Suggested Reading

The ongoing changes and challenges in our Church have ushered in a spate of new books and re-introduced others, which while recent, were written prior to or were just published in 2001. Given two recent VOTF experiences, the Structural Change Working Group progress with a Parish Pastoral Council primer and the widespread distribution of a letter by three priests that challenges VOTF's Catholicism, readers might benefit from some objective, scholarly and readable thinking on just who we are - Roman Catholics within the American experience. Jesus asked "Who do you say I am?" (Mt 16:13-20). The question has led Catholics to a path of self-inquiry not only by prayer and reflection but by the research and lucid thinking of our fellow Catholics - theologians, professors of Catholic history, researchers and canon lawyers.

Two books in particular seem timely for In the Vineyard readers: American Catholics - Gender, Generation and Commitment by William V. D'Antonio et al., and In Search of American Catholicism - A History of Religion and Culture in Tension by Jay P. Dolan. Both books are scholarly, readable and illuminating and have the added benefit of being succinct.

D'Antonio, Davidson, Hoge and Meyer are distinguished sociologists who use national surveys of Catholics to examine the issues that define Catholicism for Americans. This book is a study - it spells out "who we say we are" with clarity and great respect for the differences among and between the age groups surveyed and their respective experiences. Among other findings, they note: "…creedal beliefs are much more important in defining a good Catholic than weekly churchgoing or obedience to Church rules….Catholic lay people distinguish between what they see as God's law and Church law. The former is the valid criterion for who is a good Catholic."

Jay P. Dolan is Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Notre Dame. His book places the D'Antonio study in its American historical context, i.e., Where did we come from? In so doing, Dolan grounds the current dialogue about our direction as a People of God within the experience of a Roman Catholic struggle or, as the publisher notes, "…how Catholics have met the challenges they faced as New World followers of an Old World religion." Dolan writes," The ahistorical approach of traditional Scholastic theology with its emphasis on the immutability of Catholic dogma gave way to a methodology that emphasized the historical conditioning of religious truths. Scholars acknowledged that culture can indeed shape religion."

It should be noted that both books honor Vatican II, in particular its documents Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, and the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World as pivotal in the maturation of our Catholicism. Lest one think either book succumbs to one-sided speculation, here's Dolan on culture and religion: "It (Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World) not only recognized the importance of culture in shaping religion, but it also underscored the need for religion to transform culture. As a result, dialogue between Catholicism and modern culture began." It is this transforming experience that is documented in D'Antonio's work.

Where does VOTF come in? The VOTF Structural Change Working Group primer on Parish Pastoral Councils grew out of the promise of Vatican II but also from the new code of canon law issued in 1983, which, for the first time, recommended such councils. The priests' letter and David O'Brien's response grew out of the same history documented and quantified in these two books. Again, one faith - many voices. This is who we are.

In the Vineyard welcomes your feedback on either or both of these books. Please write to leaderpub@votf.org.

Voice of the Faithful, VOTF, "Keep the Faith, Change the Church,"
Voice of Compassion, VOTF logo(s), Parish Voice, and
Prayerful Voice are trademarks of Voice of the Faithful, Inc.

Voice of the Faithful is a 501(c) 3 tax-exempt organization.