Customer Reviews

Catholics at a Crossroads: Coverup, Crisis, and Cure

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Dr. Eileen Flynn has given us the most readable and by far the most intelligently reasoned book yet to help hierarchy, clergy and laity find their way back. She has not only done her homework and analyzed her findings with skills based on her dozen or more earlier books. She has also organized her approach so clearly that the reader follows her argument with ease and in some ways with pleasure and relief, however appalling the material has to be at certain inescapable points of that argument. She presents a calm, admirably positive prescription for recovery while there is still time. Flynn pulls no punches in setting forth her Rx to repair the catastrophic damage born of millennial practices of governance that little if anything to do with original intent. Her book gives us her special woman's interpretation of what Raymond Schroth, S.J., meant when he wrote, "Nowhere does Scripture have anything good to say about power and hanging onto power."

Flynn's book brings the reader around to a not-so-easy solution to a horrifying problem. Lay Catholics must become involved and fully participate, as did Christians in the days following the time of Christ. Being a sheep is not what it's about. If you're a Catholic or anyone else who is upset and angry about the behavior of some priests, and even enraged about the cover-up by some bishops or archbishops, but don't know what to do about it, read this book. Changes can be made. Catholics at a Crossroads gives background on the facts of this problem, proposes a number of causes and finally offers the solution - activism by lay people.

The stories about sexual abuse by Catholic priests are still making headlines. As a Catholic, I am horrified by these news stories. Every time I read them, I ask myself why, how could this happen? Then a few months ago I received a manuscript in the mail from a Catholic theologian who had tackled this question directly and thoughtfully. I am the editor of Paraview Publishing and Eileen Flynn's manuscript answered the questions I had been asking myself ever since the crisis broke in 2002. Flynn's crystal clear analysis of the situation uncovers the underlying causes of the crisis: the inflexibility of Catholic sexual ethics, the theological issues of responsibility, and the reality of a dysfunctional institution. If you'll look at the "Editorial Reviews" section of this book page, you'll see that knowledgeable people agree that Flynn has hit the nail on the head. Frankly, it would all be quite depressing if not for the fact that Flynn is also able to offer a "cure," a way for the laity and the Church to work together, address the underlying problems, and finally set things straight.

Using a format of Stop, Look and Listen, Dr. Flynn offers an excellent analysis of the crisis in the Church.
Most importantly, Catholics at the Crossroads outlines concrete changes that must be made for the Church to recover its health and credibility.

Using the format of stop, look and listen, Dr. Flynn offers an excellent analysis of the crisis in the Church.
Most importantly, Catholics at the Crossroads outlines concrete changes that must be made for the Church to recover its health and credibility

A clear, concise,and objective view of this serious problem within the Church. Reading it was a real eye opener for me. Flynn's use of language was crisp. Each section flowed in a very logical way, holding my interest easily. Documentation of the facts was thorough. Hard to put down! I hope to read more of her books in the future.

Compelling account of an extremely volatile situation in the American Catholic Church. Flynn adroitly addresses this crisis concisely outlining the coverup, crisis, and cure. I really appreciated her candid, metaphorical approach, ala a freight train railroad crossing,incorporating a stop, look, listen to avoid disaster.
A must read that sends a loud message to all of us.