THE CATHOLIC REVOLUTION

by Douglas J. Roche ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 23, 1968

The most salient characteristic of the Catholic Church today is not that it is One, or Holy, or Catholic, or Apostolic, but that is torn by internal Conflict: bishops against Rome. priests and nuns against the bishops, and the laity against everyone. Mr. Roche sees that conflict not as a revolt against tradition or against authority, but as a revolution: as an accelerated and forcible evolution from one form to another. He draws together the lines of that revolution in its various manifestations -- among the clergy, the laity, the religious, youth, education, etc. -- and, despite its immense complexity, imposes on it a certain order and meaning: the pushings and proddings from both right und left serve to keep the Church in the via media, where reason stands and truth. The Church, he concludes, is presently (and wisely) engaged, under Paul VI, in a process of consolidation, but it will emerge in our lifetimes, under the pressure of ""the Catholic revolution,"" as a living, moving, and human community of the People of God; and then the ancient monolith, the bete notre of the revolutionaries, will have been laid to rest forever. A handsome vision, enunciated in a well conceived and developed synthesis, by an up-and-coming young man who has already made a name for himself in Catholic journalism, it should do well.

Pub Date: Sept. 23, 1968

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: McKay

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1968

Categories: NONFICTION