The Coming Catholic Church: How the Faithful Are Shaping a New American Catholicism

by David Gibson

Book Overview

Rather than chronicling the well-reported sexual abuse scandal or advocating a particular reform agenda, David Gibson shows how the crisis in the church is unleashing forces that will change American... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060530707
• ISBN13: 9780060530709
• Release Date: July 2003
• Publisher: HarperOne
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Very Interesting, very well-written!

David Gibson's book, The Coming Catholic Church, is very interesting and very well written. He is obviously very knowledgable on the subject. I look forward to his next book!

a welcome change

David Gibson clearly presents the issues associated with sexual abuse in the American Catholic Church in its historic perspective and looks forward to a future where such behavior will not occur.

Medicine for a Church in Need of Healing

In the past two years it seems as if more books seem to have been published on Roman Catholicism than at any other time. The most recent books have focusing not as much on the Church, but ht clergy sexual abuse scandal that has plagued the Church and how the Church ought to respond. David Gibson's book The Coming Catholic Church belongs in this genre.Gibson divides the book into three sections: one devoted to the laity, another devoted to priesthood, and a third section focuses on the episcopacy. Gibson seems very hopeful that the laity can and should play a significant role in reform. He does have some criticisms of the laity and while he does not blame the current scandal on lay people or take a simplistic view that if lay people had more of a say, none of this would have ever happened, he does warn against the danger of putting clergy members on too high a pedestal (something that will probably not happen anytime too soon). Gibson is both sympathetic and critical of the priesthood. He basically sees priests as good hearted people, but also caught in the traps of clericalism. While he supports a married clergy, he also sees the value of celibacy in some cases. He supports a broader membership in the clergy so that the Church will not only be relevant, but will also have enough priests to maintain the Sacramental life of the Church. Gibson is most critical of the bishops, and seems to believe they are hopelessly irrelevant and while he is hopeful of changes in the laity and priesthood, he seems less hopeful as far as the episcopacy is concerned. While he admires Pope John Paul II, he seems to present a thesis that the problem with the bishops is that there are too many John Paul II clones. For this reason he hopes that the Pope's eventual successor will have John Paul II's dedication and enthusiasm, but will also be open to reform.The book is accurate and well researched something that is probably due to his talent as a journalist. A bit of editing could help, for some parts are a bit repetitious. He has many opinions, but is able to back up his opinions with fact. His voice offers a different perspective, which is probably why I found this book quite significant. Gibson is a journalist, not a theologian, member of the clergy, or religious life. Many of the most recent books about the scandal are written by Church insiders, both liberal and conservative, who often times have an agenda. Gibson has a point of view, but this comes from his love of his Church, and purely from that love. Gibson also offers his point of view from the eyes of a Catholic, but not a life long Catholic. As a convert, Gibson seems to be able to see what is essentially Catholic and offer a fresh and balanced point of view. In my opinion, this is what Gibson attempts to do, and in many ways did it satisfactorily.

A balanced examination, crowned with hope

Gibson's evaluation of the current state of Roman Catholicism in the United States is something of a rarity in the world of contemporary Church discussion. Balanced, fair, and level-headed, he illustrates the impact the 2001 priest scandals have had on the faithful, but also touches on such phenomena as the shrinking number of clergy and religious, the disaffectedness of many of the faithful before, during, and after the scandals hit, and the effects various factions (left- and right-wingers, among others) have on what direction the Church is taking. Gibson's work, while delivering some sobering news, is nonetheless possessed of a sense of hope for a better future, as well as deep faith in what the Church means to Her many children. All in all an excellent and well-worth-reading examination of the current American Catholic Church.

Tough, fair, brilliant -- and very welcome!

Until now, the books about the current crisis in the Catholic Church have come from two flanks: the crotchety right, blaming everything on a lack of fidelity or those rascals behind Vatican II (George Weigel et al) ... and the defiant left, blaming everything on an ailing Pope who refuses to get with the program (Gary Wills et al). Now, at last, comes a balanced and clear-eyed view from the vast middle -- not only that, but it comes from a convert with a passion and genuine affection for his beleaguered Church. David Gibson's "The Coming Catholic Church" manages to synthesize two centuries of triumph and turmoil in the American Catholic Church into a coherent, intelligent and altogether revelatory work that, at this moment, stands as a definitive account of how the church got where it is today -- and where it may be headed tomorrow. Drawing on history, sociology, theology and just plain good storytelling, Gibson presents the most complete and compelling picture of the modern church that I've found (and I've slogged through a lot of them!) He brings to the book a journalist's eye and a committed Catholic's concern, and the result is an invaluble document that should be required reading for every American Catholic, both lay and religious. Gibson gives equal time to arguments from conservatives and progressives, and avoids taking sides; both, he suggests, have their strengths and weaknesses, and neither is completely right or wrong. That gives the book a credibility and balance that I found most welcome. And he divides his book clearly into three sections: the laity, the clergy, and the hierarchy, showing the fundamental role each must play in the Church, how each has reacted to the recent scandals, and how each will be challenged to change its relationship with the other if the Church is to be renewed and reformed. "The Coming Catholic Church" will help readers see the Church as the wonderful, flawed, monumental and maddening institution it is and always has been -- and understand, perhaps for the first time, why. What you will find here are tales of a confused and conflicted clergy, an angry and impassioned laity, and the defensive and sometimes helpless hierarchy. What you will also find is a quiet but insistent plea: we are all in this together, and must work together to renew our Church. The book's ultimate theme is one of hope and redemption -- the triumph of Easter over the despair of Good Friday. I can't overstate how important and necessary this book is. I'm sending one to every Catholic I know, with the urgent message: "Read this. Now." I can't state it any plainer than that. For any Catholic who cares about the Church, and wants to know what the future may hold, pick up this book. It's all there. Read this. Now.