The Future of the Catholic Church with Pope Francis

January 19, 2015
Is it possible, or even prudent, for an institution that has survived for 2,000 years to change? The Catholic Church, according to Wills (Why I Am a Catholic), professor emeritus at Northwestern University, has changed substantially over the course of its existence and must continue to do so if it is to survive. The author presents fascinating historical snapshots of the church throughout its history and illustrates the shifts it has navigated, from adopting and then dismissing universal Latin for its liturgical language to rejecting its embedded anti-Semitism at the Second Vatican Council. The current pope is not mentioned as often as the title might suggest, although one cannot fault the author for attempting to ride the wave of interest in Francis that’s sweeping the globe. The section on church-state relations is well researched, offering valuable insights into the contemporary American political landscape. And though he’s not a theologian, the author has obviously read in-depth exegetical work, and he presents solid and intelligent interpretations of Scripture to buoy his theses. Those familiar with Wills won’t discover any surprising conclusions, but most will take pleasure in the way he articulates them. Agent: Andrew Wylie, The Wylie Agency.

Starred review from December 15, 2014
Beautifully conceived and wrought essays that systematically address the wrongheadedness of the Catholic Church over centuries-and the space therein for Francis' long-needed reforms. A pope determined to admit change and renounce "infallibility"-is this possible? Pulitzer Prize-winning intellectual and leading Catholic scholar Wills (Why Priests?: A Failed Tradition, 2013, etc.) is guided by his close scholarly readings of the Gospels, as well as by modern commentators, examining how the church can right itself-as it has repeatedly over the ages in the face of bad decisions-e.g., the adoption of Latin for sacraments and documents. This is Wills' first example of the church's attempts at controlling the message, at excluding versus including: adopting Latin as a "secret code of the elect" rather than the vernacular of the people of God. From there, the early church was able to exclude forbidden books and even forbidden ideas. From arriving at a language understood by all, Wills moves into a compelling study of how the early church evolved from a marginalized sect of martyrs to a state organization sanctioned by the Emperor Constantine at the Council of Nicaea in 325. The author reminds us that Jesus forbade his followers to have any pre-eminence among them (and rejected any earthly kingdom), yet by the third century, a "Vice Petri" or "stand-in" for Peter, the Rock of the Church, was established, essentially evolving into a monarchy by the 11th century. Wills also labels the long strain of anti-Semitism in the church as a "tragic absurdity," and he nods to the Second Vatican Council as a template for moving forward. He valiantly destroys the church's unjustified stances (in the name of "natural law") on birth control, abortion and the right of women to serve as priests. A welcome, thoughtful menu for the new pope on how to proceed with reform.

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January 1, 2015
The specter of change looms over the Roman Catholic Church, an institution often represented as utterly inalterable. As a progressive Catholic cheered by Francis, Wills here demonstrates that great changes in the church have taken place before. He traces the rises and (incomplete) falls in the church of Latin, monarchy, anti-Semitism, natural law, and confession. His survey of each begins at originsas early as the late-first-century Gospel of John in the case of anti-Semitism, as late as 1930 in that of pope-defined natural lawand notes precursors that impinged on church practice (such as, for natural law, earlier formulations beginning with Aristotle's). All five phenomena, though heavily theologized, have had weighty real-world consequences. Latin enabled churchly imperialism; monarchy, the centralization of authority in the papal see; and natural law, papal dictates about women, marriage, and sexuality. Characteristically, Wills writes accessibly but without a breath of condescension; a few passages are harder reading than the rest, but the whole rings clear as a silver bell.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

February 1, 2015

In response to those who fear changes that Pope Francis may bring to the Catholic Church, historian Wills (Why Priests?) demonstrates here that change has been ongoing in the institution despite its reputation for immutability and that the church's survival has resulted from adapting to the world around it. Change, according to Wills, is Catholicism's "means of respiration," a reanimating force that has not and cannot be brought about by a pope alone. The author maintains that the challenges the church now faces must be understood in the context of its history, which he examines via "resourcement," reading forward rather than the more common approach of looking to the past. Much of what is accepted as early church history, the author notes, resulted from speculation and invention where records were lacking. Among areas addressed in this volume are the transition from Middle Eastern to Roman ways and the adoption and decline of the Latin language; the assumption and loss of temporal power; the rise of anti-Semitism in what was originally and remains an essentially Jewish institution; and the development of misogyny, which Wills terms an evil gift from Aristotle via Aquinas. VERDICT Highly recommended for all interested in a fact-based study of the church's evolution. [See Prepub Alert, 7/28/14.]--Denise J. Stankovics, Vernon, CT

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2014

Asking himself whether Pope Francis will effect major change, the Pulitzer Prize winner Wills responds by examining seven instances of serious change in the Church over the past century. None has been brought about by the pope alone, he argues, but by the concerted effort of the entire Church.

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.