Daniel Schwindt - Radically Catholic In the Age of Francis

In this fine collection of short essays, Catholic Workers, homeschoolers, environmental activists, scholars, gardeners, bloggers, prolifers, artists, and business owners offer their reflections on how to live as authentically, radically Catholic as they can. This diverse group of writers resist traditional divisions between the Catholic left and the Catholic right. Taking their cue from Pope Francis and the Catholic tradition wholistically conceived, they stand before their readers as pilgrims on a journey and invite others to join them. A great resource for discussion groups, adult education classes, and personal reflection.

Julie Hanlon Rubio
Professor of Christian Ethics, St. Louis University; author, Family Ethics: Practices for Christians

How ought Catholics in America think about their relationship to their nation, to liberal democracy, to modernity? The standard answers to that question forged during the JFK/Vatican II years no longer seem adequate. To anyone paying the slightest bit of attention, America, liberalism, and (late) modernity all look and feel different now than they did then. The Catholic writers gathered here realize that. Their suggestions about how Catholics might best orient themselves amidst the disorienting landscape of twenty-first-century America ought to form the basis of a new, more fruitful, and more faithful self-understanding.

Jeremy Beer, Ph.D.
Partner, American Philanthropic, LLC

Written by Catholic scholars and workers from a striking variety of ages, backgrounds, and perspectives, these essays nevertheless converge to warn us that something is radically wrong with the shape of modern life, and to announce that the way forward is available to the extent that are ready to undertake the radical step of being led by Christ. Imbued with the refreshing spirit of Pope Francis, this book is a testimony that the Catholic Church, in each and every age, has the capacity to return to the wellsprings of the Gospel. A testament of hope for our times.

Michael Baxter
Visiting Associate Professor, Dept. of Catholic Studies, DePaul University

Somehow radical has come to mean the exact opposite of what it actually means. To be radical is to be rooted, not to be hiving off into deep space in pursuit of some crazy dream unconnected to all that has gone before. To be radically Catholic in the Age of Francis is, therefore, to be rooted in the whole of the Catholic tradition. That is emphatically what Francis is and, O glory hallelujah, it is what this collection of hope-inspiring essays from a group of deeply committed Catholics is as well. It is so heartening to see Catholics who put the Tradition first and refuse to cannibalize it in the service of any of our insane ideologies. May their tribe increase!

Mark P. Shea
author, By What Authority: An Evangelical Discovers Catholic Tradition

Radically Catholic in the Age of Francis presents a diverse range of voices engaging with the central theological and social issues of our era. This is an accessible text that links radical Catholic perspectives to everyday life, revealing the profound link between orthodoxy and orthopraxy advocated by Pope Francis and reflected broadly among the Catholic laity. The volumes four crucial themes Conscience, Community, City, and Church cover a range of topics in a manner that is accessible to the non-specialist reader while still valuable for readers with more theological training. This is an important text for anyone seeking to understand the theological and practical nuances of radical Catholic commitments.

Nichole M. Flores, M.Div., Ph.D. Candidate
Instructor, Department of Theology, Saint Anselm College

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