Absolute Truth - Hardcover

Stourton, Edward

3.33

9 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1575001489 ISBN 13: 9781575001487

Publisher: TV Books, 2000

View all copies of this ISBN edition:

Edward Stourton’s ABSOLUTE TRUTH: THE STRUGGLE FOR MEANING IN TODAY’S CATHOLIC CHURCH (TV Books; January 2001) tells the story of a revolution in the world’s oldest and largest institutions. Stourton's examination covers the most hotly contested issues surrounding the Catholic Church today, as it is under fire by political and religious leaders for its age-old conservative views—birth control and abortion, liberation theology and communism, the male priesthood and celibacy, divorce and homosexuality, and even the very concept of Truth and belief in one God.

In this wonderfully compelling and definitive book, Stourton argues that the Second Vatican Council, almost 40 years ago, not only gave Catholicism the motivation and energy to meet the challenges of the modern world, but also unleashed dangerous forces that threaten the security of the Catholic Church in its third millennium.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author:

Edward Stourton presents the Today program on BBC Radio 4, and Correspondent, the BBC’s main foreign affairs television program, on BBC2. In 1997 he won the Sony Award for Best Radio News and Current Affairs program for the series Asia Gold. He produces current affairs documentaries for BBC television and radio, and contributes written journalism to national newspapers and magazines. Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Mr. Stourton has worked as a foreign correspondent based in Washington and Paris, and was Diplomatic Editor of Independent Television News. He lives in Wiltshire, England with his wife and three children.

From Publishers Weekly:

Much has happened in the Roman Catholic Church over the relatively short 35 years since the closing of the landmark Second Vatican Council, and British journalist Stourton has managed to condense it all into a succinct, engaging history that uses truth as its theme. Stourton, a television anchor with the BBC, is a Catholic who was educated by the Benedictines. As he analyzes the developments in the worldwide church since Vatican IIAwhich effected a host of liturgical and other changes that Stourton likens to an earthquakeAhe combines his knowledge of church teaching with the objective eye of a journalist, occasionally adding his own commentary. Stourton deals in particular with the various disagreements over church teaching that have shaken the foundations of Catholicism in recent years. At times he is critical of his church, identifying areas where he thinks it has been heavy-handed in defending the truth. He cites, for example, the 1997 excommunication of Father Tissa Balasuriya of Sri Lanka, who challenged both the church's ideas about Mary, the mother of Christ, and its continued opposition to artificial contraception (a ban that Stourton says has been widely ignored). Although Stourton considers the church to have been "badly battered" by the events of the last three decades, he ends on a hopeful note, suggesting that the church's universality remains a strength amid the strain of disagreement. Although Catholic insiders will find Stourton's work of particular interest, his storytelling skills make this a fascinating read for so-called outsiders as well. (Nov.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.