John J. Dietzen

I'm not a practicing Catholic and I'm not really interested in following the faith. This is a book that would have been deeply inspirational if I had read it as a still-faithful child (for mostly good and a little bit of bad)

Assuming this book is an accurate portrayal of the Roman Catholic Church, then this book shows how nuanced Catholic understanding can be. The questions and confusions and accusations the author addresses are answered incredibly informatively, and even as a non-devout person I deeply appreciate the insight this book gives me into Church history and church doctrine.

Questions of daily Catholic life are less interesting to me than scriptural interpretation and theology, but it's interesting to know the thought processes and interpretations behind daily and lifelong acts Catholic devotion.

I enjoy how this book takes the reader to task to intellectually understand their Catholicism, and that it isn't their job to compare their conduct against others but to act according to their Catholic premise. I am relieved to see this book have a nuanced view of acts and beliefs not endorsed by Catholicism, even if the author cannot obviously encourage them.

The author is charged by the Catholic establishment to explain and encourage the Church's current understanding, and it shows in how the organization and its interpretations are always defended. A significant amount of the book defends the results of Vatican II, and conversations of the understanding of theological evolution is always painted in terms of current orthodoxies and heterodoxies. This reinforces obedience, which is in my opinion a too-embraced theme of Catholic understanding, but is consistent and understandable from the author and his purpose.

Assuming its understanding hasn't changed significantly in the last twenty years, then this book is a really great way to understand both Roman Catholicism as a teaching and as devotional lifestyle.… (altro)