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.

In his first full-length book since converting to Roman Catholicism over ten years ago, Thomas Howard presents his wonderful, refreshing insights on the "glad tidings" of the deeper meaning of Catholic piety, dogma, spirituality, vision and practice, rendered in his unique style of prose for which he is well-known. The book's chapters take the form of lay meditations on Catholic teaching and practice, opening up in practical and simple terms the richness at work in virtually every detail of Catholic prayer, piety, liturgy and experience.

Discovering is a comprehensive parish religion curriculum for adolescents, grades six to eight. Each section comprises a student booklet and an accompanying teaching guide which is bound with a student booklet.

This book, based on extensive original research, examines the nature of Catholicism in the contemporary Philippines. It shows how Catholicism is apparently flourishing, with good attendance at Sunday Masses, impressive religious processions and flourishing charismatic groups, and with interventions by the Catholic hierarchy in national and local politics. However, focusing in particular on the beliefs and practices of young people, the book shows that young people are often adopting a different, more individualised approach to Catholicism, which is frequently out of step with the official position. It considers the features of this: a more personal and experiential relationship with God; a new approach to morality, in which right living is seen as more important than right believing; and a critical view of what is seen as the Catholic hierarchy's misguidedness. The book argues that this reinterpreting of religion by young people has the potential to alter fundamentally the nature of Catholicism in the Philippines, but that, nevertheless, young people's new approach involves a solid, enduring commitment and a strong view of their own Catholic, religious identity.

A kaleidoscope of spiritual values in Catholicism that don't divide but bring people together and will instill peace and love in those who take the time to better understand them. Here are beautiful, simple, profound ideas that few people think about these days when they talk about the Catholic Church. Yet they are truths that make a positive difference in peoples' lives. They include: Catholicism is a community that remembers Jesus Catholics draw on a rich tradition of spirituality They always have something to celebrate The church is a family It has splendid heroes and heroines It takes staunch stands on peace and justice It has universality At a time when many Catholics have grown frustrated with their church, The Best of Catholicism reminds them of the positive values and practices that they will never read about in the daily news.

What is Catholic spirituality for the contemporary man? A Man’s Guide to Being Catholic addresses this question with a direct yet open-minded viewpoint to the spiritual and sociological issues that face the sexes in our society, both in the world and in the church. With a no-nonsense approach, this book guides you on a journey of insight into what it means to be a Catholic man and how to maintain stability amid ongoing cultural evolution. You will discover that there are unchanging ways of finding God, and that there is still a place for maleness and a male point of view… and the model for such a point of view is Jesus Christ.

Being Catholic in a Changing World discusses the key issues surrounding Catholics in contemporary society. "Can I disagree with the Church and still remain a good Catholic?" and "What does it mean to be a Catholic in the post-9/11 world?" are some of the questions posed in this book. Using a historical rather than merely doctrinal approach, the authors follow the advice of Pope John XXIII that history is one of the most important teachers in life. They present comprehensive historical background ranging from ancient times to relatively recent events, such as the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s. The result is a significant and relevant work that is sure to engage, help, and inspire those looking for peace and meaning in today's confusing world. Book jacket.

An award winning writer celebrates the oldest institution in the western world and the faith he shares with 60 million other Americans plus an estimated 1.2 billion Roman Catholics in the world. Mitch Finley opens the treasure chest of Catholic experience, picks out its jewels, and shines them to a new glow. "Consider the possibility of joy," he writes. "What if your life is not pedestrian prose but a wonderful poem? What if your life is not a question but a revelation? Would this not be cause for joy? What if your life is not a sentence with a period at the end but a song that goes on and on? Would this not be cause for deep and abiding joy?"

A celebration of the treasured traditions, rituals, and stories that run through the bloodstream of American Catholics For Andrew Greeley, it is the reverence of Christmas night and the exultation of Easter morn. Martin Scorsese, like many others, remains grateful for the nuns who rapped his knuckles but built his self-esteem. Mary Gordon recalls the sense of lightness that follows confession; Vince Lombardi, the strength he derived from Mass; and Christopher Buckley, the role St. Thomas More plays in his writing. I Like Being Catholic brings together the memories, thought, and hopes of famous Catholics and ordinary parishioners, lapsed and "good-enough" Catholics, and those who have devoted their lives to the faith. It captures their abiding ties to and deep affection for the Church and offers the wide-ranging, sometimes surprising views on the good things that come with being Catholic. This is not a book of theology. It is about the beauty at the heart of Catholicism. It is about what Teilhard de Chardin called "the chosen part of things." It is about family and community, the value of Catholic education, the significance of sacraments and milestones, and the cultural impact of Catholicism—there are lists of the ten best Catholic novels, the ten best Catholic movies, ten Catholic heroes of the twentieth century, ten good reasons to raise your kids Catholic, fifty things Catholics like best about being Catholic, and much more ... I Like Being Catholic is a book for all those who have ever called themselves Catholic. It is a book of warmth, affection, humor, and love.