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The Truth at the Heart of the Lie: How the Catholic Church Lost Its Soul
“Courageous and inspiring.”—Karen Armstrong, author of The Case for God
“James Carroll takes us to the heart of one of the great crises of our times.”—Stephen Greenblatt, author of The Swerve
An eloquent memoir by a former priest and National Book Award–winning writer who traces the roots of the Catholic sexual abuse scandal back to the power structure of the Church itself, as he explores his own crisis of faith and journey to renewal
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
James Carroll weaves together the story of his quest to understand his personal beliefs and his relationship to the Catholic Church with the history of the Church itself. From his first awakening of faith as a boy to his gradual disillusionment as a Catholic, Carroll offers a razor-sharp examination both of himself and of how the Church became an institution that places power and dominance over people through an all-male clergy.
Carroll argues that a male-supremacist clericalism is both the root cause and the ongoing enabler of the sexual abuse crisis. The power structure of clericalism poses an existential threat to the Church and compromises the ability of even a progressive pope like Pope Francis to advance change in an institution accountable only to itself. Carroll traces this dilemma back to the Roman Empire and the Middle Ages, when Scripture, Jesus Christ, and His teachings were reinterpreted as the Church became an empire. In a deeply personal re-examination of self, Carroll grapples with his own feelings of being chosen, his experiences as a priest, and the moments of doubt that made him leave the priesthood and embark on a long personal journey toward renewal—including his tenure as an op-ed columnist at The Boston Globe writing about sexual abuse in the Church.
Ultimately, Carroll calls on the Church and all reform-minded Catholics to revive the culture from within by embracing anti-clerical, anti-misogynist resistance and staying grounded in the spirit of love that is the essential truth at the heart of Christian belief and Christian life.
“James Carroll takes us to the heart of one of the great crises of our times.”—Stephen Greenblatt, author of The Swerve
An eloquent memoir by a former priest and National Book Award–winning writer who traces the roots of the Catholic sexual abuse scandal back to the power structure of the Church itself, as he explores his own crisis of faith and journey to renewal
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
James Carroll weaves together the story of his quest to understand his personal beliefs and his relationship to the Catholic Church with the history of the Church itself. From his first awakening of faith as a boy to his gradual disillusionment as a Catholic, Carroll offers a razor-sharp examination both of himself and of how the Church became an institution that places power and dominance over people through an all-male clergy.
Carroll argues that a male-supremacist clericalism is both the root cause and the ongoing enabler of the sexual abuse crisis. The power structure of clericalism poses an existential threat to the Church and compromises the ability of even a progressive pope like Pope Francis to advance change in an institution accountable only to itself. Carroll traces this dilemma back to the Roman Empire and the Middle Ages, when Scripture, Jesus Christ, and His teachings were reinterpreted as the Church became an empire. In a deeply personal re-examination of self, Carroll grapples with his own feelings of being chosen, his experiences as a priest, and the moments of doubt that made him leave the priesthood and embark on a long personal journey toward renewal—including his tenure as an op-ed columnist at The Boston Globe writing about sexual abuse in the Church.
Ultimately, Carroll calls on the Church and all reform-minded Catholics to revive the culture from within by embracing anti-clerical, anti-misogynist resistance and staying grounded in the spirit of love that is the essential truth at the heart of Christian belief and Christian life.
370 pages, Hardcover
First published March 23, 2021
72 people are currently reading
1407 people want to read
About the author
James Carroll
142 books162 followersJames Carroll was born in Chicago and raised in Washington, D.C. He has been a civil rights worker, an antiwar activist, and a community organizer in Washington and New York. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1969 and served as Catholic chaplain at Boston University. Carroll left the priesthood to become a novelist and playwright. He lives in Boston with his wife, the novelist Alexandra Marshall, and their two children.
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April 17, 2021
Carroll has written what also could have been titled Me and My Journey with the Church, for it is a semi-autobiographical work of which its central theme is his changing understanding of, and relationship with, the Church, primarily that of its clerical and hierarchical authority-structure.
He is the same age as me and my life-long friend Ken, whom I mentioned because over the years we have discussed our own complex feelings about the Catholic Church and, although we have not journeyed precisely alike, most everything Carroll writes resonates with our own similar experiences.
In this work, he frequently contrasts what “the Church” is with whom Jesus was and with the way he behaved and taught.
To clarify, his book is hardly at all negative about the entire Church, nor about all of its history. Much good has been done by the Church over the centuries, and occasionally even its leaders – including some of its popes – have been saintly figures. Moreover, while he strongly criticizes the current pope for failing to resolve the problem of predator priests as well as shying away from addressing in a positive way the role of women in the Church – both, clearly, “biggies” – he also writes admiringly about how Pope Francis has so often exemplified the simple love and humility that so attracted people to Jesus of Nazareth. When Francis behaves as a pastor in such ways, Carroll lauds him for showing the world what Christians should be. He also notes how hungry “the world” is for this kind of figure.
True pastors are not concerned with “power,” since power always puts some people over others, and that is not Jesus’ way.
He devotes several pages to showing how beautifully Francis has behaved and why he has raised so many hopes among Catholics and non-Catholics alike, even if some of them are now dashed in Carroll’s heart. He writes sympathetically about the severe challenges Francis has had– and continues to encounter – because of the entrenched conservatives within the curia and among the cardinals and bishops, almost all of whom were appointed by the previous very conservative popes.
His primary argument, however, is about the nature of clericalism itself. He shifts back and forth in time, explaining how certain key elements underlying clericalism originated while also illustrating how he has encountered them in his own lifetime.
He argues that what became “the Church” – especially in the centuries after the Emperor Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire – basically “put on” the trappings of empire and monarchy, forgetting in the process that such power/authority roles inevitably subvert humility and servant-service, which is what Jesus called us all to do.
Although women were very prominent in the early decades following Jesus’ death – as both the Gospels and the letters of Paul demonstrate – the all-male hierarchy quickly put in place mechanisms to ensure that they would not become part of the governing structure of the Church.
In fact, many of the teachings of St. Augustine about the essential depravity of human nature and of the subordinate place and nature of women were used to both exclude women from the priesthood and portray them as the weaker sex whose presence was a permanent temptation to sin to men. (Carroll points out that as we know from Augustine’s Confessions that he was doing some projecting from his own experience in which he clearly was the “weaker” one.)
Carroll then shows – again by intermingling the historical past with present reality – how over the centuries the Church moved away from what the 16th century Reformers called the “priesthood of all believers” – a body of equals who shared in the ministry of Jesus’ word and way – to an institution of special people who alone were the key intermediaries between the divine and the rest of humankind.
The fact that priests – and candidates for the priesthood – were told they were special, and that they alone possessed the magical powers to transform bread and wine into the flesh and blood of Jesus, understandably led to an all-male group whose self-interest and self-preservation came to be more important that an open and transparent leadership.
The decision to exclude married men over 1,000 years ago further distanced the leadership as now both laity and women were seen as unworthy to perform this central function. And with the exaltation of the papacy that became especially noticeable in the Middle Ages, the Church hierarchy increasingly found itself arguing with – and even moving against – the secular world and mass culture.
He repeatedly shows that it did not have to turn out this way and, in fact, there have been many opportunities throughout the Church’s 2,000-year history when reformers succeeded – at least for a while. The most recent of these was Vatican II of the 1960s when good ol’ Pope John XXIII (whom Carroll met personally as a young boy) “threw open the doors and windows” of the Church to let in some fresh air. Unfortunately, John’s stomach cancer not only prevented him from living to the end of the Council but from being in a position to begin to implement its major reforms.
For a very brief time fresh air did enter: The Church finally apologized to the Jewish people for centuries of wrong, the liturgy was reformed in many ways to make it closer to and more understandable by the laity, and a hopeful dialogue with the Reform churches begun. But with successive far more conservative popes, the doors and windows were again slammed shut: Pope Paul VI ignored the advice of the special commission established by Pope John to examine the issue of birth control, the broad umbrella of social justice reform was narrowed to, for all practical purposes, the sole issue of abortion, and with the Church’s refusal to consider the role of women and the refusal to see homosexuals as equal members of humanity, the decidedly more progressive major Reform churches moved ahead both theologically and culturally.
Much like Pope Pius IX and his successors in the 19th century, the Church was once again standing against the evolving and more compassionate trends of the lay culture all around it, including on such issues as homosexuality and transgender folks. Pope Benedict, in fact, at one time even talked about the “advantages” of a much smaller Church of “true believers.”
Carroll notes that as one of the consequences of all of this, the number of Catholics – especially young people – is declining, as are the number of priests and nuns. His response has been to impose a period of fasting and abstinence from the Church as a form of penance for the sins of the Church, and he acknowledges that at his age this is likely to remain for the rest of his life. He has not left “the Church of Jesus” but, rather, the Church that men have made.
In this, too, we are alike, although I made a similar decision several years ago.
When the Church teaches what Jesus said and did, I listen and follow. When it enforces and defends what it has made of itself, I refuse.
Christianity will survive in some form because the beauty and truth of what Jesus said and did is compelling. But as to how and through what mechanism(s) this will be done I have no real idea. If Francis cannot change “the Church” – the hierarchical dominance of men – than I cannot imagine what heroic figure can.
NOTE: I have for many years cautioned that when the evangelist “John” writes about the Jews it is important to note that this is his term for the religious leadership of Jesus’ day, and not the Jewish people. Similarly, when I write about “the Church” critically it is not about the people who are Jesus followers but, rather, the all-male hierarchy.
He is the same age as me and my life-long friend Ken, whom I mentioned because over the years we have discussed our own complex feelings about the Catholic Church and, although we have not journeyed precisely alike, most everything Carroll writes resonates with our own similar experiences.
In this work, he frequently contrasts what “the Church” is with whom Jesus was and with the way he behaved and taught.
To clarify, his book is hardly at all negative about the entire Church, nor about all of its history. Much good has been done by the Church over the centuries, and occasionally even its leaders – including some of its popes – have been saintly figures. Moreover, while he strongly criticizes the current pope for failing to resolve the problem of predator priests as well as shying away from addressing in a positive way the role of women in the Church – both, clearly, “biggies” – he also writes admiringly about how Pope Francis has so often exemplified the simple love and humility that so attracted people to Jesus of Nazareth. When Francis behaves as a pastor in such ways, Carroll lauds him for showing the world what Christians should be. He also notes how hungry “the world” is for this kind of figure.
True pastors are not concerned with “power,” since power always puts some people over others, and that is not Jesus’ way.
He devotes several pages to showing how beautifully Francis has behaved and why he has raised so many hopes among Catholics and non-Catholics alike, even if some of them are now dashed in Carroll’s heart. He writes sympathetically about the severe challenges Francis has had– and continues to encounter – because of the entrenched conservatives within the curia and among the cardinals and bishops, almost all of whom were appointed by the previous very conservative popes.
His primary argument, however, is about the nature of clericalism itself. He shifts back and forth in time, explaining how certain key elements underlying clericalism originated while also illustrating how he has encountered them in his own lifetime.
He argues that what became “the Church” – especially in the centuries after the Emperor Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire – basically “put on” the trappings of empire and monarchy, forgetting in the process that such power/authority roles inevitably subvert humility and servant-service, which is what Jesus called us all to do.
Although women were very prominent in the early decades following Jesus’ death – as both the Gospels and the letters of Paul demonstrate – the all-male hierarchy quickly put in place mechanisms to ensure that they would not become part of the governing structure of the Church.
In fact, many of the teachings of St. Augustine about the essential depravity of human nature and of the subordinate place and nature of women were used to both exclude women from the priesthood and portray them as the weaker sex whose presence was a permanent temptation to sin to men. (Carroll points out that as we know from Augustine’s Confessions that he was doing some projecting from his own experience in which he clearly was the “weaker” one.)
Carroll then shows – again by intermingling the historical past with present reality – how over the centuries the Church moved away from what the 16th century Reformers called the “priesthood of all believers” – a body of equals who shared in the ministry of Jesus’ word and way – to an institution of special people who alone were the key intermediaries between the divine and the rest of humankind.
The fact that priests – and candidates for the priesthood – were told they were special, and that they alone possessed the magical powers to transform bread and wine into the flesh and blood of Jesus, understandably led to an all-male group whose self-interest and self-preservation came to be more important that an open and transparent leadership.
The decision to exclude married men over 1,000 years ago further distanced the leadership as now both laity and women were seen as unworthy to perform this central function. And with the exaltation of the papacy that became especially noticeable in the Middle Ages, the Church hierarchy increasingly found itself arguing with – and even moving against – the secular world and mass culture.
He repeatedly shows that it did not have to turn out this way and, in fact, there have been many opportunities throughout the Church’s 2,000-year history when reformers succeeded – at least for a while. The most recent of these was Vatican II of the 1960s when good ol’ Pope John XXIII (whom Carroll met personally as a young boy) “threw open the doors and windows” of the Church to let in some fresh air. Unfortunately, John’s stomach cancer not only prevented him from living to the end of the Council but from being in a position to begin to implement its major reforms.
For a very brief time fresh air did enter: The Church finally apologized to the Jewish people for centuries of wrong, the liturgy was reformed in many ways to make it closer to and more understandable by the laity, and a hopeful dialogue with the Reform churches begun. But with successive far more conservative popes, the doors and windows were again slammed shut: Pope Paul VI ignored the advice of the special commission established by Pope John to examine the issue of birth control, the broad umbrella of social justice reform was narrowed to, for all practical purposes, the sole issue of abortion, and with the Church’s refusal to consider the role of women and the refusal to see homosexuals as equal members of humanity, the decidedly more progressive major Reform churches moved ahead both theologically and culturally.
Much like Pope Pius IX and his successors in the 19th century, the Church was once again standing against the evolving and more compassionate trends of the lay culture all around it, including on such issues as homosexuality and transgender folks. Pope Benedict, in fact, at one time even talked about the “advantages” of a much smaller Church of “true believers.”
Carroll notes that as one of the consequences of all of this, the number of Catholics – especially young people – is declining, as are the number of priests and nuns. His response has been to impose a period of fasting and abstinence from the Church as a form of penance for the sins of the Church, and he acknowledges that at his age this is likely to remain for the rest of his life. He has not left “the Church of Jesus” but, rather, the Church that men have made.
In this, too, we are alike, although I made a similar decision several years ago.
When the Church teaches what Jesus said and did, I listen and follow. When it enforces and defends what it has made of itself, I refuse.
Christianity will survive in some form because the beauty and truth of what Jesus said and did is compelling. But as to how and through what mechanism(s) this will be done I have no real idea. If Francis cannot change “the Church” – the hierarchical dominance of men – than I cannot imagine what heroic figure can.
NOTE: I have for many years cautioned that when the evangelist “John” writes about the Jews it is important to note that this is his term for the religious leadership of Jesus’ day, and not the Jewish people. Similarly, when I write about “the Church” critically it is not about the people who are Jesus followers but, rather, the all-male hierarchy.
December 13, 2025
I can relate to this idealist and his efforts to serve something greater. I can identify with his anguish on realizing that the ideals for which his church and country actually stand are inherently abusive. I like the way Carroll clarifies the contradictions of church history, where a movement to break down social walls became a structure for monopoly control over the means of spiritual life or death -- as established for example by the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215: “No one can effect this sacrament except a priest who has been properly ordained according to the Church’s keys [to heaven], which Jesus Christ himself gave to the apostles and their successors” -- or by the ruling by Pope Innocent III that the Roman pontiff was appointed to a place “between God and man, lower than God, but higher than man, who judges all but is judged by no one.” Both as an American in the modern superpower era, and a churchman in our age of clashing religious ideals, Carroll highlights the abuse inherent in structures of hierarchical dominance over supposed inferiors such as children, women, or cultural outsiders. But despite rejecting all that, Carroll remains devoted, both as an American and a Catholic, to work for change: “… to simply leave the Catholic Church is to leave its worst impulses unchallenged – and its better ones unsupported. When disillusioned liberals depart, Catholic reactionaries are overjoyed. They blithely look forward to a much smaller, more rigidly ‘orthodox’ institution.”
August 28, 2021
I am a fallen away Catholic before I became aware of the sexual abuse scandals that have plagued and dirtied the Church's reputation. I was turned off by the Church's views on abortion, especially as there were no counter positions on birth control or supporting young families. When I was a teenager, the Church felt irrelevant and out of touch, although I admired the passion and dedication of a few notable antiwar activists. The US Church's promotion of Trump and its opposition to Biden – even refusals to offer him Communion – have seemed wrong-headed and power hungry, as well as a failure to put the needs of the poor and downtrodden at the core of their social message.
In The Truth at the Heart of the Lie: How the Catholic Church Lost Its Soul James Carroll took a rambling approach to the difficulties facing the Church, discussing the Church's sex abuse scandal (and failure to honestly take responsibility for it), misogyny, clericalism, celibacy, opposition to birth control, damning unbaptized infants and non-Catholics to hell, and anti-Semitism. He demonstrated that many of these issues stem from a misreading of the Bible and history. Many stem from mistrust of bodies, women,and sexuality, in ways that did not make sense in the context of Jesus' time, much less now. He wrote, "That the majority of those [priests] are virtuous does not undo the fact that the clerical culture has itself become an emblem of malevolence." (p. 52).
Carroll sees the underlying philosophy of the Catholic Church as malignant:
Humans are fallen. God damns sinners. God damns sex, especially female sex. To worship and obey this damning God is to enter into a compact of loathing—loathing the unredeemed. This negativity, however, comes so cloaked in false benevolence as to promote—perhaps to guarantee—a deviant cruelty. (p. 104)
Or
It was in that cloak of denial, sanctified by its tie to the sacrament of Confession, that opportunistic sexual predators could find refuge. Abusive priests could avoid being called to account by exploiting their fellow priests’ ambivalence about impossible norms, confusion that left many feeling conflicted and ashamed. Predators could depend on their colleagues to feel morally compromised simply by being ensnared in such a secret web of deceit. The predators’ colleagues, as much as their superiors in the episcopate, could be counted on to look the other way, and mostly—as grand jury investigations of priestly sexual abuse have well established—they did. (p. 188)
Carroll sees everything as connected, which made The Truth at the Heart of the Lie often feel rambling, like a knotted ball of string – although I have not been turned off by other systemic thinkers. I like when people acknowledge that everything is connected and help me see those connections. Nonetheless, I had difficulty reading more than five pages at a time and, especially in The Truth at the Heart of the Lie's beginning, it was a spectacular treatment of insomnia.
Carroll shares my mistrust of the Church, although he has also felt Jesus – his Imagined Friend – by his side throughout his life. This led him to a somewhat more hopeful ending to The Truth at the Heart of the Lie. He argued that the heart of Jesus's teachings were hopeful and if the malignancies plaguing Catholicism were addressed, the Catholic Church can be both relevant and a positive force in this world.
I read this book with my mother, on the recommendation of my brother-in-law, a Bostonian, who had more intimate knowledge of many of the Americans discussed in this book.
In The Truth at the Heart of the Lie: How the Catholic Church Lost Its Soul James Carroll took a rambling approach to the difficulties facing the Church, discussing the Church's sex abuse scandal (and failure to honestly take responsibility for it), misogyny, clericalism, celibacy, opposition to birth control, damning unbaptized infants and non-Catholics to hell, and anti-Semitism. He demonstrated that many of these issues stem from a misreading of the Bible and history. Many stem from mistrust of bodies, women,and sexuality, in ways that did not make sense in the context of Jesus' time, much less now. He wrote, "That the majority of those [priests] are virtuous does not undo the fact that the clerical culture has itself become an emblem of malevolence." (p. 52).
Carroll sees the underlying philosophy of the Catholic Church as malignant:
Humans are fallen. God damns sinners. God damns sex, especially female sex. To worship and obey this damning God is to enter into a compact of loathing—loathing the unredeemed. This negativity, however, comes so cloaked in false benevolence as to promote—perhaps to guarantee—a deviant cruelty. (p. 104)
Or
It was in that cloak of denial, sanctified by its tie to the sacrament of Confession, that opportunistic sexual predators could find refuge. Abusive priests could avoid being called to account by exploiting their fellow priests’ ambivalence about impossible norms, confusion that left many feeling conflicted and ashamed. Predators could depend on their colleagues to feel morally compromised simply by being ensnared in such a secret web of deceit. The predators’ colleagues, as much as their superiors in the episcopate, could be counted on to look the other way, and mostly—as grand jury investigations of priestly sexual abuse have well established—they did. (p. 188)
Carroll sees everything as connected, which made The Truth at the Heart of the Lie often feel rambling, like a knotted ball of string – although I have not been turned off by other systemic thinkers. I like when people acknowledge that everything is connected and help me see those connections. Nonetheless, I had difficulty reading more than five pages at a time and, especially in The Truth at the Heart of the Lie's beginning, it was a spectacular treatment of insomnia.
Carroll shares my mistrust of the Church, although he has also felt Jesus – his Imagined Friend – by his side throughout his life. This led him to a somewhat more hopeful ending to The Truth at the Heart of the Lie. He argued that the heart of Jesus's teachings were hopeful and if the malignancies plaguing Catholicism were addressed, the Catholic Church can be both relevant and a positive force in this world.
I read this book with my mother, on the recommendation of my brother-in-law, a Bostonian, who had more intimate knowledge of many of the Americans discussed in this book.
May 24, 2021
I have known James Carroll since we were high school roommates in Wiesbaden, Germany. He was a Renaissance person then as he is now. As a friend I have read his many books, most are excellent reads, a couple not so. “The truth at the heart of a lie” is without question his finest, a true master piece. Hopefully the Catholic Church will one day recon with Jame’s insight. Unfortunately and sadly a true transformation will unlikely happen in Jame’s nor my lifetime.
April 11, 2021
This was a comfort read since the author reinforced all my issues with the contemporary church. I bought this book since I will read it again and again when I combat my frustration with a church that is stuck in medieval thinking. I have been waiting over fifty years for change and frankly I had hoped that Francis would be another John XXIII but he just does not have the guts to combat the conservatives and I pray that he develop a spine.
August 16, 2022
I picked this up on a lark; I am a Catholic but have had a really hard time coming to terms with the sex-abuse scandals of the 2000s. I found this book to be interesting, but a little rambling in points as the author attempted to tell his life story and also explain the abuse scandal. (Maybe better as two separate books.). I very much appreciated his insight and conclusions as to why the abuse scandal happened in the first place. I wasn’t so sure how his memoir actually fit in sometimes.
The author ultimately comes up a bit more hopeful than I am regarding the possibility for lasting change in the Catholic Church. But I am very much of his mindset as to what the problems are. It’s a belief in Jesus but not a belief In the structure of the Roman Catholic Church.
If you are a questioning Catholic, you might find some comfort and solace in the statement that “you are not alone” and this book might give voice to your questions. I recommend this book, despite the rambling recollections.
The author ultimately comes up a bit more hopeful than I am regarding the possibility for lasting change in the Catholic Church. But I am very much of his mindset as to what the problems are. It’s a belief in Jesus but not a belief In the structure of the Roman Catholic Church.
If you are a questioning Catholic, you might find some comfort and solace in the statement that “you are not alone” and this book might give voice to your questions. I recommend this book, despite the rambling recollections.
May 16, 2021
Powerful!
A scathing indictment of the Catholic Church, with a stirring call for laity to take charge, a challenge and Hope.
A scathing indictment of the Catholic Church, with a stirring call for laity to take charge, a challenge and Hope.
May 5, 2021
It's always been a mystery to me why people remain in a church when they have so many differences with the teachings and edicts handed down from "on high". James Carroll seems to compare his need to stay in the Roman Catholic Church as his continuing to remain an American despite all of America's foibles -- a comparison I find hard to fathom. While I am often disappointed in America and at times even ashamed at some of the things that happen at the hands of America/Americans, it is my homeland. It would be difficult to up and leave and find another country in which to reside that could come close to having the positives that America has. It also would be dependent on what other country would allow me to become a citizen. There are far fewer choices for an America to select. Not so with religion. There are many other choices and some that would cater to the desires of someone with a somewhat more liberal agenda. Unitarianism and many of the mainline Protestant denominations might meet Mr. Carroll's needs. I'm sure he is, like many Catholics, still stuck on the belief that the RCC is the "One True Church of Jesus Christ". Well then, if that is so (and I most certainly do not believe that), then he has to ask which is wrong -- the church or him. If he believes it is the One True Church but doesn't agree with the teachings, then he is out of communion and should just leave. If he is right, but the church is wrong, then why stay in a church that is clearly not the One True Church. For those of us who view ourselves as Christians (followers of Christ and his teachings as enshrined in the Bible), the Truth is unchanging and needs no building or denomination. Attending church is a time to gather with those of like mind and feel refreshed and encouraged in our walk with Christ. When the church no longer is teaching Scriptural Truth, it is time to leave. The church of Jesus Christ is the body of believers all over the world from all backgrounds who accept the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross as the only means of salvation. It is Him in which we place our faith, no institution. Therefore, when what the church is teaching differs from Scripture, we know we are in the wrong place. Martin Luther did not seek to change the Catholic Church. It was a no-win situation. He left and started a movement (the Reformation) that literally changed the world. Many of the negatives about Luther (most especially the hateful anti-Semitic beliefs he had) were remnants of having been a monk in the Catholic Church which has always been hostile to those of the Jewish faith. However, he didn't seek to change the church into his view, he sought to encourage the church to embrace the Truth of Scripture. When that didn't happen, he left and went his own way, using God's Word as guidance. Mr. Carroll's attempt to "protest" while still in the pews but refusing to take the Eucharist is a pointless and useless cause. The RCC will not change because they have too much to lose. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. If the millions who have been abused by this institution cannot encourage him to wash his hands of this travesty, then he is bereft of hope himself. The RCC likes to use the words of Christ to enforce its strong belief that it alone is the only church of Christ: "the gates of hell shall not prevail". Well if anyone believes that millions of men, women and children who have been sexually and physically abused, babies buried in Tuam in Ireland showing signs of malnutrition, Magdalene Laundries where women who had children out of wedlock were used as slave labor for decades to pay off a debt the twisted nuns believed was owed because they had relations and conceived outside of marriage, priests who used information gained in the confessional to bribe little boys into sexual acts under duress and historical atrocities like the Inquisition and violence against Jews who were also forced into ghettos or forced out of their homes only to have the church acquire their property along with countless other sinful and criminal actions is NOT the gates of hell prevailing against the church, they are surely lost. While I appreciate James Carroll's admission that the church has been arrogant, overbearing, hostile to those of other faiths and too easily turned a deaf ear and a blind eye to the egregious actions of their clergy, I definitely disagree strongly with his belief that the answer to these problems is for the church to become more liberal. What the RCC needs to do is humble itself, ask for forgiveness, dismantle the hierarchy and look to Scripture, not Tradition, to live their lives. Scripture is unchangeable. Homosexuality, transgenderism, gay marriage, abortion are all grievous wrongs. They can be proved from the Bible as wrong and the Bible does not change. Sitting in a church you have grievances with and thinking you are making a statement because you do not receive communion is idiocy. Vote with your feet. Walk out and let this archaic monstrosity of power hungry madmen, twisted and evil as it is, die of lack of oxygen. Go out and find a church that teaches Scriptural Truth and develop a relationship with Christ that is vibrant, healthy and needs no intercessor because Jesus IS your intercessor. Giving this a four star because I am grateful that James Carroll did address some of the long-term issues between Catholicism and other truly Christian faiths, but I certainly do not agree with the liberal approach he takes. "Come out of her my people" (Revelation 18:4) comes to mind whenever I am in a Catholic Church (which will not happen much anymore due to my strong belief that there were two kinds of priests in the church: those that DID the abuse and those that HID the abuse). The expectation Carroll has that the church will ever change its mind on much of these issues is ridiculous. This is a church that still sees the marriage of a Protestant and a Catholic as untenable unless the Protestant either converts or gives up all rights to the religious instruction of their children. Believe me, I know! Shame on them. Before Mr. Carroll asks for extremist actions on the part of the RCC like allowing women priests and homosexuals to be recognized, perhaps he could start on the smaller issues like allowing a Protestant woman to marry the man she loves in her own church without being told her marriage is not sacramental. Before you should stay in a church and think you are protesting and can get it to change (which is kind of like hijacking a plane because you want it to go where you want it to go!), do as Christ said: "Shake the dust off your feet and leave" (Matthew 10:14).
February 19, 2023
I get that this was a reckoning for the author--how to reconcile his complicity in clericalism (something he didn't really grasp as a system for years) with his desire to save his beloved Catholic Church. (Big C Church--not a local parish, which keep closing because of lawsuits against the Church.) However, I didn't really care that much about his personal issues here (even after I realized around 50 pages in that I actually wrote several museum panels about his dad, an interesting and conflicted person as well). What I wanted out of this book was the history of how the rampant sexual abuse/child abuse/misogyny/homophobia/and on and on and on... became a cornerstone of the church. This book does a good job of getting at the history: pointing things that we were taught in CCD as "dating to Christ" or "dating to Peter" that in fact are from 1000 CE or 1870 (oh yes, that infallible pope thing is younger than the U.S. Civil War), that the wives of priests were enslaved once it was decided that celibate clergy would be easier to manage (no spouse or heirs means more money for the Church). The fact that bigoted misogynists rewrote the playbook 500 years after Christ died. The list goes on and if you bring this up your church might kick you out faster than a nun saying mass.
What I didn't need was how this guy personally struggled with this. Oh, yes, please tell me your struggles with how much the church hates women. My entire life the Church has told me I'm less than any man, nothing more than an incubator, but tell me how much that sucked for you. I hope my children have the strength to fully leave, since I sadly kept them in this cesspool of a religion for reasons I only sort of understand (family tradition/family identity, the fact whenever a demon shows up in anything-movie, book, non-fiction accounts-the Protestant clergy tells someone to get a priest because we're the only ones with that playbook apparently, but I digress).
One of his very good points, however, is that 2020 was a reset. It forced the laity to reconsider how they relate to the Church and how they practice their faith. I can't be the only one who after the first two weeks away felt like a burden had been lifted. No longer did I have to explain to my kids at the end of mass why what the priest said about gay people was wrong, or why a man in dress hates women so much. That the Church is slow-moving and eventually will understand that people are people and all are made in God's image. Why I don't think our non-Christian friends are going to Hell despite what CCD says. It's exhausting, and clearly, I'm looking for a level of reform that is essentially starting a new religion.
Which brings me to this. The author advocates for saving the Church. He writes that "One hundred years from now there will be a Catholic Church. Count on it." Circa 290 CE, the Oracle of Delphi probably felt the same way about the worship of Apollo. Look how that worked out.
[If you don't feel like googling it, Christian zealots destroyed that, too.]
What I didn't need was how this guy personally struggled with this. Oh, yes, please tell me your struggles with how much the church hates women. My entire life the Church has told me I'm less than any man, nothing more than an incubator, but tell me how much that sucked for you. I hope my children have the strength to fully leave, since I sadly kept them in this cesspool of a religion for reasons I only sort of understand (family tradition/family identity, the fact whenever a demon shows up in anything-movie, book, non-fiction accounts-the Protestant clergy tells someone to get a priest because we're the only ones with that playbook apparently, but I digress).
One of his very good points, however, is that 2020 was a reset. It forced the laity to reconsider how they relate to the Church and how they practice their faith. I can't be the only one who after the first two weeks away felt like a burden had been lifted. No longer did I have to explain to my kids at the end of mass why what the priest said about gay people was wrong, or why a man in dress hates women so much. That the Church is slow-moving and eventually will understand that people are people and all are made in God's image. Why I don't think our non-Christian friends are going to Hell despite what CCD says. It's exhausting, and clearly, I'm looking for a level of reform that is essentially starting a new religion.
Which brings me to this. The author advocates for saving the Church. He writes that "One hundred years from now there will be a Catholic Church. Count on it." Circa 290 CE, the Oracle of Delphi probably felt the same way about the worship of Apollo. Look how that worked out.
[If you don't feel like googling it, Christian zealots destroyed that, too.]
November 4, 2023
There are passages from this book that strike like lightning bolts and perfectly summarize all my frustrations as a long-time Catholic. For instance:
Or:
Or this one, which could be a thesis statement for the entire book:
Whew.
So why only four stars? Well, for one thing, Carroll can be frustratingly light on citations. He casually tosses off that the idea of apostolic succession is "ahistorical" with no citations to back up this claim. I'm down for having apostolic succession debunked, but I need the debunking to actually happen. Similarly, he's quick to say that opposition to abortion is clearly a smokescreen because limiting access to birth control increases the number of abortions. He's not wrong about that second part, but as a former conservative Catholic, I can rattle off the Church's glib answer for why no, really, it's birth control itself that increases the number of abortions. I'm not saying the Church is correct in this, but Carroll's failure to acknowledge that they have a counterargument, even if he were to immediately dismiss said counterargument, weakens the rhetorical power of the entire book and makes me wonder whether he's taking similar shortcuts in areas where I'm not as well-versed.
For another thing, while I want Carroll's conclusion to be tenable, it isn't.
Still, this is an excellent and challenging book, and I recommend it.
The debasement of Catholic morality when t comes to women, power, and sex is perfectly captured in the fact that the Church's canon law provides for the ex post facto excommunication of a woman who attempts to say Mass. There is no such penalty for a pedophile priest. On the contrary, canon law is rife with the due process protections of an accused cleric, and nothing prevents even those found guilty from being returned to the ministry. A woman at the altar, by contrast, is automatically cast out of the Church.
Or:
The cult of sexual renunciation as an ethical standard has collapsed among Catholics not because of assaults launched from a hedonistic "secular" modernity, but because of its inhuman and irrational weight.
Or this one, which could be a thesis statement for the entire book:
A power structure that is accountable only to itself will always end by abusing the powerless.
Whew.
So why only four stars? Well, for one thing, Carroll can be frustratingly light on citations. He casually tosses off that the idea of apostolic succession is "ahistorical" with no citations to back up this claim. I'm down for having apostolic succession debunked, but I need the debunking to actually happen. Similarly, he's quick to say that opposition to abortion is clearly a smokescreen because limiting access to birth control increases the number of abortions. He's not wrong about that second part, but as a former conservative Catholic, I can rattle off the Church's glib answer for why no, really, it's birth control itself that increases the number of abortions. I'm not saying the Church is correct in this, but Carroll's failure to acknowledge that they have a counterargument, even if he were to immediately dismiss said counterargument, weakens the rhetorical power of the entire book and makes me wonder whether he's taking similar shortcuts in areas where I'm not as well-versed.
For another thing, while I want Carroll's conclusion to be tenable, it isn't.
Still, this is an excellent and challenging book, and I recommend it.
April 10, 2021
Autobiographical elements (particular the confessions about adolescent rebellion and the sadism of his early priests) frame this act of conscience/iconoclasm and offer insight into Carroll's jeremiad against clericalism, male supremacy and the theological denigration of women within the Catholic Church . I think that he (willfully) misinterprets Anselm's claims about the Incarnation (Cur Deus Homo) and subsumes these in service of atonement (solely) as satisfaction. I think his indictment of Augustine's reprobate Manichaeism hits the mark more persuasively and that he connects the theological dots that bind "sexual neurosis, ecclesiastical dishonesty, desire displaced into power, male dominance, demonization of deviance" as the foundational sin of the contemporary Catholic Church. Carroll owes a debt to continental existentialism that he does not fully acknowledge (the Camus quote is revelatory but I suspect Dostoevsky's Grand Inquisitor is just under the surface of the prosecutorial zeal that Carroll exhibits). I think that Carroll remains quite anxious that there may be no salvation outside the church (nulla salus). While he rejects a God of apocalyptic whimsy, he still seeks a God of unconditional love (GMH's"God's Grandeur" is a telling tidbit). He writes wistfully of (St?)Pope John XXIII's aggiornamento and mourns the lost opportunity of Vatican II (undone by "the institutional corruption of clericalism" according to Carroll). I appreciated his repudiation (in the name of Vatican II) of the rank biblical fundamentalism that has fueled the mean season of the Catholic Right.
August 29, 2022
James Carroll, best known for his novels, has been a devoted Roman Catholic all his life, even training and spending a short period of his life as a priest. However, in this book he turns his attention to the rampant sexual abuse of children, which has come to light in the last two decades. He sees the root cause of this crisis being the exalted role of the clergy in the RC church and the way the RC hierarchy has brazenly defended the offenders and allowed the abuse to continue. By extension he regards this crisis also related to the secondary place of women in the church and general disregard for the views and desires of the laity. All of these things he subsumes under the label "clericalism."
Part personal memoir and part scathing attack on the current Roman Catholic Church, Carroll makes a strong case for a completion of the policies Vatican II proposed by Pope John in the early 1960s and being carried on - despite great opposition - by Pope Francis. The book ends with "A Catholic Manifesto: An Anti-Clericalism from Within" in which he calls for current, former and disaffected Catholics demand radical changes in the practice and polity of the Church that are more inclusive, democratic, and in line with the life and teachings of Jesus.
While I am not Catholic, I think many of the same criticisms could be made of the Protestant as evidenced by the recent revelation of rampant sexual abuse in the Southern Baptist denomination. People of all faiths must raise questions about the state and health of the Church in our day.
Part personal memoir and part scathing attack on the current Roman Catholic Church, Carroll makes a strong case for a completion of the policies Vatican II proposed by Pope John in the early 1960s and being carried on - despite great opposition - by Pope Francis. The book ends with "A Catholic Manifesto: An Anti-Clericalism from Within" in which he calls for current, former and disaffected Catholics demand radical changes in the practice and polity of the Church that are more inclusive, democratic, and in line with the life and teachings of Jesus.
While I am not Catholic, I think many of the same criticisms could be made of the Protestant as evidenced by the recent revelation of rampant sexual abuse in the Southern Baptist denomination. People of all faiths must raise questions about the state and health of the Church in our day.
June 22, 2024
Interesting read. I thought book would be mostly about priest abuse of young boys. Although that was covered it was mostly about what author thought was wrong with the Catholic Church. Author states the clergy basically circle the wagons on cases of abuse. They don’t want to loose power. He claims slot of church problems go back to St Augustine. Augustine “converted” from Manichaeism to a mainline Catholic. Author maintains he still held many of the old beliefs. Sex was evil. Females were tempters of the flesh. Jews were responsible for killing Christ. Somehow this was a precursor to priest abusing boys. Pope Benedict stated it started with sexual revolution of the 1960’s and homosexuals tolerated in seminaries. Author just dismissed that claim without comment. Interesting that sexual abuse problems in other churches involved male figures in authority with young females. Other churches responded as the Catholic Church did in ignoring the problem. Author comes off as a far left wing progressive that would be at home with the “squad”. Catholic Church does need to look at why people are leaving in droves but can not just adopt society’s progressive values and think that will solve the problem
December 17, 2025
Carroll’s memoir of his path towards and away from the Catholic priesthood seeks to make the argument for the abolition of the priestly office, and if not, a thorough alteration of it. He leans on his life growing up in an Irish American Catholic family before Vatican II to highlight the deification of the priesthood as it was encountered by the laity, a deification thoroughly approved by the church hierarchy. He follows his path of discernment towards the office highlighting the theology of St. Paul, Agustin and Anselm that shaped the priesthood as understood today, as well as the alternative views presented by Krister Stendahl. For the reader familiar with Catholic theology, it is quite surprising the quantity of changes advocated by Carroll, to the point of unrecognizability and leading to the question of why not start a different church altogether instead. Carroll addresses some of these questions in the closing chapters, even offering a more modest reform package, that while still radical would be firmly based on recent changes within the church. Nonetheless the reader is left feeling that Carroll is inordinately attached to a faith and church with which he seems to be in almost whole disagreement.
October 11, 2022
4.5 stars.
This book is a powerful condemnation of Catholic clericalism. And even though he was preaching to the choir, in my case, he still offered new perspectives. This was primarily in his showing how the Church is rooted in Roman Imperialism and feudalism.
He ended on a positive note, offering hope of a Church that reflects the earliest Christians who centered the Church on a loving personal Jesus. His vision is one of basically destroying the juggernaut apparatus of the modern Church and it being resurrected. He speaks of resistance on a small scale and I am cynical of this as I think there needs to be something on a larger scale to produce change.
The one issue I had was that this part memoir and part criticism. The criticism worked well but the memoir portion was uneven.
This book is a powerful condemnation of Catholic clericalism. And even though he was preaching to the choir, in my case, he still offered new perspectives. This was primarily in his showing how the Church is rooted in Roman Imperialism and feudalism.
He ended on a positive note, offering hope of a Church that reflects the earliest Christians who centered the Church on a loving personal Jesus. His vision is one of basically destroying the juggernaut apparatus of the modern Church and it being resurrected. He speaks of resistance on a small scale and I am cynical of this as I think there needs to be something on a larger scale to produce change.
The one issue I had was that this part memoir and part criticism. The criticism worked well but the memoir portion was uneven.
July 17, 2021
Very interesting to someone who was raised more or less Catholic and has observed the ongoing failures of the RC church from the perspective of ministry in another religious tradition. I used to appreciate Carroll's columns in the Boston Globe. This book is a very introspective look back at Carroll's life from the time of his childhood attraction to the priesthood, through his time as a priest and then as a lay Catholic and finally to complete disgust with the structure.
Moving and enlightening.
Moving and enlightening.
August 10, 2023
I've read a number of James Carroll's books (fiction and non-) and found this one really thought-provoking, challenging, and hopeful. My struggles with the Catholic Church are very similar to his, and his "diagnosis" that clericalism is at the heart of many problems in the Church rings true. The final chapter is worth a read on its own, as it shows a way forward, preserving the Good News of Jesus and transforming the hierarchy that was originally adopted from the Roman Empire and which has caused so much damage.
August 15, 2021
One of the best
This is one of the best and most complete books on the horror of clericalism in the Church today. For me, it lacks only a more detailed explanation of the early diaconate and the women in it. If you want to study the history of how the the Catholic Church wandered so far from Jesus' ministry and message, this is a must read.
This is one of the best and most complete books on the horror of clericalism in the Church today. For me, it lacks only a more detailed explanation of the early diaconate and the women in it. If you want to study the history of how the the Catholic Church wandered so far from Jesus' ministry and message, this is a must read.
September 20, 2021
Exceptionally thought provoking. Easily readable. Background knowledge on Vatican II is helpful but not necessary as Carroll easily explains historical connections. I am going to let this percolate for a few months and then read it a second time—-it is that good!!! This is a great combination of church history, world history, and memoir.
July 10, 2024
4/5
The book is a little unfocused, as it is loosely structured as a memoir but often goes on long historical, theological or political tangents. I found some aspects of the memoir to be very compelling, but the book really hits its stride when it talks about clericalism and church politics. The theological work here is very weak, however.
The book is a little unfocused, as it is loosely structured as a memoir but often goes on long historical, theological or political tangents. I found some aspects of the memoir to be very compelling, but the book really hits its stride when it talks about clericalism and church politics. The theological work here is very weak, however.
May 7, 2021
Male-supremacist clericalism. Carroll presents his readers with historical facts and his own searching. The Catholic Church has "lost its soul" and in order to regain it the pope, cardinals, and bishops need to read this book.
August 17, 2021
Required reading, as my Catholic School teachers used to say. However, they might not agree with me today. One quote from Chapter 11, about Augustine: " The massive sexual dysfunction of the contemporary Catholic Church began with Augustine."
August 24, 2021
An excellent book on where the Catholic Church is today and where we need to go in the future. We can't erase the past but Carroll offers some ways to move forward which I found interesting. This is a good book for people who know that they can't scrub "Catholic"off their souls.
May 21, 2021
I found this a very fascinating read. It definitely is a memoir - a recounting of his life, a life he has lived and thought about as a child and an adult.
June 24, 2021
I heard an interview with the author that I found interesting and requested the book from my library. Overall I found it pretty thought provoking and insightful; perhaps one I'll want to revisit.
July 19, 2021
Thoughtful, insightful, learned. A great read for Catholics who are not afraid to criticize their Church. I loved it.
July 22, 2021
Most excellent book. So many seminarians can truly relate to what Carroll writes.
July 31, 2021
A fabulous book!
August 3, 2021
How lovely to find a book that so thoroughly expresses one's own thoughts....
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