Catholicism - General

 
Behind Locked Doors :
A History of the Papal Elections
by Frederic J. Baumgartner
Since the early seventeenth century, whenever a pope has died, the Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church have convened in Rome behind locked doors to elect a successor--and all eyes focus on The Eternal City. The Papal Conclave is an event like no other. Highly secretive and conducted behind the doors of the Sistine Chapel, it happens only a few times every century. Cardinals meet en masse in their scarlet robes. Throngs of the faithful stand watch in St. Peter’s Square. Finally, white smoke billows from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel signaling the election of a new pontiff. In Behind Locked Doors, Frederic J. Baumgartner evokes the high drama of this event while simultaneously providing a comprehensive and rigorous history of the papal elections. Behind Locked Doors is a fascinating look at the death of popes and the centuries-old transfer of Vatican power from one man to the next.

 
Good Catholic Girls :
How Women Are Leading the
Fight to Change the Church
by Angela Bonavoglia
Bonavoglia was for many years a "Catholic in exile," but her faith and spirituality have been rekindled by the resurgence of a women's movement within the male-dominated church. Inspired by the growing number of females "bent on restoring women and lay Catholics to their rightful place in the Church," she began to track the justice and equality movement these astonishingly diverse women have been successfully revitalizing. The women profiled are representative of the breadth and variety of this progressive revolution. The causes they champion include reproductive and sexual rights, the ordination of women into the priesthood, and the full inclusion of gays and lesbians into the church family. Juxtaposed against the recent clerical abuse scandals, these and other calls for reform made by women all seem to make good common and spiritual sense.
 

 
Letter & Spirit
by Scott Hahn
Hahn's work is a fine introduction to eucharistic theology for the Catholic layperson. The book has an ecumenical appeal, especially for Lutherans and Anglicans desiring to better acquaint themselves with Catholic ritual and the New Testament.
 

 
Opus Dei
by John Allen
With the expert eye of a longtime trusted observer of the Vatican and the skill of an investigative reporter intent on uncovering closely guarded secrets, John Allen finally separates the myths from the facts in OPUS DEI. Granted unlimited access to the prelate who heads the organization and to Opus Dei centers throughout the world, Allen draws on a wealth of interviews with current members, as well as highly critical ex-members, to create an unprecedented portrait of the activities, practices, and intentions behind its veil of secrecy. Allen reveals the remarkable power that Opus Dei commands in shaping Vatican policy and presents a detailed look at the full extent of its network, which includes people in key positions in politics, banking, academia, and other influential arenas. He even describes the arcane rituals—including self-flagellation—performed to preserve and promote a spiritual tradition strange and unsettling to modern sensibilities.

 
All the Pope's Men
John L. Allen
Far from sensationalistic, this book provides a carefully balanced view of how the Catholic Church works—and sometimes doesn't—in the modern world. Allen, who is Catholic himself but does not see himself as a missionary or apologist for the church, is a fair and thorough reporter of ecclesial affairs who drew on four-plus years of covering the Vatican as well as 35 interviews with officials in the church bureaucracy to write this book. He begins with an overview of the Vatican, then debunks five myths—including, notably, the idea that power is concentrated solely in the Pope and that the Vatican is fantastically wealthy. In talking about the myth and reality of Vatican secrecy, Allen lays out the basis for his book: that the Vatican's psychology and culture are difficult for people, even most Catholics, to grasp, resulting in miscommunication and animosity toward the church. Allen also delves into Vatican psychology, sociology and theology before concluding with lengthy chronologies detailing the Vatican's role in the American sexual abuse crisis and the war in Iraq.
 

 
Mother Angelica
by Raymond Arroyo
Raymond Arroyo’s engrossing biography, reads like a novel. Born Rita Rizzo in Canton, Ohio, in 1923, she was abandoned by her father and raised in poverty by a mother who suffered suicidal depressions. As a young woman, Rita developed severe abdominal pain and large protrusions. After doctors dismissed the problems as a “nervous” condition, Rita sought the prayers of a local mystic, and her symptoms disappeared.

Awakened to the power of prayer, she vowed to dedicate her life to God. She became a cloistered nun, expecting to spend her life hidden from the world. But her faith compelled her to unlikely endeavors, from establishing a monastery in Alabama to starting the network. Relying solely on “God’s providence,” Mother Angelica built the empire without concern for budgets or fund-raising campaigns. She had accomplished what the highest echelon of the Catholic Church had been unable to do.
 

 
Finding God Today
by E. Springs Steele
For new as well as veteran spiritual seekers, Steele introduces traditional modes of Catholic prayer through stories, most of them from his own life or vocation. He walks readers through the practices of spiritual reading, lectio divina, and Ignatian mental prayer. Then he turns his attention to the Rosary (especially the new Luminous Mysteries), the significance of our actions at Mass, the model of Jesuit prayer, and the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy.

 
Love Alone Is Credible
by Hans Urs Von Balthasar
In Hans Urs von Balthasar’s masterwork, The Glory of the Lord, the great theologian used the term "theological aesthetic" to describe what he believed to the most accurate method of interpreting the concept of divine love, as opposed to approaches founded on historical or scientific grounds. In this newly translated book, von Balthasar delves deeper into this exploration of what love means, what makes the divine love of God, and how we must become lovers of God in the footsteps of saints like Francis de Sales, John of the Cross and Therese of Lisieux.
 

 
Inside the Vatican
by Bart McDowell
One of the most impressive books published by the National Geographic Society. Its large format highlights the superb photographs: views of the buildings, people, grounds, and art treasures that most readers will have never seen before. With its combination of readable text and outstanding pictures, it's the next best thing to being there.

 
We Have a Pope!
by Matthew Bunson
In choosing Cardinal Ratzinger as the next pope, the cardinals have chosen a man well known to them for many years," says OSV Publisher and former Rome correspondent Greg Erlandson who was in Rome for the Conclave. "Those who have met him invariably talk of his gentleness, his shyness and at the same time his intellectual abilities and his penetrating insights into the challenges facing Christianity and modern society.