A winning ethnographic portrait of 28 American Catholic priests. Journalist Kunkel has ventured into biography once before, with Genius in Disguise: Harold Ross of the New Yorker (1995). This collection of essays is as engagingly thoughtful, but more personal; Kunkel writes as a Catholic seeking to understand the tumultuous changes of the post—Vatican II Church. To find the answers, he turns to the same source many Catholics do: the priesthood. Kunkel based these short chapters on extensive interviews with dozens of priests, and the diversity represented here offers a valuable window on the changing face of the Catholic Church. The multiracial priests come from inner-city, suburban, and rural churches; some parishes are affluent, while others are struggling to survive. But one strand connects these very different clergymen: They are members of what seems to be a dying breed. The American Catholic priesthood is aging, and with so few young seminarians stepping up to renew it, in ten years there may be only one priest for every 3,000 American Catholics. The priests interviewed here often serve several parishes. They may also be social workers, administrators, school principals, fund-raisers, and authors, in addition to their ecclesiastical duties. One Jesuit father is a medical doctor and an AIDS activist; another priest is executive director of a children’s rescue agency in Chicago. These priests actively embrace a changing clientele of blacks, Filipinos, and Hispanics; they are open to the charismatic renewal movement. But they also manifest a strain of traditionalism, especially (and surprisingly) the few young priests. Their “back to basics” approach seeks to adopt the best legacies of Vatican II but not abandon the core doctrines of the Church (reverence for the host, for example). Kunkel’s priests are energetically combining radical change and conservative standards. With economy and sensitivity, Kunkel brings these priests to life, portraying them as both fully human and a breed apart. Essential for thoughtful Catholics.
Pub Date: May 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-8133-3464-0
Page Count: 208
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1998
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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