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Brave
New Church
From Turmoil to Trust
William Bausch
299 pages
Twenty-Third Publications, 2001
$16.95
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Amazon’s discounted price
From the Publisher
Father Bill Bausch knows about parish life in the Catholic Church firsthand.
In this, his latest offering, he charts a direction for the Catholic
Church to follow in years to come. He begins by focusing on twelve challenges
facing the Church today, including religious illiteracy, anti-Catholicism,
secularism, pluralism, Church scandal, and authority. He then considers
the transitions and responses that can move the Church forward as it
sees to minister to parishioners of the twenty-first century.
Father Bausch writes in a clear, informative, and uplifting style. The
book is peppered throughout with personal anecdotes, parables, and citations
from current news stories and reports. He frames his arguments in a
way that is both pastoral and incisive, shaping his ideas and suggestions
with solid historical background and strong Catholic principles.
About the Author
After years of service as a pastor, William J. Bausch, a priest of the
Dioese of Trenton, NJ, has been serving the wider Church as author lecturer,
consultant, and retreat director. He is that author of The Word:
In and Out of Season, The Yellow Brick Road, and A World of
Stories for Preachers and Teachers.
Review
Why are vocations down, and how will the Church deal with the shortage
of priests?
Is celibacy a reasonable expectation of clergy in today’s world?
In the next twenty years, will there be a viable American Catholic church?
If so, how will it be structured and what mix of lay and clergy will
there be? How can the Church do a better job of screening present and
future candidates for the priesthood?
William Bausch has contemplated these timely questions
and their possible answers, which he explores in Brave New Church.
As a priest and author, Father Bill draws upon his years as a pastor,
lecturer, and consultant to examine complex issues facing clergy and
laity alike.
After outlining twelve challenges confronting the Church - including
issues such as gay clergy, scandals, and anti-Catholicism - Bausch offers
a prediction of the transitions needed to launch Catholicism into a
third millennium. In his vision, the laity reclaims their baptismal
gifts, the Church embraces ecumenism more fully, and the contributions
of women are recognized and celebrated. At the same time, the third
millennium will be marked by a certain exclusivity, evident in the Catholic
Church’s distinctive traditions and emphasis on the sacramental
expressions of faith.
Bausch offers practical responses to the challenges we face as a Church
in transition. Brave New Church is more than one priest’s opinions
and hopes. The author documents his facts and cites the authors and
church authorities he uses to present a cohesive picture of the Church
today and a possible Church of the future.
If you read only one book about the Church in this decade, Brave
New Church: From Turmoil to Trust is the one I’d recommend.
It is the right book . . .for such a time as this.
Mary Ann Boyer works for Bethany
Christian Services in Grand Rapids, MI, where she serves as editor of
publications.
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