Book Review
Roman Renewal
Evangelical Catholicism: Deep Reform in the 21st-Century Church by George Weigel
Basic Books, 2013
(291 pages, $27.95, hardcover)
reviewed by Leon J. Podles
George Weigel is not a Catholic restorationist who desires a return to some imaginary ideal period. He tries to go beyond the dichotomy of "traditionalism" and "progressivism" to discern how the Holy Spirit is giving a new form to the Catholic Church. He sees the beginning of the end of the Counter-Reformation form of Catholicism in the work of Pope Leo XIII, work which culminated in Vatican II and its call to holiness for all Christians. Weigel sees the essence of the Christian life as friendship with Jesus Christ, rooted in fidelity to revelation, nourished by the sacraments and liturgy, and leading to a deep conversion of life: "Evangelical Catholicism calls the entire Church to holiness for the sake of mission."
Weigel has specific ideas on how this reform could be implemented in key areas of Catholic life:
• The Episcopate: Weigel would like to see a more careful selection of bishops, a selection that emphasizes personal holiness, preaching, and fruitfulness of ministry in potential appointees. He also wants there to be an effective way to remove bishops who fail (as so many notoriously did in the sexual abuse scandals).
• The Priesthood: Weigel wants to see the end of clericalism as a caste system. He supports celibacy for priests as a sign of radical commitment, and he calls for better preaching.
• The Liturgy: Weigel would like to see a more reverent approach to the liturgy. He dislikes parishes that are "sacramental service stations" and wants to see more rigorous preparation for the sacraments.
• Consecrated Life: Weigel is unhappy with the "progressive" women religious who have serious problems with orthodox belief and practice. But he is also unhappy with the Vatican's initial approval of, and later attempt to salvage, the Legion of Christ, which was founded by a sexually abusive, incestuous sociopath, Marcial Maciel. He does not seem sanguine about the possibilities for reform of religious life, apart from a few congregations.
• Lay Vocation: Weigel wants a stronger emphasis to be placed on the call to holiness and the work of lay people in the world. He also wants to see more rigorous requirements for participation in the sacrament of matrimony.
• Intellectual Life: Weigel is unhappy with the widespread questioning among theologians of the basics of Christian faith and morality.
• Public Policy Advocacy: Weigel insists that the Catholic defense of human life is essential. He questions the tendency of the church to equate European social democracy with Catholic social doctrine, and says that the application of Catholic principles to economics is a competence of the laity.
Leon J. Podles holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Virginia, has worked as a teacher and a federal investigator, and is president of the Crossland Foundation. He is the author of The Church Impotent (Spence), Sacrilege (Crossland Press), and Losing the Good Portion: Why Men Are Alienated from Christianity (St. Augustine Press). Dr. Podles and his wife have six children and live in Baltimore, Maryland. He is a senior editor of Touchstone.
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