I enjoyed your book Almost Catholic. It’s a lively read full of spiritual nuts and acorns. I’m disappointed you left out Simone Weil’s Waiting for God. If there is a book more beautifully written about struggling with conversion to R.C I’d like to read it. Also, The Life You Save May Be Your Own a lit-crit look at Dorothy Day, Walker Percy, Flannery O’Conner et al. Lovely written book by Paul Elie.
I was interested to see the novel Wolf Hall won the Booker Prize. Here is a novel that triumphs Thomas Cromwell and paints a rather ugly picture of Sir Thomas More who granted has some things to answer for, including his hands on fetish for torturing heretics, but nevertheless remains an early prototype for the modern humanist and certainly put his head where his mouth was, when it came to his personal convictions. Have you seen Constantine’s Sword? James Carrol’s look at the Church’s long relationship with the Jewish people? Very well made.
I also believe that anyone joining the Holy Roman Church in 2009 has to watch the documentary Deliver Us From Evil and confront with wide open eyes and heart the despicable, immoral and satanic behavior of ex Cardinal Bernard Law and those above him who covered up the serial rape of children for decades.
Also, you tiptoe past the catechism’s “take” on homosexuality. To wit, that the orientation is recognized as not a choice (egro, natural) and yet to express that love emotionally or physically is somehow a sin. I believe Jesus would have defined that position, as I do: ugly hypocrisy.
There is much in the rituals of the church and its history to recommend it but people must speak out and the church needs to be more loving and open to all esp. women. Vatican 3 doesn’t seem to be round the corner from my vantage point as an outside observer.

Best wishes.

Al Rae
Winnipeg

Sirpa
Finland (Europe)