The quandary in which the Catholic church finds itself right now is what Brother Louis De Thomasis calls a 'crisis of confidence'. In this insightful, provocative and hopeful new book, he points to a way of unravelling the quandary by returning to the church’s historic belief in tradition -- 'the lived experience of the faithful' -- as a source of ongoing revelation and renewal.
This is not an attack by someone intent on bringing down the church but rather a wake-up call for the church itself to recognise and embrace globalisation, diversity and democratisation, and begin to rebuild what DeThomasis calls koinonia or communion. He uses the issue of the ordination of women as a case study of how the institutional church has fallen out of step with its own members but could work its way back to relevance and effectiveness by listening to them. In this book he urges the institutional church to change quickly and fundamentally if it is to recover its credibility and authority. He encourages anyone who has dedicated their life to the church to speak up, even if it means risking being dismissed or even attacked by the hierarchy. 'I am a 70-year-old De LaSalle Brother, entering my eighth decade of life with anticipation, appropriate energy and some well-developed understandings about the church that I feel I have not only a right but a duty to present to whomever might want to listen'.
Louis DeThomasis FSC is a brother of the De LaSalle community of brothers. He was president and professor of interdisciplinary studies at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota from 1984 to 2005, and is co-founder and former president of the Christian Brothers Investment Services. He is currently president of CBIS-GLOBAL Europe based in Rome where he now resident. He is the author of books and articles on Christian education and has received much recognition for his lifetime of service to the church.
