For those who follow intramural politics within the Catholic Church, a capably written examination of an organization that...
Its defenders characterize Opus Dei, that ultra-Catholic movement, as a knitting circle, its detractors as a dangerous cult. Allen, Vatican correspondent for National Catholic Reporter ,finds middle ground.
Opus Dei, or “God’s Work,” a conservative service organization founded in 1928 by the Spanish cleric (and now saint) Josemaría Escrivá, is resolutely closed to outsiders, and it takes work indeed to get in. Allen, whose Conclave (2002) was a prescient guide to the recent papal election, likens the organization to Guinness Stout in a world of Bud Lite, inasmuch as “it makes no apologies for either its many calories or its high alcohol content.” Critics hold that its doctrine can be a little content-free, mistrustful of ideas and long on pat solutions, and, thanks at least in part to Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, Opus Dei has a slightly sinister connotation to outsiders. Several controversies surround it. Does Opus Dei recruit? Do its leaders demand blind allegiance? Does it have an anti-Semitic element? Allen wanders through the orbits of the faithful and some of the fallen away to address such questions, chalking up good points (for instance, no Opus Dei priest has ever been accused of sexual abuse) while assessing weaknesses, including a body of doctrine that can seem confused, as when Escrivá declared in a homily that freedom entails absolute devotion “to the service of the truth which redeems, when it is spent in seeking God’s infinite love which liberates us from all forms of slavery.” Must freedom mean submission? And is Opus Dei dangerous? Probably not, one would conclude from Allen’s thoughtful consideration; it tends to square with the Catholic Church in its conservative declarations, but its influence may not extend much beyond its membership, which is about as large as the Australian diocese of Hobart, Tasmania.
For those who follow intramural politics within the Catholic Church, a capably written examination of an organization that controls as much wealth “as a midsized American diocese.”Pub Date: Oct. 25, 2005
ISBN: 0-385-51449-2
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2005
BOOK REVIEW
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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