An extraordinary accomplishment: controversial, but crucial for discussions in today’s Catholic Church.
Highly critical assessment of the modern papacy.
Journalist Shenon provides a detailed, well-researched, and quite frankly epic examination of the Roman Catholic popes of living memory. Beginning with a brief treatment of Pius XII, who led the church through World War II and the early Cold War, Shenon recounts each succeeding pope up to today’s Francis. His assessments are honest and, at times, brutal. Aside from John XXIII, who called together the Second Vatican Council, the author finds many reasons for fault among these spiritual leaders. Even Pope Francis, with whom the author seems to agree on most topics, is portrayed as highly lacking in the courage, will, and ability to reform the church. Speaking of Francis, he notes: “His greatest failure, like that of John Paul II and Benedict XVI, was his refusal to grapple with the clerical sexual abuse crisis.” Indeed, the sexual abuse scandal acts as a prime focus of criticism through much of Shenon’s work, as these modern popes display utter incompetence in handling the issue, decade after decade. However, many other aspects of the post–World War II papacy also give the reader reason to pause. The unending political maneuvering of the Vatican, its secrecy, and its bureaucratic gamesmanship color nearly every page of this study. The reader finds the Vatican led by popes who display misogyny, hypocrisy, and downright pettiness toward rivals. Shenon especially spotlights these issues by following critical voices for reform, such as theologian Hans Küng, as they struggled with the church through time. Apologists for the church will doubtlessly find plenty of reason to argue with Shenon, but he also gives them a great deal of material to defend.
An extraordinary accomplishment: controversial, but crucial for discussions in today’s Catholic Church.Pub Date: Feb. 11, 2025
ISBN: 9781101946411
Page Count: 608
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
Some of Avant’s mantras are overstated, but her book is magnanimous, inspiring, and relentlessly optimistic.
Memories and life lessons inspired by the author’s mother, who was murdered in 2021.
“Neither my mother nor I knew that her last text to me would be the words ‘Think you’ll be happy,’ ” Avant writes, "but it is fitting that she left me with a mantra for resiliency.” The author, a filmmaker and former U.S. Ambassador to the Bahamas, begins her first book on the night she learned her mother, Jacqueline Avant, had been fatally shot during a home invasion. “One of my first thoughts,” she writes, “was, ‘Oh God, please don’t let me hate this man. Give me the strength not to hate him.’ ” Daughter of Clarence Avant, known as the “Black Godfather” due to his work as a pioneering music executive, the author describes growing up “in a house that had a revolving door of famous people,” from Ella Fitzgerald to Muhammad Ali. “I don’t take for granted anything I have achieved in my life as a Black American woman,” writes Avant. “And I recognize my unique upbringing…..I was taught to honor our past and pay forward our fruits.” The book, which is occasionally repetitive, includes tributes to her mother from figures like Oprah Winfrey and Bill Clinton, but the narrative core is the author’s direct, faith-based, unwaveringly positive messages to readers—e.g., “I don’t want to carry the sadness and anger I have toward the man who did this to my mother…so I’m worshiping God amid the worst storm imaginable”; "Success and feeling good are contagious. I’m all about positive contagious vibrations!” Avant frequently quotes Bible verses, and the bulk of the text reflects the spirit of her daily prayer “that everything is in divine order.” Imploring readers to practice proactive behavior, she writes, “We have to always find the blessing, to be the blessing.”
Some of Avant’s mantras are overstated, but her book is magnanimous, inspiring, and relentlessly optimistic.Pub Date: Oct. 17, 2023
ISBN: 9780063304413
Page Count: 288
Publisher: HarperOne
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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