Biographies

On Friday, March 20, 2009, fifteen months after the City of Oakland, California, passed a law making it illegal to approach a woman entering an abortion clinic without her consent, Walter B. Hoye II went to jail for standing on a public sidewalk outside an abortion clinic with a sign saying, God loves you and your baby. Let us help you.

The ordained Baptist minister could have accepted a lesser sentence of community service, provided he agreed never to return to the clinic. But he preferred spending thirty days in the county jail to forfeiting his constitutional right to free speech and his Christian duty to offer help to women in need, most of whom were black like him. Two higher courts eventually exonerated him: one overturned his criminal conviction, and the other judged that the enforcement of the Oakland bubble law was unconstitutional.

Walter's dramatic days in prison, where he lived and preached the gospel and won the hearts of fellow inmates, are detailed in this book. The political machinations that created the bubble law and then entrapped Walter are also described, using public records. Both stories are told in the context of Walter's background as the descendant of black slaves and the disciple of his hero Martin Luther King Jr., whose niece, Alveda, has written the foreword for this book.

Throughout the modern era, Galileo Galilei has been presented as a victim of cruel torture of conscience, theological narrow-mindedness, and ecclesiastical harassment typical of a dark, closed-minded Church. Frequently portrayed as such in theaters due to prevailing political ideologies, the story of Galileo points to the long-held tension between "science and faith," "technology and ethics," and "progress and the Church."

The story of the real Galileo, however, which has not been told--until now--is sure to rock the established narrative.

Walter Cardinal Brandmüller, an eminent Church historian and expert in Galilean research, evaluates the scientific research of the recent past and exposes shocking historical errors. Uninterested in whitewashing the problematic pages of Church history, he offers a balanced view of the controversy, illuminating it through the lens of a deeper historical understanding.

Leaving no stone unturned, His Excellency separates the facts from the fiction to reveal:

You will discover the various aspects and philosophical views of the Galileo controversy, including how his personal polemics at times superseded his scientific research. Moreover, you will learn about significant scientists' and theologians' arguments regarding heliocentrism and other topics.

The book includes an extensive bibliography of Galileo's works and a timeline of his life, as well as a declaration from twelve Nobel Prize-winning scientists on the necessity of dialogue between science and religion and the need for the Church's guidance.

Charles Carroll's life began nearly four decades before the War of Independence and ended while Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United States, was in office. As Fr. Charles Connor explains, Carroll was "the last of the signers to die, the wealthiest man in the colonies and the new republic, and clung tenaciously to the faith of his forebearers his entire life."

In this masterfully written biography, which reads like a riveting novel, Fr. Connor brilliantly sets the stage for Carroll's extraordinary life by examining his ancestry, the origins of the United States, and the story of its founding. As you discover this hero's indomitable faith and energy amid shocking challenges and persecutions, you will find:

While you learn about the hardships and divisions in the early years of American history, you will be inspired by Carroll's finesse in defending his beliefs while also fostering goodwill and unity. Carroll helped shape our country's foundation, from his participation in the Continental Congress to the drafting of the Constitution to his tenure as senator and decades of service in Maryland. Highlighted in his illustrious legacy are his tireless efforts in promoting human dignity through opposing slavery and standing up for the marginalized through his philanthropy. Above all, Carroll was a spiritual giant whose exemplary faith shines as a beacon for our country today.

When high school valedictorian Ian Murphy was writing his graduation address, a teacher told him that he could not mention Jesus in his speech. She even threatened to pull the plug on the microphone if he tried to do so. Murphy's defiance, in the name of his constitutional rights, made national news, and his zeal to spread the Gospel, no matter the cost, became the defining passion of his life.

Murphy's public battle for his freedom of speech is where this conversion story begins, but then it retraces the other important experiences of his youth. He describes his free-spirited Christian parents, his early doubts, the influence of faith-filled relatives and friends, and the spiritual encounter that made him a believer.

At a young age, Murphy went from strength to strength as he sought after truth, grew in prayer, and shared his faith with others. But his doubts resurfaced when his friend and mentor, the leader of a Protestant college group, was murdered. After his trust in God was restored, Murphy became a Baptist minister in the Bible Belt, and from there his spiritual journey led him into the Catholic Church.

The unexpected twists and turns in Murphy's extraordinary story show that when a man gives his life to Christ, the Lord never lets him go.

This is Mother Elvira's story of her community's founding and growth and of the powerful principles that guide its uniquely successful programs.

Jean-Marie Elie Setbon, the son of non-observant French Jews, was first attracted to Jesus when he saw a crucifix at a young age. He hid a crucifix in his room and contemplated it often, even though he knew his family would be hurt and angry if they ever caught him.

Seeing the Basilica of Sacre-Coeur from his apartment window, he was drawn to the church, where he found himself powerfully pulled toward Jesus in the Eucharist. After several years of surreptitiously attending Mass, he resolved to convert to Catholicism in spite of the scandal it would cause, but God had other plans.

Upon graduation from secondary school, Jean-Marie moved to Israel to delve deeper into the faith of his ancestors. He lived in kibbutzim, learned about the history and religion of his people, served in the Israeli Army, and attended two different rabbinical schools. Eight years later he returned to France as an ultra-Orthodox Jew.

While teaching in a Jewish school, Jean-Marie married a woman who shared his faith, and together they began raising a family; yet his yearning for Jesus remained, becoming the source of a long and difficult internal struggle.

Jean-Marie's moving and unusual conversion story is about his battle between loyalty to his identity and fidelity to the deepest desires of his heart. Above all, it is a love story between Christ, the Lover--the relentless yet patient pursuer--and man, his beloved.

Cardinal Francis E. George, O.M.I., was an exemplary pastor and heroic disciple of Christ. A native Chicagoan, he was told as a young man that he would never be a priest in Chicago because of a physical disability resulting from polio. He went on to be ordained a priest with the Oblates of Mary Immaculate in 1963. The native son was appointed as archbishop of Chicago in 1997, created a cardinal in 1998, and served in Chicago until 2014, just months before his death in April 2015.

Cardinal George was a prophetic voice in the Church -- a man able to see things as they are and from the point of view of the whole Church. His episcopal motto, "To Christ be glory in the Church," encapsulates his legacy, because every decision he made, every action he took, every suffering he endured was about serving others and pointing them to our Savior.

Most of all, Cardinal George was a Christian in every sense. He was concerned about relationships and people, not careerism or advancement. He was attentive to the poor and those on the margins. He was a man of prayer, dedicated to Our Lady, and devoted to the Eucharist. He articulated the Faith and was committed to reform. He was honest, accountable, genuine, and holy. Admired for his pursuit and proclamation of the truth and his personal witness to the Gospel, Cardinal George remains a model for discipleship and leadership.

In gripping fashion, Kevin tells the story of his family's own long suffering, which culminated in the dark spring of 2020, as a strange fear pressed down upon the world and his wife spent most nights drinking away long-held shame. When a near-universal chorus of politicians, medical professionals, and Catholic clergy megaphoned the command to "isolate," Kevin couldn't imagine a more dooming word for his family, his marriage, and the life of his wife.

Yet God had other plans. Wells' honest tale of inner crisis and hope-filled resurrection takes readers on a spiritual rollercoaster, offering a penetrating exploration of the sacramental grace of marriage and the mysterious movement of God in dry, lonely places.

In the journey from darkness to light, three lives--Krista, Kevin, and Father Flum--became forever entwined. It is a deeper kind of love story. The chapters on the fits and starts of renewal unfold like the piecemeal opening of a tomb. The Hermit is a true account of marital survival, a holy priest, redemption, and even the miraculous, where imprisoned shame and sin are transformed into the joy of freedom.

Sr. Josephine Garrett, CSFN, is a woman full of hope, and she's here to help you find authentic hope in your life, too. What she offers is real hope -- not wishing on a shooting star or hoping you win the lottery, but the messy and risky kind. She also takes an unflinching look at the painful parts of hope, our struggles with hope, and our labors in hope.

Authentic hope is powerful and life-giving. It appears foolish to man. But it is the foolishness of God, and "the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom" (1 Cor 1:25). Authentic hope shines light into complete and utter darkness.

In HOPE: An Invitation, Sr. Josephine invites you to journey with her to new heights of hope, to discover the courage to press ahead into the unknown even in difficult or seemingly impossible circumstances. She shares her own struggles to live in hope amidst the circumstances of her life, and she reflects on the great problem and the great gift of hope. Ultimately, we must find our hope in the strength of the Lord, not in worldly promises, in which we deceive ourselves into thinking we can manifest good things in our life through our own strength. We need a hope that extends well beyond ourselves and into eternity -- a hope that comes from God, who not only has given us hope but allows us to spread this hope to others.