The Second Spring of the Church in America

Rating:
Summary: A great readable introduction to the issues facing the RCC.
Review: I picked this book up by accident and was pleasently surprised to find not only that I could understand it (as if written for the lay person) but that it could represent issues facing other churches, or faiths. Mr. Kelly begins the Introduction by exploring what it means to be a Roman Catholic by listing what Catholics must believe. He sets the stage. Most people feel that in these times they do not have to believe anything they do not like. Mr. Kelly, still in the Introduction, says that John Paul II, will "punish" those who dissent. "This action provides hope for a second spring of a vibrant Catholicity at some time in the twenty-first century." These are dark words. The struggle is the Roman Catholic Church vs Modernism (secularism). It is as if Mr. Kelly puts on one side: "free choice, autonomy, human rights, good works, brotherhood, fun, tolerance and self-fulfillment." and "the religious demands of a universal order of creation to which they are subject." It seems a hopeless argument. Personally I find it hard to understand how the Roman Catholic Church can be against abortions and also against contraceptives, in a world where hiv and aids are rampant because restraint preserves the dignity of Man. It seems a hopeless argument. This book seems to give the views of the conservative faction of the RCC. Thank you.