Author:Ralph McInerny

Price: $14.95

Publishing Date: 1998

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The first, and really the only negative, thing that needs to be said about this book is that it has the wrong title. The first impression given by such a title is that the book is about failures of the Council. In truth, that is what I expected when I sat down to read this book. However, the intrigues of the Council have been very fairly written about in The Rhine Flows into the Tiber by Fr. Wiltgen, so Mr. McInerny steers clear of this topic to address another.

Contrary to the title, McInerny addresses the seat of all problems that have resulted SINCE the Council. According to McInerny, the largest problem in the post-Conciliar Church is the questioning of authority. The documents of Vatican II clearly state that bishops only have authority when they act in union with the Pope. And yet, ever since the promulgation of Humanae Vitae in 1968, Catholic theologians have been claiming that it is perfectly acceptable to act against the Pope and still be in union with the Church.

This is where the book really begins and where McInerny does his best work: the events leading up to and following the promulgation of Humanae Vitae. He clearly shows

Thus, when the Pope instead surprised the world by continuing the timeless teaching of the Church, many theologians went into open rebellion, some going so far as to placing an ad decrying the document in the New York Times.

The problem, compounded by the ponderously slow response from Rome, led to a general weakening of authority in the Church of which we are the heirs. McInerny briefly describes the steps taken to quell the dissent starting with the Ratzinger Report, published in 1985 and followed by a new profession of faith that was supposed to be taken by all in teaching positions in the Church issued in 1989. He points out that these efforts have failed.

His final solution to the problem is one that the Church militant has a tendency to overlook: fast and pray. All of the physical efforts and arguments will have no effect if there is not a change of heart among the dissenters in the Church.

Overall, this book is a very clear and concise survey of the problem of authority in the post-Conciliar Church. The dissenters, while portraying the matter as one of sexual responsibility, have in truth called into question the authority of the Pope to lead the Church. The undermining of authority is the root of the problem and the reason why dissent is so destructive to the Faith.