Current Issues

The first half of the book looks at the mistakes made by the Justices, based on the case files, the oral arguments, and the Justices' papers. The second half of the book critically examines the unintended consequences of the abortion decisions in law, politics, and women's health.

Why do the abortion decisions remain so controversial after almost 40 years, despite more than 50,000,000 abortions, numerous presidential elections, and a complete turnover in the Justices? Why did such a sweeping decision--with such important consequences for public health, producing such prolonged political turmoil--come from the Supreme Court in 1973?

Answering those questions is the aim of this book. The controversy over the abortion decisions has hardly subsided, and the reasons why are to be found in the Justices' deliberations in 1971-1972 that resulted in the unprecedented decision they issued.

Discuss Abuse of Discretion on Twitter using hashtag #AbuseOfDiscretion.

Pope Francis has fascinated the world with his humility, his compassion, and his radical vision for the Church. He has welcomed the homeless into the Vatican, embraced people with diseases, and shaken a complacent hierarchy. Shepherds, he said, should acquire the smell of the sheep.

In short, as he has urged young people to do, he swims against the tide.

John L. Allen, Jr., who has covered the Vatican for CNN, the National Catholic Reporter, and the Boston Globe, has been in the forefront of covering Pope Francis and understanding his mission. In Against the Tide, Allen reveals a pope who has fixed his sight on reform, on accountability and on the Church's Social Gospel. Allen shows how the pope's actions reach out to those who are disinterested, disenfranchised and lost -- and how his leadership, while beginning a new era, has roots that stretch back 2000 years.

Bishop Robert Barron, one of the leading Catholic figures in the world and among the most active on social media, has enjoyed thousands of fruitful religious arguments. In this book based on talks delivered at Facebook and Google, he explains why religion at its best opens up the searching mind, and how we all believer and unbeliever alike can share better discussions about God.

From the inside, American churches have been hollowed out by the departure of young people and by an insipid pseudo-Christianity. From the outside, they are beset by challenges to religious liberty in a rapidly secularizing culture. Keeping Hillary Clinton out of the White House may have bought a brief reprieve from the state's assault, but it will not stop the West's slide into decadence and dissolution.

Rod Dreher argues that the way forward is actu-ally the way back--all the way to St. Benedict of Nur-sia. This sixth-century monk, horrified by the moral chaos following Rome's fall, retreated to the forest and created a new way of life for Christians. He built enduring communities based on principles of order, hospitality, stability, and prayer. His spiritual centers of hope were strongholds of light throughout the Dark Ages, and saved not just Christianity but Western civilization.

Today, a new form of barbarism reigns. Many believers are blind to it, and their churches are too weak to resist. Politics offers little help in this spiritual crisis. What is needed is the Benedict Option, a strategy that draws on the authority of Scripture and the wisdom of the ancient church. The goal: to embrace exile from mainstream culture and construct a resilient counterculture.

The Benedict Option is both manifesto and rallying cry for Christians who, if they are not to be conquered, must learn how to fight on culture war battlefields like none the West has seen for fifteen hundred years. It's for all mere Chris-tians--Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox--who can read the signs of the times. Neither false optimism nor fatalistic despair will do. Only faith, hope, and love, embodied in a renewed church, can sustain believers in the dark age that has overtaken us. These are the days for building strong arks for the long journey across a sea of night.

The New York Times bestselling author of The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything and Jesus: A Pilgrimage turns his attention to the relationship between LGBT Catholics and the Church in this loving, inclusive, and revolutionary book.

On the day after the Orlando nightclub shooting, James Martin S.J. posted a video on Facebook in which he called for solidarity with our LGBT brothers and sisters. "The largest mass shooting in US history took place at a gay club and the LGBT community has been profoundly affected," he began. He then implored his fellow Catholics--and people everywhere--to "stand not only with the people of Orlando but also with their LGBT brothers and sisters." A powerful call for tolerance, acceptance, and support--and a reminder of Jesus' message for us to love one another--Father Martin's post went viral and was viewed more than 1.6 million times.

Now, Martin expands on his reflections in this moving and inspiring book, offering a powerful, loving, and much-needed voice in a time marked by anger, prejudice, and divisiveness. Adapted from an address he gave to New Ways Ministry, a group that ministers to and advocates for LGBT Catholics, Building a Bridge provides a roadmap for repairing and strengthening the bonds that unite all of us as God's children. Martin uses the image of a two-way bridge to enable LGBT Catholics and the Church to come together in a call to end the "us" versus "them" mentality. Turning to the Catechism, he draws on the three criteria at the heart of the Christian ministry--"respect, compassion, and sensitivity"--as a model for how the Catholic Church should relate to the LGBT community.

This is an exclusive interview of Cardinal Muller, the head of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and one of the most outstanding Catholic figures in theology today. As a theologian, he strives to give God's answers to men's questions. As the Prefect of the CDF, he has a privileged perspective on the worldwide state of the Church on doctrinal, moral and theological matters, and the questions Catholics and others have today on those matters.

But what questions do our contemporaries have? And what answers do they demand from the believer? People today do not see their lack of faith as a tragedy, but what does worry them profoundly is their lack of hope, for which--making matters worse--they try to make up with shallow substitutes like optimism. The key question today therefore is one of hope. And they wonder whether there is hope for the "now," they wonder whether they can find it in Christianity--and they wonder, above all: What is the foundation of Christian hope?

This interview with Cardinal Muller therefore takes hope as its basic subject: it is a "report on hope." It is an in-depth discussion of hope in relation to faith and love, and in relation to Jesus Christ, the Church, the family, and contemporary society.

Praise for Catholic Priests Falsely Accused

"This is an important topic, and not just for priests and bishops! Everyone should be concerned about this. Please check out Catholic Priests Falsely Accused: The Facts, The Fraud, The Stories."
- Rev. John T. Zuhlsdorf ("Fr. Z"), "What Does The Prayer Really Say?," wdtprs.com

"[T]he chilling tale of how decades-old claims of abuse by Catholic priests become 'credible' ... David F. Pierre tells the sordid story the mainstream media won't touch. It rings of both truth and justice. I highly recommend Catholic Priests Falsely Accused: The Facts, The Fraud, The Stories."
- Ryan A. MacDonald, Spero News columnist

"David Pierre's Catholic Priests Falsely Accused is an important volume. By carefully documenting the harrowing stories of priests falsely accused, the author shows that legitimate outrage about abuse can at times boil over into wanton hysteria. May this book serve as a clarion call for even-handed and impartial justice for all, so that future tragedies may be avoided."
- Rev. Thomas G. Guarino, S.T.D., Professor of Systematic Theology, Seton Hall University

"Mr. Pierre's book is an eye opener! Meticulously researched and clearly written, it is a must-read for anyone with questions about the sex abuse scandal in the Catholic Church."
- Rev. Kenneth Gumbert, O.P., M.F.A., Providence College

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We must continue to demand justice and compassion for victims of Catholic clergy abuse. This is not optional.

However, there is a side of the Catholic Church abuse narrative that is not getting the attention it warrants. Countless priests in the United States have been falsely accused of committing horrendous child abuse.

Topics in this book include:
... how the most recent and reliable figures reveal that one third of accused Catholic priests in a major archdiocese were accused falsely;
... the stunning court declaration with the opinion from a retired FBI investigator that "one half" of all accusations are "entirely false" or "greatly exaggerated";
... the American cardinal who has been the target of not just one - but two - completely bogus abuse accusations;
... how accusers have retained huge monetary settlements even though their allegations later proved to be false;
... the father of an accuser who appeared at the funeral of an accused priest and apologized for the false allegation that his son leveled;
... proof that the agenda of the advocacy group SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) has little to do with the protection of children and everything to do with bludgeoning the Catholic Church;
... the Catholic archbishop who tells of being spat upon by a member of SNAP;
... the monsignor who waited five years to be exonerated of abuse charges even though his alleged victims denied having been molested;
plus much more.

This is the side of the Catholic Church abuse narrative that the media has not told you. This book is fast-paced, informative, and impeccably researched. There is no other book like this one.

Fr. Michael Chaberek is a Polish Dominican who has studied creation doctrine from Old and New Testament accounts to the Church Fathers, to the Medieval Scholastics (especially St. Thomas Aquinas), to the Vatican's internal and public papers of the 19th and 20th centuries--and on into our own times and the pronouncements of recent popes. His new book gathers all doctrinal statements on evolution and presents the history of the engagement of Catholicism with natural science since Darwin presented his theory in 1859. What he finds is a clear path that gradually became twisted and over-grown. His exploration of that path is both scholarly and engrossing.

"Finally, a book that tells the full story of Catholic reflections and Magisterial statements down through the centuries on issues of creation and evolution. From the meditations of the ancient Church Fathers to the statements of Popes Pelagius I and Leo XIII, there are many hidden treasures to be found here. Fr. Chaberek combines historical, philosophical, and theological scholarship in a book that is both comprehensive and engaging. This book will be an eye-opener for many, and will quickly become the standard and essential work on the subject."--ROBERT STACKPOLE, director, John Paul II Institute of Divine Mercy

"In Catholicism and Evolution, Fr. Michael Chaberek surveys perennial Catholic teaching, plumbs the depths of Catholic philosophy and historical theology, and analyzes the best scientific evidence to date. In the process, he shows that certain elements of Darwinian evolution are not only incompatible with Catholic belief, but largely lacking in evidence. He shows also that despite her clear historical teaching, the contemporary Church lacks an unambiguous statement of how Catholics should understand this question. I expect this to become the definitive book on Catholicism and evolution."--JAY W. RICHARDS, co-author of The Privileged Planet; editor of God and Evolution

"Darwin and his contemporaries thought the cell was a simple blob of jelly, protoplasm. Modern science has discovered the exact opposite, that astoundingly sophisticated technology undergirds life. Father Michael Chaberek probes the implications of this and other surprising developments in his erudite study of Catholicism's collision with Darwinism."--MICHAEL BEHE, author of Darwin's Black Box

"Catholicism and Evolution is a thorough exposition of the history of the debate over evolution, especially the theory's proponents and opponents within the Catholic Church. This book should be on the shelves of any concerned with this subject, or indeed any who would like to fully grasp the controversy's roots in the Church."--ANN GAUGER, Senior Research Scientist, Biologic Institute

"Fr. Chaberek has done Catholics and all Christians a great service by describing the progression of the present controversy over creation, intelligent design, and theistic evolution from the Bible and early days of Christianity until today. His book will open eyes."--BRUCE CHAPMAN, Founding Fellow, Discovery Institute

FR. MICHAEL CHABEREK O.P., S.T.D. is a member of the Polish Dominican Province, with a Doctorate in Fundamental Theology from Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw.

Cardinal Christoph Schonborn's article on evolution and creation in The New York Times launched an international controversy. Critics charged him with biblical literalism and "creationism."

In this book, Cardinal Schonborn responds to his critics by tackling the hard questions with a carefully reasoned "theology of creation." Can we still speak intelligently of the world as "creation" and affirm the existence of the Creator, or is God a "delusion"? How should an informed believer read Genesis? If God exists, why is there so much injustice and suffering? Are human beings a part of nature or elevated above it? What is man's destiny? Is everything a matter of chance or can we discern purpose in human existence?

In his treatment of evolution, Cardinal Schonborn distinguishes the biological theory from "evolutionism," the ideology that tries to reduce all of reality to mindless, meaningless processes. He argues that science and a rationally grounded faith are not at odds and that what many people represent as "science" is really a set of philosophical positions that will not withstand critical scrutiny.

Chance or Purpose? directly raises the philosophical and theological issues many scientists today overlook or ignore. The result is a vigorous, frank dialogue that acknowledges the respective insights of the philosopher, the theologian and the scientist, but which calls on them to listen and to learn from each another.

In June of 2015, five cardinals and forty-five bishops representing fifty African countries met in Accra, Ghana, to prepare for the October 2015 Synod on the Family.

In his opening remarks--included in this volume--Robert Cardinal Sarah encouraged the bishops of Africa to "speak with one voice" during the synod:

"I encourage you to speak with clarity and with one credible voice and with filial love of the Church. Be conscious of the mission of the Church; protect the sacredness of marriage which is now being attacked by all forms of ideologies that intend to destroy the family in Africa. Do not be afraid to stress the teaching of the Church on marriage."

In a major six-page interview released during the same period in the French magazine Famille Chretienne , Cardinal Sarah said:

"At the synod next October we will address, I hope, the question of marriage in an entirely positive manner, seeking to promote the family and the values that it bears. The African bishops will act to support that which God asks of man concerning the family, and to receive that which the Church has always taught. . . . Why should we think that only the Western vision of man, of the world, of society is good, just, universal? The Church must fight to say no to this new colonization."

These African pastors provide much food for thought and reflection about modern Western culture and our personal lives, as well as an introduction to the Synod. The title of the book comes from a phrase used by Blessed Pope Paul VI, which in our time beautifully expresses the universality of the Church and the increasing role played by African Church leaders. Among the contributing cardinals and bishops are Robert Cardinal Sarah, Francis Cardinal Arinze, Christian Cardinal Tumi, Theodore Cardinal Sarr, Archbishop Samuel Kleda, and more.