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Catholic Issues
Articles & Reviews
Articles
Reviews
(alphabetical
by author)
(Jump
to Briefly Noted)
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REVIEW OF: Gabriel
Amorth, An Exorcist Tells His Story
NB: I have not yet decided whether I will formally
review Amorth's
second work, An Exorcist:
More
Stories (2000). But this much I will say: it is as bad as his first. The kindest thing one might suggest is: whatever Amorth's
skills as an exorcist might be, he shows virtually none as a writer,
evidencing little systematic understanding of, let alone ability to relate, the kind of information that one has a right to expect in this delicate
area. He commits about every kind of logical, pastoral, and journalistic error, short of heterodoxy,
that one could
make in writing about this topic. In short, read Amorth's works, if at all, only after
acquiring from other sources a solid orientation in topics related to
extraordinary demonic activity and the Church's power over it. |
REVIEW OF:
Daniel Keating, The
appropriation of divine life in Cyril of Alexandria
Briefly
Noted
(alphabetical
by author)
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Mary
Angela Shaughnessy, Catholic
Schools and the Law: A Guide for Teachers
(1990)
In
our litigious age, Catholic schools and teachers are increasingly the
objects of lawsuits. Every school dollar and teacher hour spent in
litigation is a school dollar and teacher hour not spent on educating
students. Sr. Mary Angela, herself a teacher, not a lawyer, has given
teachers some basic orientation regarding the legal issues which affect
their educational efforts.
Practically every legal
question teachers voice is addressed, at least briefly, in these pages.
Am I bound by the faculty handbook? May I note in my class records that
Sally is a big troublemaker? And so on. Each receives sound, brief
answers.
Rather than list this book’s
many strengths, though, I beg to point out just a handful of weaknesses.
First, the three opening questions of her “Legal Pre-Test” seem
imprecisely worded. Second, Sr. Mary Angela might have made it clearer
that educational malpractice is actually a form of negligence. Third,
Sister’s advice on avoiding defamation suits srikes me as a bit narrow
in some places. Fourth, after correctly pointing out that the
exculpatory clauses in “permission slips” do not protect a school or
teacher from liability, she later recommends that such clauses be
inserted in the slips, for reasons not clear to me. Fifth (this is not a
criticism but a suggestion), some attention can be paid to canonical,
instead of civil, methods for resolving disputes that arise in Catholic
education.
In sum, while Catholic
Schools and the Law is perhaps too brief to serve as a general legal
guide for teachers, it could be used well as a supplement for in-service
day for teachers and the law, and certainly deserves a place on the
faculty reference shelf. |
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John
Hardon, The Catholic Catechism
(1975)
I still
remember, more than 25 years after the fact, reading this book cover to
cover one weekend in college, and realizing for the first time that the
whole "Catholic Thing" made profound sense. I, along with so
many others, warmly recommend this book as an introduction to the teachings of the
Church. |
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Walter
Miller, A
Canticle for Leibowitz (1984)
Miller
reminds me of Bizet, the composer of "Carmen". Both Bizet and
Miller are essentially one-work men, but what a work each has created! And just
as "Carmen" is recommended as an opera for those who hate opera (poor
souls), so I recommend Canticle for Leibowitz for those who hate science
fiction (like me). It is a stunning book. I've read it several times, and
appreciated it more with each reading.
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Ludwig
Ott, Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma
(1992)
Ott's
compliation of Catholic systematic theology first appeared in German in
the early 1950s. Translated since then, it remains the best single
volume of Catholic theological data available anywhere. Indispensable,
and easy to use.
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John
Peterson, ed., Father Brown of the Church of
Rome
(1996)
Is
there a better first experience of G. K. Chesterton than in reading his famous "Father Brown" mystery series,
and is there a better selection of Fr. Brown stories than that
provided by John Peterson and Ignatius Press? Peterson's discreet footnotes help
the subtlety,
richness, and humor of GKC shine through. Clean, intelligent reading for kids,
too.
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Effie
Quay, And Now Infanticide
(1977/1980)
This
small pamphlet was written just a few years after the Supreme Court's 1973
abortion decision in Roe v. Wade. Even the she saw the infanticide
growing from the same arguments being aired in the abortion debate. As a medical journalist, Effie Quay knew how how to research
bio-ethical issues
and present them intelligently. Her slim text has become a minor classic in right
to life literature.
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Charles
Rice, Beyond Abortion:
Theory...of the Secular State
(1978)
This
short book by Notre Dame law professor Rice is an excellent
overview of the legal philosophies that have fueled
the rise of abortionism in 20th century America. Rice shows how seriously legal positivism
has affected public thinking on leading moral questions of the day,
notably abortion. Designed for non-professionals and accessible to those not
approaching the topic from a Catholic perspective.
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Jeffrey
Steffon, Satanism:
Is It Real?
(1992)
Fr.
Steffon, a priest from Los Angeles, has provided a reliable and
non-sensationalistic overview of satanism and occult practices in the US. The
book has a personal and pastoral emphasis with real descriptions of the
varieties and degrees of satanic influence especially among young people. There
are a few lines here and there which I think could have been phrased more
precisely, but these do not detract from the very solid service provided by this
book.
Herbert Thurston,
Ghosts and Poltergeists
(1953). Edited by J. Crehan. 210 pp.
Almost
entirely descriptive, little analysis (pace Chap. 18). Drawing on
records from many centuries, deals mostly with poltergeists (some of
which were speaking) and only a little with ghosts, though the line
between them is not always clear. Remarkably unimaginative pranks,
though annoying, and occasionally dangerous. I wonder whether shower of
rocks is a mocking God’s shower of graces, or even beneficent rain?
Shows range of effectiveness in religious responses, mere holy water
sometimes works, while Mass and exorcism sometimes don’t. Read once. PS:
Suggests that some of the depictions in Hooper’s “Poltergeist” (1982)
are more reliable than one might have otherwise suspected.
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Gregory
Wolfe, The Hillsdale Review (1980s,
ceased publication)
Every
once in a while, maybe just for a few minutes, it does a soul good to
turn away from the crush of liberalized clerics and radicalized laymen,
pandering their mythological histories of the preconciliar Church, and
listen to one of Catholic America’s most responsible commentators tell
how (at least in his typical experience) it really was. And, if by
chance one is of the opinion that, for example, every Catholic home had
a picture of Joe McCarthy over the mantel, or that the Supreme Court
first taught Americans the immorality of public racial segregation, then
Dr. Hitchcock’s “The Odyssey of a Preconciliar Catholic Liberal”
will be even better reading. You’ll find it as the lead essay in the
Spring, 1984 issue of The Hillsdale Review.
Along the way, be sure to take
a close look at The Hillside Review itself. This quarterly
magazine, founded by conservative (I use the term interchangeably with
“intelligent” or “reflective”) students some five years ago has
in its brief history matured magnificently. Building upon the bedrock of
such solid thinkers as James Hitchcock, Russell Kirk, and Marion
Montgomery, The Hillsdale Review also brings to American letters
the best of our younger essayists. It’s strong evidence that the
battle for ideas in America is far from over.
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Sure, Thomas Aquinas is the greatest philosopher in Church history, and
yes Josef Pieper is one of the greatest exponents of authentic Thomism
of the 20th century. For all that though, when I saw Ignatius
Press release Pieper’s
Guide to Thomas Aquinas back in 1991, I admit I thought to
myself, “Big deal, another book about Thomas”, and skipped by it time
and time again. What a dreadful mistake that was! I should have bought
it immediately and read it promptly. It’s a marvelous read (I know
because a good pastor just lent me his copy to help pass the hours in
airports this weekend). It is completely accessible, engaging, lively,
and wonderfully thoughtful. Would that I had read it a decade or more
ago! But that makes me think: My heart goes out to Ignatius
Press, they suffer such an embarrassment of
riches. If they described most of their titles in even restrained tones,
it would still sound as if they were hyping book after book. But golly,
time after time they really do hit solid gold in the selection and
production of works. I don’t know why I am still surprised when they do.
They’ve been doing it so long. Anyway, I highly recommend this book to
non-experts, but curious Catholics, especially perhaps those in teaching
fields (not just philosophers and theologians, mind you!) Fall 2004.
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