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While You Were Gone: A Handbook for Returning Catholics, and Those Thinking About It
Each chapter closes with a brief annotated list of resources for further reading. Ideal for the Rite of Christian Initation for Adults, this book will also serve well for parish evangelization and ourtreach.
112 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 23, 2024
A POPULAR PRIEST/AUTHOR PROVIDES SUGGESTIONS FOR THOSE "THINKING ABOUT IT
William J. Bausch is a retired priest in the Diocese of Trenton, New Jersey; he has written many other books such as 'Breaking Trust: a Priest Looks at the Scandal of Sexual Abuse,' 'Pilgrim Church: A Popular History of Catholic Christianity,' 'A World of Stories for Preachers and Teachers: And All Who Love Stories That Move and Challenge,' 'A New Look at the Sacraments,' 'Still Preaching After All These Years: 40 More Seasonal Homilies,' etc.
He wrote in the Introduction to this 1997 book, "Catholics have left the church in great numbers, but they are also returning in significant numbers: an estimated 320,000 each year. The reasons for leaving and the reasons for returning are many and we shall discuss them in this book, but the returning itself poses its own challenges... some kind of guidance is in order for those returning to the Catholic church. Hence this book...
"But this book also has in mind two other groups besides those who have returned to the church. The first is those who have not yet in fact returned, but are thinking about it... The second group that this book would help is catechumens... those in the RCIA processes.... I hope the returning Catholic will be moved to pursue what is suggested in this book."
He admits, "we must remember that in many ways the church was under siege. The fortress mentality was forged from these past experiences. The church had to declare loud and clear: We have all the truth; others don't. We would be saved; others lost. Authority was strict, dialogue was out, and obedience in, and we saw to it that people would be kept safe from 'dangerous' ideas... this ghetto mentality, this separation from the world, couldn't hold forever. It officially burst with Vatican II." (Pg. 24)
He also notes, "the birth control ruling in 1968 shook many Catholics' faith in church authority as they openly disagreed with the conclusion that birth control is morally wrong. (Latest polls shows 87 percent disagree with the church's official stand.) The Vatican's public curbing of well-known theologians rubbed the American sense of the right to dissent the wrong way." (Pg. 63)
He also observes that "single Catholics... appear to have a higher rate of premarital sex than the general population... including the Baby Boomers, 81 percent of whom do not accept the church's teaching on divorce and remarriage." (Pg. 90) He adds, "That 68 percent of the Baby Boomers deny that one must obey the church's teaching on abortion shows how wide the gap is and how much dialogue there must yet be." (Pg. 92)
This book will be very helpful to alienated, inactive, and "recovering" Catholics who are, or may one day be, contemplating a return to the Catholic church.
William J. Bausch is a retired priest in the Diocese of Trenton, New Jersey; he has written many other books such as 'Breaking Trust: a Priest Looks at the Scandal of Sexual Abuse,' 'Pilgrim Church: A Popular History of Catholic Christianity,' 'A World of Stories for Preachers and Teachers: And All Who Love Stories That Move and Challenge,' 'A New Look at the Sacraments,' 'Still Preaching After All These Years: 40 More Seasonal Homilies,' etc.
He wrote in the Introduction to this 1997 book, "Catholics have left the church in great numbers, but they are also returning in significant numbers: an estimated 320,000 each year. The reasons for leaving and the reasons for returning are many and we shall discuss them in this book, but the returning itself poses its own challenges... some kind of guidance is in order for those returning to the Catholic church. Hence this book...
"But this book also has in mind two other groups besides those who have returned to the church. The first is those who have not yet in fact returned, but are thinking about it... The second group that this book would help is catechumens... those in the RCIA processes.... I hope the returning Catholic will be moved to pursue what is suggested in this book."
He admits, "we must remember that in many ways the church was under siege. The fortress mentality was forged from these past experiences. The church had to declare loud and clear: We have all the truth; others don't. We would be saved; others lost. Authority was strict, dialogue was out, and obedience in, and we saw to it that people would be kept safe from 'dangerous' ideas... this ghetto mentality, this separation from the world, couldn't hold forever. It officially burst with Vatican II." (Pg. 24)
He also notes, "the birth control ruling in 1968 shook many Catholics' faith in church authority as they openly disagreed with the conclusion that birth control is morally wrong. (Latest polls shows 87 percent disagree with the church's official stand.) The Vatican's public curbing of well-known theologians rubbed the American sense of the right to dissent the wrong way." (Pg. 63)
He also observes that "single Catholics... appear to have a higher rate of premarital sex than the general population... including the Baby Boomers, 81 percent of whom do not accept the church's teaching on divorce and remarriage." (Pg. 90) He adds, "That 68 percent of the Baby Boomers deny that one must obey the church's teaching on abortion shows how wide the gap is and how much dialogue there must yet be." (Pg. 92)
This book will be very helpful to alienated, inactive, and "recovering" Catholics who are, or may one day be, contemplating a return to the Catholic church.
August 10, 2022
I really enjoyed this short book. Looking forward to reading many of the suggested resources.
March 25, 2013
used as a text in RCIA classes
March 18, 2014
I would agree with the general description on this slender book and its merits.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews