The Good Enough Catholic : A Guide for the Perplexed

Rating:
Summary: Thoughtful and helpful, a guide to live by
Review: As a history teacher and life long Catholic by choice, I approached this book with trepidation. Too many books by Americans rebel against the Church and use the "Cafeteria" method. Wilkes is a devout Catholic by choice. He knows the history of the church and more than just the history, the reasons why. It is a guide for to any thoughtful Catholic wondering about dealing with our modern world, its problems and keeping their faith. I believe it could easily be used as the basis for an adult study class in most parishes in America. Pat Gibson St. Martin de Porres Parish Dripping Springs, Texas

Rating:
Summary: This book helped drive me away from the Church...
Review: Fortunately, I'm back, having discovered that not all Catholics are as wishy-washy about their faith as the author!

When I first saw this book, it seemed perfect for me. I was tempted to blame the Church's politics for my spiritual malaise: "If only it could be just a bit different...just a bit more in keeping with what *I* want..." After reading the case studies, though, I wasn't attracted to the "do-it-yourself" Catholicism he describes.

After some searching outside the Church, I realized that the root of the problem was my pride driving me to try to remake God (and His church) in my own image. If I believe that the Catholic Church was founded by Christ, and continues to be guided by the Holy Spirit, then surely it's worthy of my obedience. (If I don't, there are 23,000 Protestant denominations to choose from. )

I wonder if the vocal dissenters and quiet rebels understand that there's great joy and freedom to be gained from obeying the teachings of one's religious leaders in a disciplined way, rather than just picking and choosing? This concept is still holding its own in Eastern religions, but it seems to be out of fashion among many Christians. And books like this one do nothing to help.

Rating:
Summary: One Star Is Too Many
Review: I read Paul Wilkes "The Good Enough Catholic" because Mr. Wilkes is (scheduled) to visit our parish. I remembered picking up one of his books a few years ago and couldn't believe the new age tone.
The Good Enough Catholic should of been titled "Whatever Blows Your Skirt Up" . He really could of saved a lot of time and not put any pages in. The book is nothing but opinion and an I'm o.k. approach. If I were not a Christian I would not be moved to seek higher moral ground, confess my sins, or accept responsibility for them after reading this book. I suspect I would continue on a sinful path and maybe attend mass and still not "GET IT".
Since I am a Christian Catholic I am concerned with Gods Laws not others academic ideas that if you use your brain you can justify all your actions, even to God. Hello??
Mr. Wilkes does not seem to understand one basic premise, right from wrong. Yes, we all sin, we can repent sincerely and be forgiven and "Go and sin no more". There is forgivemess to any one for any sin. That's why Jesus came and died for us.
I'm glad I got my copy from the library and didn't pay for it....

Rating:
Summary: One Star Is Too Many
Review: I'm all in favour of re-interpreting Catholicism, but Wilkes' presentation is stultifying and tired. He obviously thinks he's offering radical new insights, but I much prefer the treatment of these subjects by Catholics like Andrew Greeley who appeal, not only to sentiment, but to theology and church history as well. Having enjoyed "And They Shall Be Your People," his profile of a rabbi and his congregation, I know Wilkes can do better.

In this book, he focuses on individual Catholics' experiences (including his own), rather than on formal theologies, with highly unprofessional results. Wilkes' own experiences and beliefs slant the book immensely, and the quotations almost all support his own opinions of what Catholicism should be. Those opinions are rarely supported, and there is little opportunity to hear dissenting voices.

Wilkes' conclusion -- rather dully reiterated in each chapter -- seems to be that almost anything is "good enough," as long as the individual's conscience isn't troubled. I have a hard time believing that any religion -- particularly one with a solid core of religious *law* -- can be distilled to that essence.

Wilkes has picked up on the necessity of guiding the perplexed, but, in this book, he has done too little guiding, and perhaps too much perplexing, shedding murkiness and confusion rather than clarity.

Rating:
Summary: Good reading for the lapsed Catholic...
Review: Paul Wilkes' "The Good Enough Catholic" is like taking the fundamental theology course in the seminary. The difference here is that Wilkes has a popular writing style that makes the theology accessible to many people. The main point Wilkes makes is that many Catholics,who want to be loyal to their church, but also find some practices and teachings troubling, are trying to find some ways to be "good enough," even though they may not understand or are able to be "perfect" in their practice. The idea of being "good enough" is that sometimes many people have to settle for something that seems less than the ideal of what one should be as a Catholic.

Wilkes treats the fundamental topic in Catholic theology, scriptures, church, sacraments, marriage, priesthood, the papacy, etc. by attempting to find ground somewhere between the extreme positions of absolute loyalty and an attitude of skepticism. He finds much in the Catholic tradition that speaks well of being Catholic. He refers to the moral teachings of the church as the most comprehensive and systemitized than any other religion. He also demonstrates that throughout the church's history there have been different emphases and nuances in how and what the church has taught.

Wilkes' book is positive and honest. He includes quotations from lay people and clergy throughout using opinions that spread the gamut of Catholic thought. He summarizes very clearly some complicated history. He presents some failures of the church along side great successes, showing how the institution of the church can be guided by the Holy Spirit as well as be mislead by the popular culture of the time.

I believe this book to be balanced in its approach. It can be applied easily to RCIA programs as well as other adult education in the church.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing Solutions to the Church's "Crisis"
Review: The book is a sincere yet misguided attempt at turning the Catholic Church into a papal facsimile of the Episcopal Church, under the guise of "reasonable" solutions to the Church's historical stances on married priests, women's ordination, validation of same-sex relationships, and the like. I frankly despair of non-Catholic solutions to Catholic "problems," even if these "problems" consist on nothing but the Church's continued adherence to the high ethical and moral demands of the Gospel, which the Church is unqualified to alter.

Get yourself another book, get yourself George Weigel's The Courage to be Catholic or Letters to a Young Catholic instead, if you really want to read a solid Catholic response to the challenges posed by secular modernity.

Rating:
Summary: Don't settle
Review: The notion of being "good enough" indicates a willingness to settle, which we are not called to do. We are called to always strive to be closer to God, and to ask for God's Grace to be made more holy.

I hope that people do not pick up this book and think that it represents the teachings of the Catholic Church. If you want to know what the Church teaches, pick up a Catechism, read some papal Encyclicals, and pray for guidance. I was particularly struck at the un-Catholic-ness of parts of this book when I read where Wilkes says that there comes a time when single, unmarried people will want to engage in sexual activity, and the guidelines for doing so. That is very much not the position of the Catholic Church. And if someone wants to make the claim that Wilkes is just reflecting the reality of the situation, I would say that just because it's what the current culture allows doesn't mean that it has to be the reality for Catholics. Catholics are called, if they truly believe what they profess in the Creed and in the way they act, to be countercultural.

Rating:
Summary: Not "Good Enough"
Review: This book written in 1996 is by a Catholic layman, journalist and religious writer who appears to be in his late forties. His intent is to describe, especially for the lukewarm or fallen away Catholic, how one can be "good enough" to consider and call oneself a Catholic despite both personal faults and misgivings/disagreements regarding church teaching. Wilkes developed this notion from his reading of Bruno Bettelheim's writing about good enough parenting. The notion is that you aim for excellence, do your best, accept your limitations, but most of all don't exclude yourself or become discouraged because perfection isn't available - either in yourself or the church generally.

This strikes me as a valid and useful approach to get people alienated from the church to rethink the value of participating in organized religious life (which is by far the strongest case Wilkes makes). Unfortunately, however it becomes the rationale for a generally liberal and tolerant (some would say loose or even aberrant) approach to Catholicism. Wilkes is anxious to dispel what older Catholics would certainly take as church teaching - that you can't feel free to pick and choose what you like from official church teaching and practice and still consider yourself a Catholic in good standing. Wilkes warns against a too easy "cafeteria" Catholicism, urging serious consideration of official teaching, but the ultimate authority is one's own conscience. He doesn't seem to consider the traditional Catholic notion of obedience and assent in the face of doubt. Perhaps this is what leads him to suggest that one can dissent on a broad range of controversial issues (as he evidently does) and still consider oneself a faithful Catholic. He also neglects the distinction between private disagreement and open challenge that can be disloyal and disruptive depending on the circumstances. That distinction is important to any organization, religious or secular.

The risk of such an approach is revealed by much of his discussion of these controversial issues. Though Wilkes is generally well informed, especially for a layperson, he is no scholar or theologian. His assessment of these issues is uneven, somewhat cursory, and sometimes contains factual misinformation. No one should rely on his analysis for deciding these matters. Yet a reader could easily get the impression that Wilkes has come to his own positions with little more than he presents in this book. Such is the danger that the Catholic Church has tried to avoid (in contrast to Protestant Christianity) by maintaining a strong sense of the teaching authority of the church.

There is no question that such authority has eroded in fact within the Catholic Church. The hierarchy bears much of the blame by exercising that authority too often in an arrogant manner in which it fails to follow consultative processes that have strong historical precedent and theological support, and are unquestionably appropriate in the modern post Vatican II environment. But the individualism of popular culture is also to blame because it distrusts authority in principle, lacks discipline, and eschews loyalty and commitment to institutions of all kinds. There is a vicious circle in which the Vatican tries to shore up its teaching authority against the onslaught of relativism and skepticism, and its efforts only provoke greater distrust and resistance. We end up with polarization.

Wilkes tries to bridge this divide by finding common ground. But he does it in a way so lacking in rigor that one suspects he neither dissuades the disaffected from rebellion or indifference nor abates the fear of the hierarchy and traditionalists that Catholic identity will continue in its free fall by being picked to death by dissenters. Still, I found the book a good reminder of the many values of Catholicism even for those who may find themselves alienated and half-hearted. But a true renewal that will both attract the straying and satisfy the committed will await a more dynamic and convincing vision than that presented by Wilkes.