 2000 year old Catholic Church, founded by Jesus himself and guided at every moment by the Holy Spirit, was in the business of car loans instead of salvation.

About the time Pelosi was bemoaning "Humanae Vitae" Father Stephen Kurti was being shot and killed in a communist camp in Yugoslavia because he had baptized a baby. At about the same time, also, Viet Minh communists shoved chopsticks into children's ears for listening to Catholic school lessons. This took place in the village of Haiduong.

The 20th century had more Catholics killed for their faith than all the other centuries combined; some estimates put the figure as high as forty million (The Catholic Martyrs of the Twentieth Century, by Royal).

Priests like Father Pro were hunted down and killed in Mexico, communists in Spain shot, crucified, and slaughtered nuns and priests and lay Catholics by the thousands. Nearly every priest in Poland was killed under Hitler. Of more than 900 Catholic priests in 1920 in Russia, only 300 were left in 1930. And then there are the nameless hundreds of thousands of people who were shipped to the gulag to endure unimaginable suffering. Some still linger in Chinese and Korean prisons.

And the death and persecution continues today. In September, 2008 Archbishop Cheenath reported that in India, from August 24th to 31st, some 25 Catholics were killed by radical Hindus, six priests were hospitalized , one woman was burned to death, two priests were kidnapped, and 4,300 houses were demolished in 160 villages. This is a report that the western news, by and large, ignored.

People have been willing to suffer and die for the Church since its inception. In the secular, spoiled west, few seen capable of even making it to Mass every Sunday.

Cokie Roberts, delighting in her cute irreverence, writes, "The notion of leaving the church would just be to give them a victory, and I'm not about to do that. They aren't winning" (p 29).

What a tragedy for her that she has to follow in conformist lockstep to the current fads of today. What a tragedy she thinks in terms of "they".

But then there's just the silliness of the remark. Because of course the Church will win. It's always been on the brink of falling off the cliff. And yet, after 2000 years of constant assault, it's still here. And I believe someone once said that even the gates of hell could not prevail against her.

1 out of 5 stars

Not a good book at all. September 11, 2008
29 out of 67 found this review helpful

OK, by openly disagreeing with Church teachings on Abortion, is a Heresy. This goes back to the Church Fathers. Not 40 or 50 years like some part time Catholics have stated on TV in the past few weeks,no for about 2ooo years they have been in affect. Lets remember that as "True" Roman Catholics the teachings and Canon Laws are set in stone and until Jesus comes back to change them, they will stay as they are.
You can not change a teaching to fit your life, no to follow Christ you must change your life to fit him.
This book will end up in the trash bin, just like most of the veiws that are printed inside of it. Just a quick note for you, if you can't accept the Roman Catholic Church and her teachings, you could always become a Protestant, then you could pick and choose what ever you like to follow or believe. Also how come no one ever demands that Islam or Judaism needs to "change with the times", something to think about.

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