Book
Review.
Kennedy, Kerry.
Being Catholic Now. Prominent
Americans talk about change in the Church and the quest for meaning. Crown Publishing. 2008
Kerry- Daughter of Robert Kennedy.
Comment. Henry.
My first
response after reading this book was to reflect on my own change of
understanding and opinion of the Catholic Church. Being raised as a fundamentalist there was
not much charity in the spiritual status of the Catholic Church. It was portrayed as being unbiblical in its
doctrine and practice. There is still
some misunderstanding and/or lack of understanding for me. I have a better, more charitable attitude
about ecumenicalism. When I hear my
pastor son talk about his Catholic friend, an ordained pastor who is as evangelical as can be I realize
there have been huge changes in Catholicism and Protestantism.
For the
contents of this book Kerry has interviewed 38 individuals who are have been
influenced by Catholicism. They range
from very strong supporters (clergy) to some who have actually left the
Catholic Church for various reasons. In
her ‘Preface’ Kerry speaks at length about her own personal experience. I found this the most engaging and informative
section of the book.
Kerry has
been very forthright and transparent in her presentation of positives and
negatives of the Church. The Church has
a great track record as an agency of social justice and providing for the
needy, world-wide. Probably the most
negative issue for the Church has been the accusations and substantiation of
abuse by some of the clergy.
The strength
of the Church is its tradition. “Once a
Catholic, always a Catholic.” The training of children in the doctrine and practice
of Catholicism is a strong foundation of this tradition. It is in this area where there has also been
a serious vulnerability.
To me this
was a very informative read.
henrydirksen.blogspot.com
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