| Article number: |
P-1607 |
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In stock
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Unique among the current leadership of the Catholic Church, Archbishop Dolan shares his insightful perspective in this series of conversations on the present and future of Catholicism. In these pages Dolan shares a perspective which is typically not part of the information an average person would know through today's media. This omission often leaves outsiders with a terribly flawed grasp of what's actually happening in the Church. Legitimate stories on, for example, abuse and Church authority can't be dissolved by reactive conspiracy theories about how the media is out to get the Catholic Church. That said, if these scandals are all there is to the Catholic Church, why would anyone bother being Catholic? Catholics are nothing if not sober realists about the humanity of their institutions and leaders. They see the Church not as a debating society or a multinational enterprise, but a family-- with all the flaws and dysfunction, but also all the joy and life, of families everywhere. This is why Archbishop Dolan is such an important part of the Church's emerging landscape. In A People of Hope Dolan is seen at his best, capturing an upbeat, hopeful, affirming Catholicism tha's the untold story about the Church today. As readers spend time with Dolan here, they may find that his love for people and zest for friendship is what's truly fundamental about the man, not a PR device calculated to conceal some other agenda. Dolan can and does draw lines in the sand when he believes that core matters of Catholic identity are at stake. He's well aware that we live in a deeply secular world in the West, in which powerful pressures, both subtle and overt, seek to blur the counter-cultural message of Catholicism on many fronts. One key to Dolan's character, however, is that changing hearts, not knocking heads, is always his first instinct. John Allen draws out a picture of future trends by exploring where Dolan wants to lead, and how will a Church that increasingly bears his imprint look and feel. To understand this, what's really necessary is to get inside his head and then let him speak for himself. To that end, Allen frams questions in a way that allows Dolan to expand on the topic himself as much as possible. The result is a book more ""with"" Dolan than a book ""about"" him, which is indeed the best way to understand the man. At the end, one can agree or diagree with Dolan's outlook, but one may at least be better equipped to understand why thoughtful men and women might still believe there's something worth considering in the Catholic message.(If you are trying to purchase this item and it shows as "out of stock," please call the store during business hours (512-382-1728) to double check--we are constantly re-stocking items and it simply may not have updated to the web. Thank you for your patience and patronage!)
