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“Frank Butler has chosen a moment when the Catholic Church is confronting scandal, anger, and division to offer a memoir that lifts our spirits but also highlights the urgency of change and reform. Belonging is a loving story of living and working as a lay person in the power centers of the church. It is a timely reminder that Catholicism is at its best when it embraces its central mission of being a voice for mercy, justice, and love.”—E.J. Dionne, professor, Georgetown University and senior fellow, the Brookings Institution
“Frank Butler’s approach holds wisdom for people who are hoping to see a more welcoming accountable church in this current day of restoring trust in its leadership and institutional life.”—From the Foreword by James Martin, SJ
Frank Butler has been an eyewitness to ecclesiastical power struggles over church reform, and later, a trusted advisor to some of the largest Catholic foundations in the world. The author’s deep faith, reformist instincts, and unique leadership experience provide an honest, critical, and still hope-filled look at the church today. Belonging will leave readers hopeful that connection to a faith community, despite the disillusioning failures of its leadership, can lead to a deepened sense of responsibility and purposeful action.
Frank J. Butler served for over thirty years as president of FADICA, an association of Catholic grantmakers, and held responsibilities for one of the largest grassroots consultations on Catholicism ever undertaken by US church leaders: the NCCB Call to Action Program. A founding board member of Support Our Aging Religious (SOAR!), he currently serves on the board of the National Catholic Reporter. He lives with his wife in Washington, DC.
