Archbishop Cormac and the 21st Century Church Book

Archbishop Cormac and the 21st Century Church is a book in three parts. There is a brief summary of the life and career of Cormac Murphy-O'Connor before he became Archbishop of Westminster; then the bulk of the book is devoted to a serious analysis of some of the major issues facing the Roman Catholic Church in Britain at the start of the 21st century; finally the author, well-known Catholic journalist Nick Baty, also gives himself space to issue something of a personal plea for unity to his fellow British Catholics. The section on the archbishop is, of necessity, the least satisfactory. Because the book was rushed out very quickly, there was little time for research and analysis, so we get a potted biography supplemented by glowing tributes to the new archbishop from his friends and acquaintances. Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor no doubt fully deserves all this praise, but it's not the most enlightening of narratives. The consideration of the issues the Church faces is much more reflective. All the usual suspects are covered--married priests, female ordination, homosexuality et al--and Baty takes a journalistic approach (naturally) which involves a great deal of listening to individuals telling their stories rather than highbrow abstract argument and analysis. He writes from what a sympathetic reader might call a "liberal but loyal" perspective and his thoughts on these big issues will still be worth reading when this book's brief notes on the Cardinal's career have long been superseded by a full-scale biography or two. --David PickeringRead More