Customer Reviews

Practicing Catholic

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

At nearly 400 pages, James Carroll's PRACTICING CATHOLIC is a readable assortment of reflections on the life and times of the author and selected other practicing Catholics admired by the author. Both Catholics and interested non-Catholics will probably find this book accessible and informative. In addition to matters detailed in the text, the book includes a handy five-page "Twentieth-Century American Catholic Chronology," discussion notes, and an index. I give this book a five-star rating for being well written.

In two earlier autobiographical books, AN AMERICAN REQUIEM: GOD, MY FATHER, AND THE WAR THAT CAME BETWEEN US (1996) and HOUSE OF WAR: THE PENTAGON AND THE DISASTROUS RISE OF AMERICAN POWER (2006), James Carroll has detailed the basic outlines of his life. He left his undergraduate studies at Georgetown University to become a seminarian for the priesthood in the Paulist religious order. After he was ordained a priest in 1969, he served as chaplain at Boston University during protests against the Vietnam War, a war that he himself protested against, despite his father's prominent position in the military. However, the author subsequently became a formally and officially laicized former priest as well as a playwright, novelist, and columnist. In addition to publishing a number of novels, he has also published a detailed critique of the Roman Catholic Church's tragic mistreatment of Jews over the centuries, CONSTANTINE'S SWORD: THE CHURCH AND THE JEWS: A HISTORY (2001). Thus in various ways, Catholicism has been a central feature of James Carroll's life.

However, despite his published critique of the history of the Catholic Church, it's his choice to remain a practicing Catholic. However, after reading his book PRACTICING CATHOLIC, I cannot tell you why he remains a practicing Catholic -- or why he does not stop being a practicing Catholic.

In PRACTICING CATHOLIC, the author highlights his admiration for Pope John XXIII, the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), and the prolific theologian Hans Kung. Hans Kung was at one time stripped of his appointment of a Roman Catholic teaching post for being too liberal to suit the Vatican's far more conservative bent. Like Hans Kung, James Carroll is not pleased with the conservative bent of the Roman Catholic Church since Vatican II. But in this book he accentuates the positive as much as he can.

Not surprisingly, he finds times in his life as a practicing Catholic and in the lives of other practicing Catholics to remember fondly and cherish and celebrate. It strikes me as appropriate to give credit where credit is due, as he does repeatedly throughout the book. Good for him. Wouldn't his life have been empty if he had no memories after all these years that he could fondly remember of himself as a practicing Catholic and of other practicing Catholics?

There is no question in my mind that this book is worth reading and, perhaps, re-reading. There are many interesting points of view that Carroll brings out. Although I question the title, "Practicing Catholic", I assume this is a title only and not Carroll's description of himself, as I would find him to be practicing Catholicity, (the baptism of his son as an Episcopalian would not be considered a "Catholic" baptism by many in the Church). Carroll, although certainly knowledgable of which he speaks, tends to "theologize", something of which I don't think he is capable. Never-the-less his book gives many of us who have tried to practice Catholicity for years food for thought, and certainly brings out incidents of which most of us were unaware. I did find some of his writing to be burdensome and required a re-reading in many instances to see just what he was driving at. His histories of the various councils were intriguing although not in great depth but did cause one to want to learn more about each as they occured. He left no doubt about his feeling for Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict, who, obviously, he found contentious and adversarial in many areas with which Carroll did not agree, and seems to hold him responsible for many of the problems the Church is facing today, problems that Vatican II tried to avoid. I also don't feel that Carroll actually had a vocation to the priesthood, although he completed his studies and served for five years, after which he was laicized, married a protestant (I do not say this negatively as we have such marriages within our family of which we are proud); and to keep peace in the family, I assume, he split his children's baptisms between two schools of thought. I think he had a love for the Church but not a true vocation, and did right by leaving the priesthood. His feelings toward war, other religions, about women etc. are commendable and are those of many of us who have followed Catholcism for years. All in all we feel Carroll's problem was with authority. At one point he seems to indicate that it was "obedience" that was the primary cause of his leaving the priesthood....which would indicate to me that his problem was with authority, (with the exception of Cardinal Cushing who seemed to let Carroll do his thing). I wish he had expounded more on his visit with Hans Kung, a person many of us have admired for years. I do think Carroll shows signs of slight paranoia when he tries to relate the burning of the chapel at B.U. with the election of our new Pope, did his dislike of Ratzinger influence this inclusion? Carroll did convince me that the one thing Jesus wanted was simplicity. Throughout the years our Church fathers have managed to complicate things to a complexity to which many cannot proscribe. Caroll has shown that, similar to our present secular surroundings, there are two sides to the Catholic Church, conservative and liberal, and so far the conservatives seem to have control. I am not convinced that Jesus was a conservative nor did He expect things to turn out the way they have. He just wanted everyone to be good. He did not have scholars around him, He had ordinary working people, and He had sinners. Needless to say I am still a "Practicing Catholic", and I let my conscience be my guide, which is what I think Carroll is really saying. Finally I came to the conclusion that Carroll was "theologizing", and although he left many questions open, he did express opinions, some of which I don't particularly agree. He does however show his "trust" in God, and like many of us seems to feel that God is all loving. My only question is: Is God's love surpassed by his justice? This has long been a question in my mind but Carroll has shown me that perhaps His love exceeds all else, as we are all His creations. I plan to re-read this book as it has certainly caused me to do a lot of thinking.

I recommend this book. That doesn't mean I endorse every position taken in it by James Carroll. But I think this is an eloquent and very readable personal account of what it has meant to Carroll to be Catholic in his life, and --- as he has lived through Vatican II and the aftermath, as well as the great cultural revolutions of the 60's and 70's, as he has witnessed the Clergy abuse scandal unfold, and was there during the years before the scandal broke, Carroll has a great deal to say which is more than simply interesting. I was not a practicing Catholic during the years that Carroll describes and he has given me valuable insights into how Vatican II was perceived by his generation of priests, and additional insights in many other complex questions and historically important issues. Carroll comes off as an intelligent, generous and sensitive man, who is deeply engrossed in the major cultural developments of this country, and of the Church. This is a memoir that offers an enormous amount to the reader, including an informed and critical perspective on Pope John Paul II and the present Pope Benedict.

James Carroll does what I would consider an overall good job of explaining the events of the past 40 years or so that shook American Catholicism through his own personal lens as a priest and later on as a practicing Catholic. This book is at its best when it examines the conflict between the post Vatican II era when change was in the air and the counter revolution to it lead by Pope Benedict in his current role and past role.

However he does get muddled when he tries to pass himself off as a theologian. This is simply not Carroll's area of expertise, he is a religious writer and historian but not a theologian. There are parts of the book that are very muddled as a result and that is the book's main weakness. But all in all I found this interesting and well worth reading.

I found this book to be exquisite and highly readable. It has enlightened me on parts of church events that I somehow missed when I gave up about 40 years ago - but now have returned to 'take the best and leave the rest' - the timing for me is exceptional.

There were many things that I knew and just as many as I did not - and of course I identify with James Carroll to a great extent - and am truly happy that he has chosen to remain a 'practicing Catholic' in spite of it all!

The relief of being validated is an unexpected treasure from reading this book.
Thank you so much for writing this book - it has made a big difference to me.

Carroll captures the angst many Catholics who remained in the church after Vatican II's reforms were implemented are currently experiencing as the hierarchy follows a recidivist, retrograde ultramontanist course of action that rejects the teachings embodied in the documents of Vatican II. For Catholics who struggled through the examination, evaluation and reform of the church practices and teachings that followed the Council, the current climate of Tridentine triumphalism (especially on the part of the bishops appointed by JPII) is a source of sorrow and discouragement. Carroll speaks for many catholics, disappointed by the failure of leadership in the church, and proposes remedies that lead to a more hopeful future for those committed to the Church envisioned by the Fathers of the Council and Blessed John XXIII.

A sensitively written socio-cultural history of the Catholic church from his perspective as a then-priest and subsequent layperson, Carroll renders his account with clear and conscientious appreciation for the conflicted legacies of the Church's history and hierarchy, church leaders' conduct, as well as its wider social impacts and implications on interfaith relations. A timely critique based on conscientious and loving but morally conflicted objections - highly recommended even if only as an artifact of how one person works through, renders and reconciles with aspects of his faith through turbulent times.

There is an inescapable yet unstated question that courses this text: what might have been had Carroll not left the priesthood. His depictions of his seminary experience and early priesthood are interwoven with observations and commentaries about significant events in church history. Yet the question of the value (or not) of celibacy and its apparent link in Carroll's mind to the child abuse scandal are repeated perhaps too frequently. There is a certain amount of "told ya so" in many reflections on the scandal, which does a great disservice to the children involved, while at the same time failing to account for the plague of child abuse except that it appeared to involve bureaucratic maneuvering. This isn't good thinking. Moreover, popes are clearly (with some exceptions) perfidious and we readers are advised that the current pope cloaks cruelty behind his shy mannerisms. There are some bright spots, particularly the story of the compelling encounter with the bereft Allen Tate and the tale of the mysterious disappearance by arson of the campus ministry at Boston University the very same day a new prelate took office. In the main, however, there is a sour grapes feel to this work, which is a shame, because Carroll is a talented writer.

Having lived through Church changes since Vatican II, James Carroll's book is a must read for any Catholic struggling with their faith. It pares down the psychology behind such issues as a woman's role in the church, homosexuality, social justice and, most importantly, power and true authority. It is thorough, compassionate and enlightening. It is simply the best laying out of an argument I have read in the past twenty years. Thank you, James Carroll.

Carroll writes that "language is God" and that "God is language." This is a theological statement that supports the poetry of John's Gospel, which begins with the poetic fact that the "Word is God."

Carroll is making the point that John's poetry communicates better than theological prose. This does not mean that theology is not helpful, but that theology is secondary to poetry as a way of knowing God. Created things dispose the mind to believe in God, but the Word creates an even stronger disposition to believe.

Theology is like the Tree of Good and Evil, which commuicates on the level of logic. Poetry is like the Tree of Life, which feeds imagination; it conveys spiritual truths more clearly than logic can. Imagination is the phenomenological lens that provides a clearer view of the numinous than the opaque glass of theology. Imagination is indispensable to spiritual epistemology, to becoming one with the object known, to faith. Logic is the theological mechanism that tests the imagination, making sure that fundamentalism does not impede theological development. Faulty theology is corrected by imagination, just as faulty imagination is improved by logic.

Carrol's book presents poetry as the ground for building Catholic identity, an ongoing process. It supports the image of the pope as the flawed foundation stone for the practicing Catholic. We know we can't always believe the pope, because even Peter was a liar; three times he denied he knew Jesus. Nevertheless, we bear with a faulty pope; we know that all people, all popes are sinners; we know that all people, all popes are conduits of historical lies told by institutional leaders. We know that poetry is a better anchor of truth than the faulty theology of Pope Benedict XVI. Poets like Carroll are helping the pope form a Catholic practice that acknowledges the ground upon which his identity and authority rest--the People and the Poetry of God.

Carroll focuses on the primacy of poetry for practicing Catholics. But his emphasis on democracy is equally immportant. Without democracy, the Poetic Word cannot easily inform the structures and the theology of the Church. He shows how the advocates of democracy in Catholic America were stifled before Vatican II, but then affirmed by John XXIII and the Council bishops. The history of Isaac Hecker and the Paulists is very interesting. It shows that the American Church is the trigger for the growing demand for a global Church that is truly catholic and truly democratic. Democracy, which is anchored in the indigenous Iroquois, is the gift of the American People to all the People of God.

Carroll is not only Priest and Prophet (poet of pathos), but also King. King of existentialist (rather than essentialist) theologians.