[marshmallow]

Ping!

[surroundedbyblue]

Hmmm. I think the Church is on it’s way back up again in the U.S. I am in my early 30’s, was poorly catechized in the 80’s, and despite that, am now on fire for my faith. So are alot of others I know.

[Argus]

I remember reading this with great interest when I was a teenager. I was also a fan of the other Catholic novelists, Morris L. West (The Devil’s Advocate, The Shoes of the Fisherman) and, as an adult, the more literary J.F. Powers (Morte D’Urban, Wheat That Springeth Green). There are lots of others, if you broaden the category to orthodox Christians like Chesterton, Lewis, Eliot and so on. Even if you limit it to writers who specifically take the Catholic church as their subject the list is long.

[Ozone34]

It’s as if Cardinal Fermoyle’s ocean liner had hit an iceberg and sunk. As the Church in America ponders its options, the first big question, demanding an honest answer, is: how did the disaster happen?

I recommend Fr. Anthony Cekada's recent book:

Work of Human Hands: A Theological Critique of the Mass of Paul VI

It's a detailed survey of the spread of modernist influence throughout the church in the 20th century following the papacy of Pope St. Pius X. Although most people date the implosion of the church from the '60's and Vatican Council II, by the fifties, things were already coming unglued. Several chapters are available for reading online.

[marron]

Don’t wait for the faithful to have kids. Evangelize. Evangelize. Evangelize.

[Dumb_Ox]

"how did the disaster happen?"

Look at what Paul Blanshard's friends did. For instance, his son was on an urban renewal board in Philadelphia that destroyed Catholic neighborhoods in the name of "progress."

The revival of the Catholic neighborhood is an important part of Catholic renewal. Get even poorly-practicing Catholics to move close to a church where they can be encouraged in their faith more easily.

[JoeFromSidney]

I remember reading THE CARDINAL when it first came out, and re-reading it again years later. Seen through the eyes of one who had lived through the 1960s, it was apparent that the rot was already setting in at the high water mark of the Church. The signs were there, right in THE CARDINAL. They just weren't obvious at the time the book was written.