One of the world's most respected religion journalists profiles New York's Archbishop Timothy Dolan, one of the country's--and possibly the world's--most important Catholic leaders through lengthy exclusive interviews.
Unique among the current leadership of the Catholic Church, Archbishop Dolan shares his insightful perspective in this series of conversations on the present and future of Catholicism. In these pages Dolan shares a perspective which is typically not part of the information an average person would know through today's media. This omission often leaves outsiders with a terribly flawed grasp of what's actually happening in the Church. Legitimate stories on, for example, abuse and Church authority can't be dissolved by reactive conspiracy theories about how the media is out to get the Catholic Church. That said, if these scandals are all there is to the Catholic Church, why would anyone bother being Catholic?
It may not be surprising that there are an estimated 22 million ex-Catholics out there, yet it is revealing that even more people have chosen to remain with the Church. Tens of millions of Americans, and hundreds of millions more around the world, still turn to the Church for inspiration, for its sacramental life, for its experience of community and service. In every diocese in America you can find parishes that are flourishing.
The faith represented there is not an exaggerated religious frenzy that feeds an uncritical view of the Church. Catholics are nothing if not sober realists about the humanity of their institutions and leaders. They see the Church not as a debating society or a multinational enterprise, but a family--with all the flaws and dysfunction, but also all the joy and life, of families everywhere. This is why Archbishop Dolan is such an important part of the Church's emerging landscape.
In "A People of Hope" Dolan is seen at his best, capturing an upbeat, hopeful, affirming Catholicism that's the untold story about the Church today. As readers spend time with Dolan here, they may find that his love for people and zest for friendship is what's truly fundamental about the man, not a PR device calculated to conceal some other agenda. Dolan can and does draw lines in the sand when he believes that core matters of Catholic identity are at stake. He's well aware that we live in a deeply secular world in the West, in which powerful pressures, both subtle and overt, seek to blur the counter-cultural message of Catholicism on many fronts. One key to Dolan's character, however, is that changing hearts, not knocking heads, is always his first instinct.
John Allen draws out a picture of future trends by exploring where Dolan wants to lead, and how will a Church that increasingly bears his imprint look and feel? To understand this, what's really necessary is to get inside his head and then let him speak for himself. To that end Allen frames questions in a way that allows Dolan to expand on the topic himself as much as possible. The result is a book more "with" Dolan than a book "about" him, which is indeed the best way to understand the man. At the end, one can agree or disagree with Dolan's outlook, but one may at least be better equipped to understand why thoughtful modern women and men might still believe there's something worth considering in the Catholic message.
Whatever the future may have in store for Dolan--staying in New York until he dies, being called to Rome to work in a senior Vatican post, or something else entirely--he will be a force in the Catholic Church both nationally and internationally for some time to come, and it's well worth trying to discern what that might mean.

Roman Catholicism stands at a crossroads, a classic ''best of times, worst of times'' moment. On the one hand, the Catholic Church remains by far the largest branch of the worldwide Christian family, and is growing at a remarkable clip. Yet the Church has also been rocked by a series of scandals related to the sexual abuse of minors by clergy, and, even more devastating, the cover-up by the Church hierarchy. The decade-long crisis has taken a massive financial toll, but the blow to both the internal morale and the external moral standing of the Church has been even steeper. Today, the Church has enormous residual strength and exciting future prospects, but also faces steep internal and external challenges. The question of ''whither Catholicism'' is of vital public relevance, for believers and non-believers alike. In The Catholic Church: What Everyone Needs to Know, John L. Allen, Jr., one of the world's leading authorities on the Vatican, offers an authoritative and accessible guide to the past, present, and future of the Church. This updated edition includes a new chapter on the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, the election of Pope Francis, and his extraordinary tenure thus far.

When Shahbaz Bhatti, the lone Christian in Pakistan's cabinet and a determined campaigner for the rights of Christians and members of other faiths was killed, his Taliban-affiliated assassins probably hoped it would be the end of his influence. Instead, Bhatti's stature has only grown after death, and today he looms as a martyr and patron saint for persecuted Christians everywhere. His riveting life, from devoted altar boy in an overwhelming Muslim nation to human rights campaigner, from politician and government minister to martyr, is one of the great Christian dramas of our time, and as long as Christians are at risk anywhere in the world, Shahbaz Bhatti will be a source of inspiration and hope. This book traces the evolution of a martyr, from his roots in a traditionally Catholic village in the Punjab region of Pakistan through his awakening as an activist and political leader. It also explores the possibility that Bhatti may one day be declared a saint of the Catholic Church. It's a story that deserves to be told, everywhere and always, until it's part of the common heritage of Christianity and all humanity.

"One of the world's foremost religion journalists offers an unexpected and provocative look at where the Catholic Church is headed""--and what the changes will mean for all of us."
What will the Catholic Church be like in 100 years? Will there be a woman pope? Will dioceses throughout the United States and the rest of the world go bankrupt from years of scandal? In THE FUTURE CHURCH, John L. Allen puts forth the ten trends he believes will transform the Church into the twenty-second century. From the influence of Catholics in Africa, Asia, and Latin America on doctrine and practices to the impact of multinational organizations on local and ethical standards, Allen delves into the impact of globalization on the Roman Catholic Church and argues that it must rethink fundamental issues, policies, and ways of doing business. Allen shows that over the next century, the Church will have to respond to changes within the institution itself and in the world as a whole whether it is contending with biotechnical advances--including cloning and genetic enhancement--the aging Catholic population, or expanding the roles of the laity.
Like Thomas Friedman's "The World Is Flat," THE FUTURE CHURCH establishes a new framework for meeting the challenges of a changing world.

"From the Hardcover edition."

This twenty-fourth edition of ANNUAL EDITIONS: ENVIRONMENT provides convenient, inexpensive access to current articles selected from the best of the public press. Organizational features include: an annotated listing of selected World Wide Web sites; an annotated table of contents; a topic guide; a general introduction; brief overviews for each section; a topical index; and an instructor's resource guide with testing materials. USING ANNUAL EDITIONS IN THE CLASSROOM is offered as a practical guide for instructors. ANNUAL EDITIONS titles are supported by our student website, www.mhcls.com/online.