New and Notable Books (July 2013)

One perk of being a book reviewer is that publishers regularly send emails, catalogs, and a steady stream of advanced review copies.

I try to review as many as I can, but I can’t get to them all. So each month I highlight a few new and upcoming books that I’m particularly excited about.

(The descriptions below are either from the publisher or from Amazon.)

Praying in Rome: Reflections on the Conclave and Electing Pope Francis

by Cardinal Timothy Dolan

Image, eBook
Released on July 9, 2013

The Archbishop of New York offers his insight on his time in Rome, the Conclave and the election of a new Holy Father, Pope Francis.

Since February 2013, many have asked Cardinal Timothy Dolan to comment about Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation, his final days in the Vatican, the Conclave, and the excitement and joy of the election of Pope Francis. Those two months–between the time Pope Benedict announced his retirement up until the election of Pope Francis—were a deeply spiritual and important period for the Cardinal.

In this eBook original, he reflects on that most exciting of times. By turns, witty, provocative, and inspiring Cardinal Dolan gives a first hand account of what happened during those days and what it means for the future of the Church.

Geekpriest: Confessions of a New Media Pioneer

by Fr. Roderick Vonhogen

Servant Books, 176 pages, paperback
Released on September 10, 2013

In this engrossing collection of stories and anecdotes, Fr. Roderick shares how he became a “new media missionary.” Focusing on the importance of personal connection (an essential ingredient of new media), he uncovers the exciting possibilities of using all forms of media to successfully accomplish the mission Jesus gave us: to evangelize the world. Each chapter contains illustrations of using new media as a way to reach out to others. Some examples:

How the pope got his iPod
Reaching 50,000 Harry Potter fans without waving a magic wand
Why gaming can be good for the soul
How to deal with online atheists
The Mass and mass media
How you, too, can become a new media missionary

Fr. Roderick’s stories introduce a young, secularized generation to an experience of God at work in his Church and in individual lives. Instead of presenting dry theories and principles, this book reveals those principles through experiences of one of today’s leading Catholic new media entrepreneurs.

Why Catholics Can’t Sing: The Culture of Catholicism and the Triumph of Bad Taste

by Thomas Day

Crossroad, 192 pages, paperback
Released on July 1, 2013

In this informative and entertaining critique of music in the Catholic Church, Thomas Day outlines a stinging indictment of the influence of popular culture on American Catholicism, particularly as expressed in church music.

Taking aim at the Irish-American repertoire of songs that overwhelms Catholic music in America, Day assails the secularization of liturgical practices that began, in the author’s view, with the Second Vatican Council in 1962.

And while targeting the demise of services, Day remains optimistic, offering several key solutions to revitalize and nurture the latent vitality that remains among the parishioners of the American Catholic Church.

Immigration and the Next America: Renewing the Soul of Our Nation

by Archbishop Jose H. Gomez

Our Sunday Visitor, 128 pages, paperback
Released on July 5, 2013

Archbishop José Gomez has written a personal, passionate and practical contribution to the national debate about immigration pointing the way toward a recovery of America’s highest ideals.

Immigration is a human rights test of our generation. It’s also a defining historical moment for America. The meaning of this hour is that we need to renew our country in the image of her founding promises of universal rights rooted in God. “Immigration is about more than immigration. It’s about renewing the soul of America.” —Archbishop José H. Gomez

Archbishop José H. Gomez is one of the leading moral voices in the American Catholic Church. He is the Archbishop of Los Angeles, the nation’s largest Catholic community and the Chairman of the United States Catholic Bishops Committee on Migration and a papal appointee to the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. Archbishop Gomez is a native of Monterrey, Mexico and a naturalized American citizen.

Conscience and Its Enemies: Confronting the Dogmas of Liberal Secularism

by Robert George

Intercollegiate Studies Institute, 384 pages, hardcover
Released on June 3, 2013

Assaults on religious liberty and traditional morality are growing fiercer. Here, at last, is the counterattack.

Showcasing the talents that have made him one of America’s most acclaimed and influential thinkers, Robert P. George explodes the myth that the secular elite represents the voice of reason. In fact, George shows, it is on the elite side of the cultural divide where the prevailing views frequently are nothing but articles of faith. Conscience and Its Enemies reveals the bankruptcy of these too often smugly held orthodoxies while presenting powerfully reasoned arguments for classical virtues.

In defending what James Madison called the “sacred rights of conscience”—rights for which government shows frightening contempt—George grapples with today’s most controversial issues: abortion and infanticide, same-sex marriage, genetic manipulation, euthanasia and assisted suicide, religion in politics, judicial activism, and more. His brilliantly argued essays rely not on theological claims or religious authority but on established scientific facts and a philosophical tradition that extends back to Plato and Aristotle.

Conscience and Its Enemies elevates our national debates. It sets forth powerful arguments that secular liberals are unaccustomed to hearing—and that embattled defenders of traditional morality so often fail to marshal. It also lays out the principles and arguments for rebuilding a moral order.