Rating: 
Summary: Innacurate to the point of being libelous
Review: Conservative, orthodox Catholics should be cautious about championing this book - it was sloppily researched, sources were not checked, psychologically unstable men were taken at their word. The author doesn't seem to distinguish between what may have happened decades ago and what allegedly happened more recently. Even if some of his damning reports from the past are true, it is hardly fair to print them without noting that the situation has changed or that the faculty member being criticized has long since left a given seminary. For good reason, this book has received negative reviews in "Our Sunday Visitor" and the "National Catholic Register" -- especially because of its inaccuracies. See the sharply critical review in the most recent issue of Crisis. It is demonstrated there that a whole section of Rose's book on the seminary in Louvain was simply invented out of whole cloth by a troubled ex-seminarian. I would think Rose would be concerned about the sins of libel and slander. He has much apologizing to do.
Rating: 
Summary: Proof of liberalism inside seminaries
Review: Michael Rose has done a fantastic job with an extensive amount of research to uncover the problem that the Catholic Church has faced over the last 35 years. Why have so many young men been scared of becomming a priest? The author shoes how these orthodox young men have been intimidated into abandoning their vocations. The book begins by showing the drastic decline in priests ever since Vatican II and then it goes into why this decline has allowed to happen. From homosexuals who have infiltrated the seminaries and turned them into Roman bathhouses to liberals and modernist rectors and nuns who have brainwashed the young men into their anti-Catholic ideals. The author spares no details and there are parts of the book which are not suitable for those easily scandalized, but the truth must be told, no matter how horrendous it is. Mr. Rose has kept many of the names and places private for the safety of those individuals, but there is no doubt that the horrors described by these individuals is the truth. The author concludes by showing that the only way to win back the seminaries is to get rid of the liberal spirit and bring back orthodoxy and the pious devotions that encompass the life of a seminarian. If this book does not cause some heads to roll in many of the liberal seminaries and improvements to be made, then I don't know what will. It is time that we have some house-cleaning and bring back the priesthood to the way it was before all the liberal reforms. Any parent who has a son thinking of the priesthood, make sure he reads this book first so he can discern if the seminary he is interested in attending can be trusted to teach Catholic morality and Catholic Truth.
Rating: 
Summary: Why the problem with priests and sex?
Review: 40, 50, 60% of seminarians in some catholic seminaries are homosexuals according to the authors research! Unbelieveable. The subculture is described in detail. When, how and why is the bulk of the book and it's effect on the Church today. The cure is in the last chapter; the most encourageing story of the highly succesful seminaries filled to capacity and growing. It's the story of loosers and winners. (It wouldn't hurt the Bishops to listen to the Catholic Medical Association as suggested by the author.) If you are interested in the the current problem of sex and the Catholic Church re priests, read it.
Rating:
Summary: The book is worthy as a supermarket tabloid...
Review: It is really interesting to note that the book came from a publisher of a series of sensationalistic supermarket-tabloid- style books about Bill Clinton. Sure, the book sells to pique a reader's interest-as would a supermarket tabloid-but without any solid facts/references to back it up. I find that the book had no proof to back up what it claims to reveal. The fact is that the Catholic Church was so desperate to fill as many priests as it could to stem the shortage of priests. Plus, archbishops and bishops would move a priest to another parish-if complaints about him arise in his original parish -whether sex-related or not. (...) Most hetrosexual men would not want to become a priest if the Catholic Church demands only celibacy, which started back to 12th century. I really don't know why the Church would stick with celibacy. The best way is to allow married men to become priests, which would probably end the shortage. The majority of the priests are not gay. (...) I wish the book would address all the problems the Church is facing-but it didn't do offer real sensible solutions-like reforming the Catholic Church to make it more adaptable to the needs of today's world.
Rating:
Summary: Sadly Accurate.
Review: Michael Rose recounts the unfortunate history of the collapse of the splendid Catholic Seminary system in copious detail and fair-minded analysis. An important observation in this book, that is lost on individuals who review this book negatively, is that there would not be a crisis if the consistent moral teaching of the Church on sexuality had been followed and applied in houses of formation by American Bishops. I have observed that the most vehement critics are mostly indignant Catholic homosexual activists and dissident advocates of sexual license. These activists understand the true implications of this sad tale for homosexual rights. Their understanding of sexuality is wrong and the Catholic Church is right. If one of the oldest, most altruistic and revered institutions of Western Civilization is unable to direct homoeroticism to a laudable and salutary life then how can the much weaker stricture of contemporary Western societal ethics hope to put homosexuality in a normative social context? Sorry but it can't because homosexuality is based on an obsessive narcissism rather than a sacrificial identification with the other. PS.. It should be noted that in spite of the title of Br. John Bowdle, OC, Mr. Bowdle is the member of a non-Catholic cult i.e. the ecumenical Order of Charity that is not related to the Roman Catholic Faith or recognized by the faith in any way. I believe the use of the title was an intentional misrepresentation of himself as a legitimate Roman Catholic religious rather than a silly counterfeit founded by a Unitarian.
Rating:
Summary: Very, very dishonest book
Review: I almost gave this book 2 stars because it reads quickly and, to his credit, Mr. Rose is a good writer. But the book, sadly, is a very, very dishonest book. I was in two Roman Catholic Seminaries from 1973 - 1980, doing my college and graduate studies in seminaries in different locales. Mr. Roses makes the argument that the seminaries were havens for gay men. There is some validity to his claim as, indeed, many of the students were gay. However, in 7 years I knew of no one who ever 'came out,' or was there ever a biased, in any way shape or form towards or away from the gay students. Rose quotes frequently from Donald Cozzens who wrote "The Changing Face of the Roman Catholic Priesthood." Cozzens address the issue of homosexuality in seminaries---but he is seeking to find ways to minister more effectively, in training, to the gay students. The reality of the Roman Catholic Seminary structure then, I do not know what it is now, but then it was definitely, "Don't ask, don't tell." Roses gets his material from interviews from very conservative, or using his word 'orthodox' former seminarians, unaccepted students, and some priests. All are very conservative, and all feel that, in some way, there was a bias against them for their orthodoxy. It is interesting to note that many of the people he interviewed, who were not accepted into seminaries because of their psychological evaluations are claiming other reasons. Of course, they would!!! As for a bias against conservative students....hmm. My most conservative classmates are the ones who became leaders in the Roman Catholic Church and have been rewarded quite well for their orthodoxy. My liberal colleagues, those few who have stayed in, would say otherwise. I myself felt like the direction of the Roman Catholic Church was such that I would be more comfortable, and more able to express and live my Christian faith as a Protestant Minister---something I have done for almost 20 years. As I look back on my seminary days, there was tension. The Roman Catholic Church was going through a difficult time---and still is. There were many, many fine people in the seminary who were taught by fine priests. Problems? Yes, very many. But people all struggled together and, somehow, grew. These were and are, good admirable men, who Rose, in my mind, attempts to discredit by using anecdotal information from some unhappy folks. All, in all, a sad book that could have been a great book, but it is ultimately done in by dishonest research, which ultimately leads to dishonest judgments.
Rating:
Summary: Hope for the Catholic Church, Not Here
Review: With the recent scandal in the Catholic Church, Goodbye Good Men is quite visibly positioned in bookstores around the country. Sadly, it is not written for the contemporaryCatholic. Nor does it realistically address what the Church must do to rectify the priest shortage it faces today. In a hastily written introduction thrown in near printing, sloppily followed by the original introduction intended to open this book had the pedophilia challenge not received national attention in recent months, Rose explains his thesis that the Catholic Church finds itself in the position it is today as a result of a divisive liberal (gay/feminist) agenda that has infiltrated the church and destroyed all that was good and right about it. As a result of this "liberal" element - good young orthodox men are no longer entering the priesthood. And, Rose goes so far as to essentially conclude his opening with the notion that if so many 'fine young men' hadn't been systematically rooted out of seminaries, the Church would not find itself in the tragic predicament it is faced with today. At that point I knew Rose's book had little to offer me by way of hope, but lots to offer by way of better understanding extreme right wing Catholic interest groups. Nonetheless, I felt that the book's existence and timeliness made it an important one for me to complete. The Catholic Church is very much on my mind in the aftermath of the travesty that the Church hierarchy made of the pedophilia scandal from last December through May of this year. As a Catholic, witnessing what has gone on, I too desire answers and understanding. Along with others I also have an insistent interest in seeing that changes take place within the Church to assure that the horrible things that have gone on with respect to child abuse and hierarchical dishonesty are not repeated. Unfortunately, Goodbye Good Men is loaded with an entirely different agenda and is of no help. It is essentially an extremist -- pre-Vatican Council II - unbalanced view of the Catholic Church that attempts to present itself as a solution to current issues. It is not a solution to anything productive or positive with regard to what the Catholic Church must address from 2002 forward. In developing Goodbye Good Men, Michael Rose interviews 130 former seminarians in the supposed interest of "journalistic" objectivity. This is not journalism and Michael Rose has self-selected a very obvious grievance-filled group from which to mount his anachronistic solutions to challenges currently facing the contemporary Catholic Church. The 130 interviewed for this book are primarily men who were counseled out of the seminary, or straight away, dismissed. While Rose (and I am sure many of the men interviewed) would like to believe that they were wronged and set-up for being too orthodox and faithful to the magisterium of the Catholic Church by liberal Bishops and formation personnel, their case is less than compelling. When Rose is through with all of his posturing, these are the unbelievable conclusions that he seems to have made: The Catholic Church "in its Golden Age" was straight, pure and had little to no scandal -- essentially the myopic Bing Crosby representation of the priesthood; greater inclusion of women is the Church has contributed to its horrible state today, altar girls and Sisters included; today's Bishops and Cardinals -- with the exception of five or six extreme conservatives -- are ineffective sellouts who fail to uphold the magisterium of the Church; psychologists and the American Psychological Association are pawns of the Catholic Church's liberal formation folks and have deliberately misrepresented their findings in individual seminarian testing to suit the liberal agenda and to screen out the "Good Men"; and, to sum it all up, we probably need to return an even more conservative hierarchy to straighten it all out! I stayed with this book because I believe that today's Catholic should be aware of some of the dangerous agendas working in the background against a continuously more inclusive, meaningful and Jesus-centered Church. Besides concluding that Catholics at least 70-90% of us anyway -- are all going to hell in a hand basket if Rose's view is correct, it is important for Catholics who are active members of the Church to know some of the extremist agendas floating around out there actively working toward endangering the progress the Catholic Church has made in the past 40 years. Despite the scandals, I believe the Catholic Church has a rich history for which pride and recognition are truly deserved. Further, I believe there continue to be many wonderful things to celebrate and be joyous about within the Church. While far from being where it needs to be, it has made great strides out of the dark ages. There is a need to realize much more inclusion, respect for today's educated Catholic and work toward the respect of all persons just as Jesus taught us. The whole question of priestly celibacy and single sex priesthood are urgent questions that seem to answer themselves in some ways as a result of the recent crisis. The Catholic Church continues as a strong Church -- even in the face of the current crisis in the priesthood. Today's crisis will hopefully be an opportunity for a wider membership of the Church -- beyond the hierarchy -- to be heard. Hopefully, the crisis allows for many more progressive, not regressive efforts in the interests of the people of the Church I am glad I read Goodbye Good Men simply to be aware of its arguments and to remember the extremes that individuals and groups can go to when they set out to present an agenda-laden spin on anything that takes place in our world. This book's recommendations offer no realistic improvements for the Catholic Church in the 21st Century. Yet, perhaps, in fully understanding such an extremist view as this one, we can learn what not to do and affirm the momentum of positive change the Catholic Church has undertaken. Daniel J. Maloney
Saint Paul, Minnesota USA
Rating:
Summary: A Waste of Time and Money!
Review: Rose's book is a poorly written, poorly researched diatribe against change in general and homosexuals, women, and women religious in particular. It is filled with such gems as, "Once homosexuals come into positions of authority in their orders and in their religious houses of formation, it is difficult to attract even one heterosexual man to the order." There are derogatory references to "liberal" and "feminist" nuns, which are an affront to all women religious. Regarding women, Rose quotes Fr. Bob Oravetz, former regional director for the Serra Club as saying, "One way to detect a diocese that does not put much effort into recruiting vocations is by finding out if they have a woman as the vocations director." Everything is suspect from Myers-Briggs personality tests, to liturgical changes, to an amorphous "homosexual agenda," which is never quite explained. One man is castigated because he was a "massage artist" [sic] BEFORE he entered religious life and took his table with him when he went to the novitiate. This book is an ultraconservative rant, reminiscent of the McCarthyism and Communist-under-every-bush mentality of the 50s, medieval in outlook, and a disservice to anyone seeking a balanced look at some of the problems facing the Roman Catholic Church in the 21st century.
Rating:
Summary: From one who was there, Rose exposes the true problems
Review: I thought I was reading the part of my autobiography that covers the year I spent in a Catholic Seminary. After six years of answering typical questions "What was it like in the seminary?" from family and friends, I finally have someone to corroborate my story. I experienced much of the same "gay subculture" and was given poor reviews for not attending the weekly formal dinners and such that were dominated by the subculture clique. The link that Rose does not make is how this subculture makes for a difficult and sometimes impossible transition to parish life for those in it. When the homosexual male clergy that "enjoyed" seminary life find themselves in a parish setting, where the congregation is predominantly heterosexual and at least somewhat orthodox, they feel out of place and begin to repress their "true" self and long for their seminary days. Conversely, the heterosexual priest, those who were able to tolerate and navigate their way through seminary, arrive to parish life and flourish in their new environment.
This is not always true, but happens in more cases than you think. Just look at number of priests who are no longer in the ministry 3-5 years after ordination. Rose's timing begs the question of his motives. Is he seeking to leverage the current scandal involving the Church? Does the exposition of this problem serve to promote his orthodox agenda? With such chapter headings as "The Gay Subculture", "The Gatekeeper Phenomenon", "The Vocational Inquisition", and "Stifling the Call", Rose makes his point and makes it well. However, Rose misses the mark in his assessment that the liberals in the church have done this to create a priesthood shortage and "force" the Church to change her traditions. Come on! This Oliver Stone level of thinking assumes that John XXIII was in Dallas and on the grassy knoll. This also gives too much credit to a faction of the church. The real question now is: If so many of the liberal reformers in the Catholic Church do not agree with so many of the fundamental precepts and teachings of the Church, WHY are they still Catholic? Why are they in the seminaries? All in all, "Goodbye Good Men" hits the mark and is eye opening to the laity. But sadly, the hierarchy has known this for quite some time and has yet to fix it. But they will.
Rating:
Summary: Serious Read for Those Interested in American Church Crisis
Review: When I first saw this book available, I was overjoyed to see that someone had noticed what I have learned from others. I have spoken with several seminarians who have said that a homosexual culture exists inside the seminaries of the US Catholic Church as well as the structure in which new priests are formed. And that this culture seeks to eliminate good men from the process of becoming priests in the Catholic Church. This book was so captivating that it only took me two days to complete the book. If you have a serious mind to give Mr. Rose a few days of your time, you as well will be captivated by his claims and you will find his evidence enough to support his claim. I would also recommend for a more news story approach to the homosexual atmosphere within the church, check out Paul Likoudis work, AmChurch Comes Out.
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