The Catholic Church at the dawn of the twenty-first century is arguably the last feudal system in the West. Once the feudal structure of the church is recognized, the bishops' response to the clergy abuse crisis comes into focus. Bishops and other church authorities reacted to the scandal the only way their feudal culture allowed--with secrecy, denial, and a no holds barred effort to protect the reputation, authority, and resources of the institution. While tragic, and in many cases reprehensible, their response was consistent with the way feudal systems function. In Faith That Dares to Speak, Donald Cozzens addresses the laity's role in challenging a feudal church to embrace accountability and transparency and to bring light where there is now darkness. Awakened to their dignity and responsibility as full, equal, and adult members of the church, lay Catholics in North America are finding their voice and daring to speak to church authorities long accustomed to deferential obedience and compliance. Church life, Cozzens believes, will never be quite the same. The current crisis in the Church, while profoundly disturbing and troubling, offers possibilities for a renewed and revitalized Church. In Faith That Dares to Speak, Cozzens underscores the critical need for laity and clergy to speak honestly and courageously to church authorities. He addresses the obstacles to faithful speech as well as the spiritual and moral foundations of mature, adult conversation and commitment. The current crisis in the Church, while profoundly disturbing and troubling, offers possibilities for a renewed and revitalized Church. In Faith That Dares to Speak, Cozzens underscores the critical need for laity and clergy to speak honestly and courageously to church authorities. He addresses the obstacles to faithful speech as well as the spiritual and moral foundations of mature, adult conversation and commitment. Chapters include "The Courage to Speak," "The Humility to Listen," "Love That Dares to Question," "The Liberation of the Laity," "Voice of the Faithful," and "Contemplative Conversation."

Faith That Dares to Speak

History

Cozzens, Donald

World

Liturgical Press

The Cardinal's Assassin

"The third suspense novel following Bishop Bryn Martin's encounters with a cabal of conservative Catholic clergy and prelates and their hired assassin Giorgio Grotti"--

Literature & Fiction

In Extenso Press

Under Pain of Mortal Sin

A Bishop Bryn Martin Murder Mystery Fergus Mann, an assassin hand-picked by men he deems to be true believers and protectors of the supreme center of his beloved church, plunges into action as an agent of divine retribution. Placing the cincture over the hanger s hook of her garment bag, Reverend Laura Spivak noted with curiosity the crunch of car tires on the gravel drive in front of the lodge where she had just celebrated Mass. Maybe a park ranger coming to secure the lodge for the night. The door of the lodge opened slowly, and she turned to see instead, standing full in the doorway, a man of average height in a nylon workout suit. He stood still for a second, as if posing for a picture, his shadowed eyes dark and unblinking. May I help you? she asked, her voice thin and tight. You have sinned, woman, his voice sharp and cold as a condemning judge. You have sinned mortally. So begins the story of Bishop Bryn Martin s new engagement with powerful forces determined to preserve and protect their particular orthodoxy. The bishop s first months as the ordinary of a Roman Catholic diocese will bring him face-to-face with the darkest impulses of the human heart, to a place where sins and consequences are too often mortal.

A followup to the award-winning novel Master of Ceremonies by Donald Cozzens. Another Bishop Bryn Martin Murder Mystery.

A celebrated priest uncovers the spiritual riches beneath a church covered in scandal and doubt. At a time when many Catholics are questioning their church, Donald Cozzens sheds light on the widespread underground church that cherishes the vision of a renewed and reformed church preached by Pope John XXIII, a church open to the currents of grace flowing through cathedrals and marketplaces, chanceries and ghettos, through women and men, through people of good will. Writing in a fresh way about faith, prayer, communion, and church, Cozzens calls this new underground church a pilgrim people that believes that the Holy Spirit is loose in the world and whose rumors of wisdom might be found in any of God s people as well as in their ordained leaders. I m hardly alone in the underground church. I take comfort in that. Cozzens describes and inspires a church that wants to be simply adult a church not of children or adolescents hesitant to think and reflect on the lessons of human experience and their effort to live the gospel. A church closer to the spirit of Yves Congar and Teilhard de Chardin, to Dorothy Day and Mother Teresa, a church in step with the spirit of the gospel.

Notes from the Underground: The Spiritual Journal of a Secular Priest

Orbis Books

Now in paperback with a new epilogue--the widely discussed call for a new and open Catholic church that arrived just before the papacy of Francis. Fr. Cozzens inspires a church "that wants to be simply adult--a church not of children or adolescents hesitant to think and reflect on the lessons of human experience and their effort to live the gospel. A church closer to the spirit of Yves Congar and Teilhard de Chardin, to Dorothy Day and Mother Teresa, a church in step with the spirit of the gospel."

Notes From the Underground: The Spiritual Journal of a Secular Priest

Religion & Spirituality

Christian Books & Bibles

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Cozzens, Donald. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Cozzens, Donald

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Cozzens, Donald. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Faith That Dares to Speak

The Cardinal's Assassin

Under Pain of Mortal Sin

Under Pain of Mortal Sin

Notes from the Underground: The Spiritual Journal of a Secular Priest

Notes From the Underground: The Spiritual Journal of a Secular Priest