September 25 issue, now online
Believe it or not, another issue of Commonweal is on its way to subscribers. Here’s what everyone can read online:
- Paul Moses’s cover story, “Mission Improbable: St. Francis & the Sultan,” an account of St. Francis of Assisi’s attempt to end the Crusades in 1219 by converting Egypt’s Sultan Malik al-Kamil to Christianity.
- Our editorial on the war in Afghanistan — “Why Are We There?”
- Rand Richards Cooper’s review of the films The Baader Meinhof Complex and The English Surgeon.
And that’s just a start. Maura Ryan’s article “Toxic Legacy: Why the Environment Is a Life Issue” proposes “five concrete ways for Obama to move from promise to action on children’s environmental health.” Melinda Henneberger’s column examines how “the anger industry” influences American politics. The “Last Word” essay by Kenneth L. Parker explores the sad fate of the ancient Nubian Church. And our book review section includes the latest installment of Lawrence S. Cunningham’s Religion Booknotes, as well as Denis Donoghue on Frederick Seidel’s collected poems; Paul O’Donnell on Laura Miller’s The Magician’s Book: A Skeptic’s Adventures in Narnia; and Andrew Gleeson on Richard Grigg’s Beyond the God Delusion.
If you’re not lucky enough to be a subscriber already, we have lots of ways to fix that. Click “Subscriptions” in the toolbar at the top of this page to see what works for you: get us by mail, or try an online subscription. There’s a PDF version — handy if you’re overseas — and, of course, Commonweal makes a great gift for any occasion. Still on the fence? We’ll send you two free issues. We think you’ll be hooked.
Some nice references, Mollie. But I always wonder about what Commoweal does not cover. Robert Kaiser wrote a most relevant book on happenings at the Vatican Council and that period, in an autobiographical style. The book was “Clerical error.” There are recountings in there which are priceless. At the very least it arrested the absurd acclaim Malachy Martin was getting from a fringe wing of the Church. Yet Commonweal did not say a word about it.
This year Commonweal repeated its silence on a monumental work by James Carroll, “Practicing Catholic.” This book is also autobiographical. This work takes us through the history of the Vatican II renewal like few others with invaluable personal anecdotes. James Carroll is a giant of our age even if the mainstream Catholic press ignores him. He is a scholar who matches anyone in Catholic academia today and has a sincerity unmatched by many. He remains an authentic Catholic, in my opinion.
In fairness, my criticism of Commonweal in this matter applies to America magazine also.
I’m glad to learn that Lawrence Cunningham also has a soft spot for “reading about conversion experiences,” and that, in particular, he also enjoyed Anne Rice’s “Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession,” which relates her rediscovery of her Catholic faith. Prof. Cunningham captures the essence of Rice’s story:
“There were ancillary reasons for her return to her childhood faith-and she goes over them in detail-but it was really a new insight into the deepest meaning of the Incarnation that provided her with both the impulse to believe and the nourishment to sustain her faith. She found that the story of Christ explains the world and her own self: ‘This is a mystical thing that I am trying to analyze; it is a transcendent moment when one senses with all one’s faculties that the love of God is the air we breathe.’ It was on this basis-a simple faith in the person of Jesus Christ-that Rice returned to the faith she had abandoned so many years before. There is an important pastoral lesson in that for those who wish to make the Catholic faith credible in this age.”
I’ve never read any of Ms. Rice’s gothic fiction–and I don’t know if I ever will; it’s not my cup of tea–but the story of her childhood Catholicism, her loss of faith, and her reconnection after many decades makes for enjoyable reading.
Bill: We ran a review of Practicing Catholic in our May 8 issue. We may have missed Kaiser’s book, but how about John O’Malley’s What Happened at Vatican II? Bernard Prusak reviewed that for us in February.
Mollie … you mentioned a user can get Commonweal in electronic format. With the growth of e-book readers, such as Amazon’s Kindle, are there plans to have Commonweal available to that growing community?
Joe, we’re looking into it!
Bill – if you have not read Weakland’s autobiography, he has an ample section in one chapter that details ongoing meetings, discussion, etc. at Kaiser’s apartment/house in Rome during Vatican II. He states that Kaiser had the ability to gather folks from many different language groups and bishops’ conferences and the crosspolination led to some interesting insights, sharing of knowledge, education, opening windows to others’ pastoral sense, challenges, needs, etc.
Alos, “Guardian of the Light” – biography of Denis Hurley, archbishop of Durban, SA, is also very good and sheds another light on Vatican II and especially Sacrasanctum Concilium and the subsequent foundation of ICEL – remarkable support, compliments, and thanks to Dr. John Page for his leadership and expertise during their 35+ year relationship. Kaiser’s meetings are also mentioned in this book.
Interesting review of The Baader Meinhof Complex. I thought it was a great movie. Very exciting and intense, as well as thought provoking and informative.
I just got my print copy.
I’m sure you will be flooded by letters from pedants, so let me be the first.
The St. Francis pictured on the cover is St. Francis Xavier, not St. Francis of Assisi.
Do I get the pedant medal?
FCB: We have heard that from a few other people (I’m sorry your issue was so slow to show up, incidentally!). It’s not a typical representation of St. Francis of Assisi, but we do still think we’ve got the right guy. I think we’re planning to revisit the question in a forthcoming issue, so for now I’ll leave it at that…
UPDATE: See here for our note on that cover.