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Author interview: Fr. Richard McBrien
David Gentry-Akin, associate professor of theology at St. Mary’s College of California, writing in the Oct. 3 issue of NCR, called Fr. Richard McBrien’s new book, The Church: The Evolution of Catholicism, “breathtaking in its scope and yet manageable in its presentation.”
“The book,” published by HarperOne, the religious books division of HarperCollins, he said, “is not strictly a history of the church, though of course a great deal of history is to be found between its covers. Rather, it’s a focused study of ecclesiology, literally, the study of the church.”
McBrien is a priest of the archdiocese of Hartford, Conn. He is the author of a number of other books, including his best-selling Catholicism, Lives of the Popes, and Lives of the Saints. He is general editor of the one-volume HarperCollins Encyclopedia of Catholicism.
McBrien is past president of the Catholic Theological Society of America and winner of its annual John Courtney Murray Award for "distinguished achievement in Theology."
I spoke with him recently about his book. The interview is divided into four parts.
| Right click to download to your computer: Episode 1 | Episode 2 | Episode 3 | Episode 4 | |
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| Drag all the episodes into your iTunes library |
Episode One
The first part deals with his reasons for writing the book and what he hopes the book will accomplish. He explains why he dedicated the book to the late Cardinal Yves Congar, a French Dominican theologian. He speaks about “the watershed” pontificate of Gregory VII at the beginning of the Second Christian millennium and how the Catholic church became a “more papal” church during that pontificate. Read a transcript of Part One.
Episode Two
The second part deals with another watershed moment in church history, the Second Vatican Council. McBrien explains why the council plays a key role in his book. He talks about those trying to downgrade the council's significance and the pastoral challenges being presented to the church today. Read a transcript of Part Two.
Episode Three
The third part deals with women doing theology in the church today. He calls this “the most significant development in Catholicism” in the past three decades. He talks about the development of Latino and Latina theologies and the emergence of lay groups, left and right, in the life of the modern church. Read a transcript of Part Three.
Episode Four
The fourth part deals with the current pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI and McBrien's assessment of the current pontificate. He also talks about where he finds hope in the church today. Read a transcript of Part Four.
(Tom Fox is NCR editor.)
Section:
I. Book Reviews
Fr. McBrien's interview with
Fr. McBrien's interview with Tom Fox is worth listening to - especially the last segment where he identified the lack of leadership in our present hierarchy throughout the world. It is a strong argument calling for the involvement of the laity in their own diocese, to have a say in who should be elected to that post, that existed before Gregory VII's papal
hammer. Thank God we have the voice of McBrien, however soft and modest!
He's devoid of any kind of
He's devoid of any kind of exposure to other areas of our social setup. He proves we really are a product of our time (era). The University, football crowd. A stand-offish approach, telling the CNN story. The visionaries are not found in the Universities. He's the Peacemaker, wanting everything to be just fine. In describing the ways of the traditionalists, he is unable to tell us what is the latest thing they'll latch onto as a control mechanism. Conservatism is alive and well in its oppresion.
In regards to women feminist theologians - A lot go round the country speaking and giving workshops, talks, that are un-named.
Your asseveration is
Your asseveration is actually correct. The women's argument is still downplayed for all the psychological reasons that have been in place in the culture from the beginning of this Catholic history. And by repeating the patriarchal mantra, we only go on enforcing the same rule of power that got us into the current mess already. I wonder how much acknowledgment is given to women theologians in the current state of affairs. Except for the few popular nuns and Catholic sisters who are already known and considered our celebrity tokens, there is not much said from women about the Catholic construction of theological argument. The problem does not only come from structural or systemic reasons. It is true that historically and structurally the Catholic Church has not allowed many women to reconstruct the dogma and opinion. But also, we live in the post-patriarchal situation where because there have not been too many intelligent women articulating their Catholicity, there is not much to draw from anyway.
The situation is very alarming. Only in Catholic culture the voices of women have been silenced as extremely.
Fr. McBrien, interviewed by
Fr. McBrien, interviewed by Tom Fox, editor of National Catholic Reporter, gives us the most "hopeful," comprehensive view of the evolution of our church that I have ever listened to. While he states that he is not altogether "optimistic" about the immediate future of our church, he, like his colleague and friend, Fr. "Ted" Hesberg, has "hope" for the church, relying on the ultimate intercession of the Holy Spirit. His bold challenge of the quality of currect church hierarchy is ably illustrated by and based on their shoddy handling of the recent abuse scandal. He pays tribute to the recent efforts of women- and Latino/Latina-theologians, in bringing their unique perspective to current theology. And finally, he teaches us that the church was not always the way it is today. National Catholic Reporter's interview with Fr. McBrien has persuaded me to visit my local bookstore and buy his book.
I would like to buy Lives of
I would like to buy Lives of the Saints by Fr.McBrien. Would you please direct me. I cannot find it here in Nashville, TN.
Thank you,
Marina A DiGiorgio
TDigior104@aol.com
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