Being Catholic Now: Prominent Americans Talk About Change in the Church and the Quest for Meaning

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Overview

For Kerry Kennedy, who grew up in a devoutly Catholic household coping with great loss, her family’s faith was a constant source of strength and solace. As an adult, she came to question some of the attitudes and teachings of the Catholic Church while remaining an impassioned believer in its role as a defender of the poor and oppressed.

“Generations ago,” says Kennedy, “the search for spirituality came predefined and prepackaged. [The Church] not only gave us all the answers, it even gave us the questions to ...

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Being Catholic Now: Prominent Americans Talk About Change in the Church and the Quest for Meaning

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Overview

For Kerry Kennedy, who grew up in a devoutly Catholic household coping with great loss, her family’s faith was a constant source of strength and solace. As an adult, she came to question some of the attitudes and teachings of the Catholic Church while remaining an impassioned believer in its role as a defender of the poor and oppressed.

“Generations ago,” says Kennedy, “the search for spirituality came predefined and prepackaged. [The Church] not only gave us all the answers, it even gave us the questions to ask.” Now many of the old certainties are being reexamined. In an attempt to convey this sea change, Kennedy asked thirty-seven American Catholics to speak candidly about their own faith—whether lost, recovered, or deepened—and about their feelings regarding the way the Church hierarchy is moving forward.

The voices included here range from respectful to reproachful and from appreciative to angry. Speaking their minds are businesspeople, actors and entertainers, educators, journalists, politicians, union leaders, nuns, priests—even a cardinal. Some love the Church; some feel intensely that the Church wronged them. All have an illuminating insight or perspective.

Kerry Kennedy herself speaks of the joy of growing up as one of Robert and Ethel Kennedy’s eleven children, of the tragedies that eventually befell her family, and of how religion was deeply woven through good times and bad. Journalist Andrew Sullivan talks about reconciling his devout Catholicism with the Church’s condemnation of his identity as a gay man. TV newswoman Cokie Roberts recalls the nuns who taught her and “took girls seriously when nobody else did.” Comedian Bill Maher declares, “I hate religion. It’s the worst thing in the world”—and goes on to defend his bold assertion. Writer Anna Quindlen depicts a common parental challenge: passing along traditions and values to a younger generation sometimes deaf to spiritual messages.

Through these and many other voices that speak not only to Catholics but to all of us, Being Catholic Now redefines an ancient institution in the most contemporary of terms.

From Being Catholic Now

“When my mom asked if I wanted to be a nun, I said I’d rather be a priest. . . . The nuns were always wonderful, but the power was with the priest.” —Nancy Pelosi

“There are aspects of studying the saints, with the candles, incense, and Latin Masses and some of the pageantry of the Church that, as an American historian, make me feel part of a larger wave of history. That it’s not a newfangled religion, which some people get great solace from. I feel that I’m connected to places.”
—Douglas Brinkley

“Faith isn’t like picking courses off a menu. It’s a journey, and it’s a path. If your path and journey have been within one structure your entire life, then simply leaving isn’t an option.” —Andrew Sullivan

“Why stay Catholic? Because the hierarchy is not the Church. . . .We [the people of God] are the Church. They can’t take that away from us.” —Cokie Roberts

“I was told very early on by the nuns that I had an ‘overabundance of original sin.’ I was a quiet kid, but I was curious. I asked the wrong questions.” —Susan Sarandon

“I don’t believe you can be authentically Catholic without being committed to the social doctrine of the Church. When I was in grammar school, we had these little boxes to help the poor. That was good, but that is half of it. The other half is to find out why there are so many poor people and how we can do something to help them.” —Cardinal Theodore Edgar McCarrick

“I am reconciled to the oblivion that is coming. I see no proof of anything else, if it is a matter of faith. I admire people who have faith in God. It must be a great comfort to them, but I had to get out from under the fear and the guilt.” —Frank McCourt

“I went to church and the door was locked. I was knocking and ringing the bell. I waited and waited and nobody came. [The priest thought] there was an emergency, because of all the banging and ringing. He looked down at me and said, ‘What is it?’ I said, ‘I’m sorry to bother you, Father, but I’ve been away from the Church many, many years and I’d like to come back. I’d like to go to confession.’ He looked at me and something behind his eyes said, ‘You came to the right place.’ He knew that it was an important moment for me; he got it instantly.” —Martin Sheen

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Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

Sheer star power should draw a broad range of readers to this volume of 37 interviews, in which Catholics from diverse fields reflect on their church. Kennedy, daughter of the late Robert Kennedy, invited luminaries from politics, entertainment, media and the church itself to talk about their Catholic origins, current beliefs and what they would do if they could be pope for a year. Writer Anna Quindlen would ordain women and lift the ban on artificial birth control. Comedian Bill Maher, who confesses to hating religion, would end the church, while Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, former archbishop of Washington, D.C., would "resign right away and get a good guy in there." Other interviewees include Cokie Roberts, Susan Sarandon, Allouisa May Thames, Thomas Monaghan and Douglas Brinkley. In the preface, Kennedy adds her own views, explaining why she remains a Catholic despite differences with the church on issues like abortion and homosexuality. The collection makes for interesting reading, though at times the interviews, which consist wholly of the subjects' responses, seem disjointed and rambling without the context of questions. (Sept.)

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Library Journal

Human rights activist Kennedy (Speak Truth to Power), one of Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Skakel Kennedy's 11 children, here shares her own religious remembrances and motivations as well as those of 37 others, many of them writers (e.g., Doris Kearns Goodwin and James Carroll) or performers (e.g., Susan Sarandon and Martin Sheen). Not all are "Catholic Now," as the title suggests; some never deepened in their birth-faith. Together, their journeys-the loss, discovery, and recovery of their faith-attest to the power of parental or other influences and reflect a search for truth and justice. The eclectic selection manifests a wide range of attitudes, from orthodox devotion and practice, to selective acceptance of church teachings, to total rejection of religion. A photograph accompanies each individual's essay-interview. Among the recurring challenges cited are the priest pedophilia scandals, abortion, poverty, war, and labor issues. Most of the interviewees express hope in the future despite institutional failures of the past. An optional purchase for general collections or where there is an interest in contemporary religion.
—Anna M. Donnelly

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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780307346841
  • Publisher: Crown Publishing Group
  • Publication date: 9/9/2008
  • Pages: 288
  • Product dimensions: 9.52 (w) x 10.88 (h) x 0.97 (d)

Meet the Author

KERRY KENNEDY established the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights in l988 and, while leading more than forty human-rights delegations to more than thirty countries, has worked on diverse human-rights issues such as child labor, disappearances, ethnic violence, and environmental protection. Kennedy is the author of Speak Truth to Power: Human Rights Defenders Who Are Changing Our World, which birthed an internationally show­cased play, a stirring photographic exhibition, and a PBS documentary film. Kennedy is a graduate of Brown University and Boston College Law School. She is also the mother of three daughters: Cara, Mariah, and Michaela.
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Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction xiii

Preface Kerry Kennedy xix

Anna Quindlen 1

Andrew Sullivan 9

Bill O'Relly 19

Cokie Roberts 25

Bill Maher 33

E.J. Dionne JR. 39

Sister Joan Chittister, O.S.B. 45

Dories Kearns Goodwin 53

James Carroll 59

Donna Brazile 67

Nancy Pelosi 75

Frank McCourt 81

Frank Butler 87

Gabriel Byrne 93

Susan Sarandon 101

Grace Wright 109

R. Scott Appleby 113

Dan McNevin 121

Laurie Brink, O.P. 129

Ingrid Mattson 137

J. Bryan Hehir 143

Kiki Kennedy 149

Anne Burke 153

John Sweeney 163

Robert Drinan 169

Lucab Benitez 175

Allouisa May Thames 181

Dan Aykroyd 185

Cardinal Theodore Edgar McCarrick 195

Thomas S. Monoghan 201

Mary Jo Bane 207

Betsy Pawlicki 211

Douglas Brinkley 215

Gay Talese 223

Steven Otellini 229

Martin Sheen 233

Peggy Noonan 241

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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 3
( 15 )
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Sort by: Showing all of 15 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted February 27, 2009

    I Also Recommend:

    The Lamb's Supper: The Mass as Heaven on Earth
    Reasons to Believe: How to Understand, Explain, and Defend the Catholic Faith
    Rome Sweet Home: Our Journey to Catholicism

    Not a good catholic read

    She quotes too many people as Catholics who are not Catholics in good standing and should not in any way be representing themselves as Catholic.

    6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted December 30, 2008

    Ms. Kennedy's book is misleading

    This book makes me very sad for the one's interviewed that have no idea or knowledge of the rich teachings of the Catholic Church. They obviously would benefit in educating themselves on Catholic Church teaching. The Church holds a rich treasure that its members can enjoy through the graces received from the Sacraments she offers her children. The Catholic Church has been in existance for over 2000 years and has not changed its core beliefs and is consistant with truth. In closing, I think Ms. Kennedy's title,'Being Catholic Now' is misleading. The title should have been, 'Being an Uninformed Catholic Now'.

    4 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted December 19, 2009

    Poor scholarship

    This book is redundant with errors of the basic teachings of the Catholic Church and quotes poorly from people who are Catholic in name only but not in practice. Definately does not accuratly portray reality but is crafted to trumpet the author's flawed knowledge and opinion of the Catholic Church
    For an accurate assessment of what it is to be Catholic now read the book by Colleen Carrol, "The New Faithful, why young adults are embracing Christian Orthdoxy" which combines investigtive reporting with profound analysis in a professional and unbiased jounalistic approach which is lacking in Ms Kennedy's book

    3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted April 21, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    Very limited interview

    People interviewed provided limited information about their feeling and the reasons for those feelings

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted March 2, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    Have you really thought about why you are a Catholic?

    I purchased this book more for the thoughts of the author, rather than the context of the book. I was very pleasantly surprised by both. It was comforting to read that so many of the people my age; older and younger are asking some of the same questions and having the same experiences that I did. Many of the people interviewed had good feelings, and others did not. I have taken the liberty of forwarding a copy of the book to an older Jesuit priest friend; he will enjoy seeing the good effect(or not) his brother priests have had on men and women of the recent past.

    Ms. Kennedy, being as well known as she is (perhaps by last name only if you are not familiar with all of the nieces and nephews of JFK) speaks of a time when a large number of us were raised with the Catholic tradition that no one- our parents or grandparents before them ever questioned- and ours is the first generation to really have the nerve to question that authority - for good and or bad. Hers is a splendid book that I will be recommending to a large number of readers.

    1 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted February 9, 2009

    Interesting reflections for the Catholic crowd

    This is the kind of book that makes for interesting conversations, and possibly as a starter for friends of whatever tradition to talk about their own faith journeys together. It is a good 'gift' type of book for Catholics who would be surprised to know who are among the baptized.

    1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted September 21, 2008

    Faith in all its forms

    As a non-Catholic dating a fervent one, I have always found myself a tad reluctant to wade into any kind of debate about this rich faith and its teachings. I guess I harbored a sense that Catholics are terribly doctrinaire. `Being Catholic Now' taught me something new, that there are many ways to be a Catholic, and sometimes made me laugh along the way. What I found so engrossing about Ms. Kennedy's effort is that it really shows the broad interpretations that all co-exist under the same tent. Sure some of those interviewed have left the church, but it still stamps their identity. There is no one way to be a good practicing, Catholic. Just consider for a moment that when her uncle was running for president, the whispering campaign was that the Vatican would run America through a special pope-line to the White House. It did not turn out to be true, of course. Now, several generations later, Ms. Kennedy shows that if American Catholics want to fervently follow the Pope, that is fine. But they can still be strong Catholics and strong Christians while disagreeing with some of the directives from Rome. Both the light and darks sides of faith and the Catholic Church are discussed, so I find myself less reluctant to talk about the faith now. Also some anecdotes are priceless, worth the cost of the book alone! Like Susan Sarandan as a little girl thinking that she was about to have a vision because her rosary beads were illuminated under her blankets, not realizing that her aunt bought her a glow-in-the dark set!

    1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted February 23, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    Good enough

    I found the book to be fairly good at looking at much of the spectrum of Catholicism (as it is felt and practiced) in the U.S. While I agree with many of the progressive ideas that people are hopeful about seeing put into practice, I found the book lacking in an overall perspective of the totality of Catholic thinking, to some extent in the U.S. but especially through-out the world.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted February 9, 2009

    How I Viewed "Being Catholic Now"

    When I purchased this book, I thought it would be Ms. Kennedy's thoughts on how she viewed the Church of today. However, after reading the prologue, I was even more fascinated. The idea of putting in book form all the differing ideas and thoughts of the people who shared them with her was tantalizing and enlightening. I found it so thought provoking and inciteful, that I recommended it to my Priest and the Deacon who is conducting the Catholics Returning Home series for lapsed Catholics. I'm sure this book will make a lot of lapsed Catholics realize they are not alone.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted December 16, 2008

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted April 16, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted March 7, 2009

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted January 27, 2013

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted December 16, 2008

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted December 16, 2008

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