Archbishop Mark Doyle, a church reformer and a martial arts expert, falls wildly in love with his therapist, Miriam Faberini. Their love affair would be enough to complicate a celibate bishop's life, but his troubles multiply when two of his priests are murdered. A clandestine Catholic group claims responsibility for both killings, and vows to eliminate Doyle as a symbol of corrupt liberalism. The Vatican demands that Doyle account for damaging allegations against him. His shadowy nemesis, a priest defrocked for sexually abusing teenage boys, dogs the Archbishop's every step. His story displays key tensions agitating the still medieval structures of today's church. Surprising, shocking piece of fiction from a well-known scholar quite obviously off on a lark. He''s created a bigger-than-life bishop, a liberation theologian who does aikido, drinks Dewar's, canoodles on a regular basis with his shrink-lover and leads his flock into near-schism while the Vatican pushes for his quiet resignation and a psychotic stalker tries to kill him. If this novel is a mischievous preview of the church-to-come, we''re in for quite a roller-coaster ride. What fun Robert Blair Kaiser, author, contributing editor, Newsweek magazine "Eugene Bianchi''s fast-paced novel centers in the liberal reforming bishop of San Francisco, Mark Doyle, in love with his therapist. Around them swirl all the conflicts of contemporary Catholicism: liberation theology, the role of women in the church, celibacy, homosexuality, pedophile priests. Dark forces opposed to church reform conspire against them, plotting violence and assassinations of priests, in a story that ranges from Nicaragua to Northern California and Rome. A fun read you will not be able to put down until you finish." Rosemary Radford Ruether Carpenter Professor of Feminist Theology Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, California

These are the poems of a grown man who has endeavored to gaze steadily at his subject(s): love (see "Peggy" ), lyrical arguments for tolerance of all kinds, sly humor, and every poem, every one, is infused with gratitude and joy. --Thomas Lux, Georgia Institute of Technology Eugene Bianchi's poems come from an extraordinarily rich spiritual and sensual life, one in which the poet moves beyond the "tamed divinity" of a highly material world . . . --Ronald Schuchard, Emory University Bianchi's poems put a tender, spiritual touch to suffering, aging, relationships, connections to animals, along with reminiscences of a life of profound movement of the spirit and soul. --Judy Clarence, California State University These poems are replete with the wisdom of age and the exuberance of youth. Bianchi celebrates "our common plight" with the mind of the philosopher and the eye of the poet. --Charlotte Barr, poet, The Text Beneath The occasional swat at favorite targets, Mother Church in particular, is an added feature of this well-written collection. -- James Torrens, S.J., author

Archbishop Mark Doyle, a church reformer and a martial arts expert, falls wildly in love with his therapist, Miriam Faberini. Their love affair would be enough to complicate a celibate bishop's life, but his troubles multiply when two of his priests are murdered. A clandestine Catholic group claims responsibility for both killings, and vows to eliminate Doyle as a symbol of corrupt liberalism. The Vatican demands that Doyle account for damaging allegations against him. His shadowy nemesis, a priest defrocked for sexually abusing teenage boys, dogs the Archbishop's every step. His story displays key tensions agitating the still medieval structures of today's church. Surprising, shocking piece of fiction from a well-known scholar quite obviously off on a lark. He's created a bigger-than-life bishop, a liberation theologian who does aikido, drinks Dewar's, canoodles on a regular basis with his shrink-lover and leads his flock into near-schism while the Vatican pushes for his quiet resignation and a psychotic stalker tries to kill him. If this novel is a mischievous preview of the church-to-come, were in for quite a roller-coaster ride. What fun Eugene Bianchi's fast-paced novel centers in the liberal reforming bishop of San Francisco, Mark Doyle, in love with his therapist. Around them swirl all the conflicts of contemporary Catholicism: liberation theology, the role of women in the church, celibacy, homosexuality, and pedophile priests. Dark forces opposed to church reform conspire against them, plotting violence and assassinations of priests, in a story that ranges from Nicaragua to Northern California and Rome. A fun read you will not be able to put down until you finish. - Rosemary Radford Ruether Carpenter, Professor of Feminist Theology, Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, California.

"What ever happened to the American Jesuits? Though ex-Jesuits now outnumber Jesuits, the order is still around, still a force in American Catholic life. I cannot imagine its corporate identity receiving a more thorough or a more subtle profile than it receives in this book."--Jack Miles, author of "God: A Biography"

"An excellent case study of a declining religious organization--exploring the multitude of reasons for this decline. Peter McDonough and Eugene Bianchi give a superb account of the organizational, ideological, and psychological changes facing the Jesuits. Scholars and students will learn much from this work. So too will the multitudes of Catholics whose lives have been touched by the dedicated and talented men who affix 'SJ' to their names."--Patricia Wittberg, S.C., author of "The Rise and Fall of Catholic Religious Orders

"This is a work of astonishing depth. McDonough and Bianchi are masterful tellers of the Jesuit tale, [which is] equally subtle, startling, and profound. You'll catch yourself wholly engrossed...."--James T. Fisher, author of "Catholics in America"

""Passionate Uncertainty is a powerful book, tough but required reading for Jesuits and former Jesuits, for those curious about the future of religious life and those simply intrigued by the Jesuit mystique. Reliance on numerous interviews enables McDonough and Bianchi to invite multiple voices into a lively conversation about vocation and mission, community and sexuality, Church politics and spiritual ideals. Few will agree with all the memories or predictions recorded here, and some of us will wonder whether the Jesuit future is as uncertain as the authors suggest. But none will regret pondering thechanging identity of the Jesuits so vividly highlighted here."--Francis X. Clooney, SJ, author of "Hindu God, Christian God: How Reason Helps Faith to Cross the Boundaries between Religions