The Good Enough Catholic: A Guide for the Perplexed - Softcover

Wilkes, Paul

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0345409620 ISBN 13: 9780345409621

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group, 1997

Synopsis

Many Catholics face a dilemma: how can one be faithful to traditions, yet remain open to new discoveries, both about yourself and Catholicism?

In The Good Enough Catholic, Paul Wilkes plumbs the hunger in Catholic souls for a relationship with God and a spiritual life, and boldly confronts the controversial issue of Church authority. After each chapter, there is an invitation to put into practice what has been explored through a rich mixture of doctrine, history, current thinking, and the personal experiences of "good enough" Catholics across America.

With this book, Wilkes beckons us to look to the essence of our religion for the guidance and strength to live lives filled with spiritual transcendence.

About this title

Review:

Ever since Vatican II in 1963 revolutionized the liturgical practices of the Roman Catholic Church, attracting the scrutiny of its laymembers, the church has suffered from a crisis of authority, particularly in the United States. American Catholics remain extremely loyal to their church, and yet the majority of the laity still feel free to disagree with its teachings on such defining issues as contraception, abortion, the role of women, and celibacy of priests. This tension between respect and disobedience causes a degree of guilt-ridden angst. In The Good Enough Catholic Paul Wilkes, a noted writer on religion, addresses troubled Catholics who are, he says, "spiritually hungry" and "morally unsure," suggesting that the tension is resolvable with good faith and a thoughtful, practical approach to Catholic dogma.

From the Back Cover:

"A guide for a Catholic approach to church practice, life, work and community . . . Informed by modern psychology and religious rationalism, Mr. Wilkes seeks a faith that is both 'transcendently compelling and eminently practical.' "
--The New York Times Book Review

"An informed, constructive, lucid, balanced, challenging and at times profound reflection . . . For those seeking a refreshing, provocative, inspirational and heartening vision of what Roman Catholicism can mean today, this book is good enough and more."
--The National Catholic Reporter

"A path to pursuing a life of faith one step at a time . . . In this delightfully nonparochial volume of Christian common sense, Paul Wilkes argues that what the nation needs now is a good enough dose of authentic Christianity."
--Milwaukee Journal

About this edition

• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0345409620
• ISBN 13: 9780345409621
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 384