George Weigel - Evangelical Catholicism: Deep Reform in the 21st-Century Church

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Evangelical Catholicism:

This remarkable book offers nothing less than a map and compass for men and women determined to take up the challenge of living the Catholic faith in its fullness under 21st-century conditions. With its bold call for deep reform in every single corner of the Church, Evangelical Catholicism is sure to provoke lively discussion. The books proposals for true renewal are presented with the clarity and verve that have made George Weigel a peerless advocate of the courage to be Catholic.

Mary Ann Glendon, author of The Forum and the Tower: How Scholars and Politicians have Imagined the World, from Plato to Eleanor Roosevelt

George Weigel has been the leading diarist of authentic Catholic renewalits progress, detours, personalities, and hopesfor 30 years. In Evangelical Catholicism he turns his extraordinary skills to the needs of the Church in the coming decades, calling us back to the missionary vocation we received at baptism and offering us a road map to faithful, vigorous Church reform. Rich in its vision, engaging in style, on target in its counsel, and invaluable for anyone trying to understand the Church and her challenges in the 21st century, this book should not be missed.

Most. Rev. Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., Archbishop of Philadelphia

A challenging, no-nonsense book that summons the Catholic Church to propose the Gospel without compromise in an ardent, joyful embrace of the new springtime of faith preached by Blessed John Paul II and Benedict XVI.

Mario Paredes, Presidential Liaison for Roman Catholic Ministries, American Bible Society

Catholics, especially bishops and priests, who are looking for an insightful and dynamic profile of the Church of the New Evangelization need to read this book soon.

Most Rev. Philip Tartaglia, Archbishop of Glasgow, Scotland

A timely, accessible and unusually insightful work.

Don J. Briel, Koch Chair in Catholic Studies, University of Saint Thomas

EVANGELICAL
CAHOLICISM

EVANGELICAL
CAHOLICISM

GEORGE WEIGEL

BASIC BOOKS

New York

Copyright 2013 by George Weigel

Published by Basic Books,

A Member of the Perseus Books Group

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information, address Basic Books, 250 West 57th Street, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10107.

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All Scriptural citations are taken from the
Revised Standard Version of the Holy Bible.

Designed by Pauline Brown

Typeset in 11.5 point Minion Pro by the Perseus Books Group

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Weigel, George, 1951

Evangelical Catholicism : deep reform in the 21st-century church / George Weigel.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-465-03787-2 (e-book)

1. Church renewalCatholic Church. 2. Catholic ChurchHistory21st century. 3. Evangelicalism. 4. Catholic ChurchRelationsEvangelicalism. 5. EvangelicalismRelationsCatholic Church. I. Title.

BX1746.W425 2013

282.09'051dc23

2012037230

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

For Scott Newman
and Russell Hittinger

Where are the tongues of fire talking of God and his love? When do men speak of the commandments of God, not as a duty to be painfully observed, but as the glorious liberation of man from the enslavement of mortal fear and frustrating egoism? Where in the Church do men not only pray but also experience prayer as the Pentecostal gift of the Spirit, as glorious grace?... We talk too little of God in the Church or we talk about him in a dry, pedantic fashion, without any real vitality.... Only when the message of the living God is preached in the churches with all the power of the Spirit, will the impression disappear that the Church is merely an odd relic from the age of a society doomed to die.... And in turn profession of faith in Jesus as Christ and Lord, the decisive and final word of God in history, might become more alive, more joyous and spontaneous.

KARL RAHNER, S.J.
1974

... Today we seem to be witnessing the birth of a new Catholicism that, without loss of its institutional, sacramental, and social dimensions, is authentically evangelical... [Catholicism] at its best has always promoted a deep personal relationship with Christ. In evangelizing we are required to lift our eyes to him and transcend all ecclesiocentrism. The Church is of importance but is not self-enclosed. It is a means of drawing the whole world into union with God through Jesus Christ.... The first and highest priority for the Church is to proclaim the good news concerning Jesus Christ as a joyful message to all the world. Only if the Church is faithful to its evangelical mission can it hope to make its distinctive contribution in the social, political, and cultural spheres.

AVERY CARDINAL DULLES, S.J.
1991

The Church is called to a deep and profound rethinking of its mission.... It cannot retreat in response to those who see only confusion, dangers, and threats.... What is required is confirming, renewing, and revitalizing the newness of the Gospel... out of a personal and community encounter with Jesus Christ that raises up disciples and missionaries....

A Catholic faith reduced to mere baggage, to a collection of rules and prohibitions, to fragmented devotional practices, to selective and partial adherence to the truths of faith, to occasional participation in some sacraments, to the repetition of doctrinal principles, to bland or nervous moralizing, that does not convert the life of the baptized would not withstand the trials of time.... We must all start again from Christ, recognizing [with Pope Benedict XVI] that being Christian is... the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.

FIFTH GENERAL CONFERENCE OF THE BISHOPS
OF LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
2007

A S THE CATHOLIC CHURCH MARKED THE FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE opening of the Second Vatican Council, demands for the reform of the Church were insistent, widespread, and often cacophonous. But the call for reform was usually the end of any agreement among the petitioners.