{"product_id":"true-confessions-voices-of-faith-from-a-life-in-the-church-9781621646242","title":"True Confessions: Voices of Faith from a Life in the Church","description":"\u003cp\u003e Over the past decade Rome has been marked with sharp, and often unwarranted, criticism of the Church in the United States and American Catholic life. But very few of the critics have taken the time to talk, systematically, with a wide range of U.S. Catholics to understand their concerns\u003ci\u003e. True Confessions\u003c\/i\u003e is unique for its frank and in-depth interviews with 103 bishops, clergy, religious, and lay men and women from various backgrounds over a 17-month period, December 2020 through May 2022. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e The wide-ranging subject matter includes the unseen challenges of life as a bishop; the pressures and satisfactions of the priesthood, the diaconate, and the consecrated life; the structural and leadership ingredients of diocesan success and failure; fallout from the Church' sex-abuse scandals; problems in Catholic universities; attitudes toward the Vatican; the role of Catholics in the academy and the secular culture; the witness of parents who have children with special needs; and the testimony of immigrant Americans as they assess their new homeland. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Finally, the book presents the reasons why so many U.S. Catholics, despite today's challenges, continue to love the Church and cherish their faith with joy and energy. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrancis X. Maier\u003c\/b\u003e is a senior fellow in Catholic Studies at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, Washington, D.C. He served for 23 years as senior aide and special assistant to Archbishop Charles Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., in Denver and Philadelphia. He previously served for 15 years as editor-in-chief of the \u003ci\u003eNational Catholic Register\u003c\/i\u003e newsweekly, and earlier still as a screenwriter and story analyst based in Los Angeles. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Ignatius Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50605939949842,"sku":"9781621646242","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_0a0466c2-9573-4092-980b-8141502a07a7.jpg?v=1732285649","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/true-confessions-voices-of-faith-from-a-life-in-the-church-9781621646242","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}