The Irony of Modern Catholic History
How the Church Rediscovered Itself and Challenged the Modern World to Reform
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The Irony of Modern Catholic History
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Narrated by:
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Rick Adamson
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Written by:
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George Weigel
About this listen
A powerful new interpretation of Catholicism's dramatic encounter with modernity, by one of America's leading intellectuals
Throughout much of the 19th century, both secular and Catholic leaders assumed that the Church and the modern world were locked in a battle to the death. The triumph of modernity would not only finish the Church as a consequential player in world history; it would also lead to the death of religious conviction. But today, the Catholic Church is far more vital and consequential than it was 150 years ago. Ironically, in confronting modernity, the Catholic Church rediscovered its evangelical essence. In the process, Catholicism developed intellectual tools capable of rescuing the imperiled modern project.
A richly rendered, deeply learned, and powerfully argued account of two centuries of profound change in the church and the world, The Irony of Modern Catholic History reveals how Catholicism offers 21st century essential truths for our survival and flourishing.
©2019 George Weigel (P)2019 Hachette AudioWhat the critics say
"Weigel has an eye for a good story. Whether discussing the affairs of popes and princes, of conclaves and concordats, he seems always to come up with a telling anecdote or witty utterance to brighten the historical account. For a lively and informative overview from the 18th century to the present, The Irony of Modern Catholic History is the book to read." (Robert Louis Wilken, William R. Kenan Jr. Professor Emeritus of the History of Christianity at the University of Virginia)
"George Weigel's sweeping account of 150 years of Catholic history challenges the long-held assumption made by traditionalists, progressives, many historians, and mainstream media that secular modernity has always been the prime mover, forcing the Church to either resist or accommodate it. In reframing the narrative with the church as the creative protagonist in this drama, Weigel describes how the encounter with modernity led to the renewal of the church's gospel-centered mission in its third millennium, and suggests that the church might redirect - indeed, redeem - the modern project itself." (Kathleen Sprows Cummings, Director of the Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism, University of Notre Dame)
"The Irony of Modern Catholic History advances a bold new interpretation of the Church and modernity with characteristic authority, deep erudition, and literary panache. It is the latest reminder among many that George Weigel is unrivaled not only as a Catholic intellectual, but as an intellectual, period." (Mary Eberstadt, senior research fellow, Faith and Reason Institute, and author of Primal Screams: How the Sexual Revolution Created Identity Politics)
What listeners say about The Irony of Modern Catholic History
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Pascal
- 2020-01-11
Clarity Amidst Confusion
Weigel shares his thorough understanding of the last 300 years of the Roman Church and doesn't refrain from addressing the difficult questions. This book is crucial to anyone who wants to understand how the Catholic Church got to Vatican II, and how Catholics' response to the refreshing message of the council led to a half-century of confusion and division. It is very helpful to understand the source of an overly centralized Roman Church -- of ultramontanism old and new, liberal and conservative.
Weigel manifests a great deal of wisdom and boldness. He does not shy away from denouncing a certain "bull-headed" attitude characterizing some 17th century pontiffs (towards, say, evangelization efforts in China or in the Roman Church' dealings with the Christian East) and which find their echo among some Latin traditionalists today (whose traditionalism is in fact no more ancient than the 16th century counter-Reformation). With equal clarity, he exposes the counterfeit message of the liberalizing forces that would see the Catholic Church relegate anything challenging that is found in Biblical revelation and the deposit of the Faith to the shelves. And refreshingly, he denounces forcefully the widespread corruption that has allowed the sex abuse scandals to proliferate.
If the Good News is of any value (and we have good reason to believe that it is), then it is specifically to challenge all men and all women -- and all of modernity -- to rediscover God's place in history and the meaning of human life, which transcends a one-dimensional materialist outlook.
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