In Practicing Catholic, James Carroll brilliantly shows how Roman Catholic struggles illuminate spiritual quests in all faiths. He wrests meaning from the historical, social, and religious strands of his story to chart the Church’s transformation from reactionary monolith to a vital institution in which the deepest aspects of faith are being called into question. Carroll reveals his own story—as a Catholic boy in the 1950s, as a seminarian and young priest in the tumultuous 1960s and ’70s, as the distinguished writer he is today, and, through it all, as a committed but questioning Catholic—with an emotional impact reminiscent of his An American Requiem.

Practicing Catholic brings vividly to life the great figures who touched Carroll personally and who shaped the age—Pope John XXIII, who wrapped his arms around young Jim Carroll; John F. Kennedy, who inadvertently embodied the heresy of “Americanism”; Cardinal Richard Cushing, whose love for his Jewish brother-in-law overturned doctrine; the charismatic William Sloane Coffin Jr.; the outspoken monk Thomas Merton; and Martin Luther King Jr., whose proclamation of justice over piety challenged church and state. The abuses of clerical culture in which anti-Semitism, misogyny, and pederasty thrived are dark sides of this story, and the ascendancy of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger to the papacy casts a separate shadow.

At a time when power structures collapse and authority figures betray us, Carroll’s incisive vision for renewal—a thrilling assertion of religious belief and intellectual sophistication—feels urgently necessary. Against the fundamentalism of the born again and of the neo-atheists, Carroll’s is a passionate defense of a world faith too precious to be abandoned and too powerful to be underestimated.  

Praise for Practicing Catholic:

“This is not a book only for Catholics. Every reader will be thrilled by the brilliantly written, passionate, and vivid story of a Catholic who has lived the ups and downs of his church since the Second Vatican Council. James Carroll offers most precious insights into the various dimensions of Roman Catholicism, past, present, and future.”—Hans Küng, President of the Global Ethic Foundation

“Carroll recounts his personal spiritual journey with authenticity and compassion. His story will resonate with every American Catholic who loves the faith but has too often anguished over the actions of the hierarchy. For those who believe the quest for truth is a pillar of Catholicism—or any faith—this book is a triumph of the human spirit and a rare gift.”—Kerry Kennedy, author of Being Catholic Now

“James Carroll’s Practicing Catholic shows him as a writer who can fuse personal narrative with the great theological issues of our time. Practicing Catholic has a cosmic context woven around one man’s search to bring religious tradition, modern analysis of sacred texts, institutional politics, and his personal experience of sacred mystery into intellectual and emotional balance. I can think of no better way to examine one’s own faith journey than to read this remarkable and compelling book.”—Jill Ker Conway, author of The Road from Coorain and When Memory Speaks

“James Carroll—writer, religious thinker, practicing Catholic—has written yet another exceptional book. With his characteristic eloquence, Carroll unfolds the singular tale of his life-long and successful search for a credible God: an intelligent and moving account that will touch any open mind, every sensitive spirit.”—David Tracy, Professor of Theology, The University of Chicago Divinity School

“A work of extraordinary lucidity, erudition, and delicacy. James Carroll has woven the story of his life as a Catholic into the larger story of a modern crisis of faith. From Vatican II to the Church’s protection of pedophile priests, Carroll describes his faith in God as a principle of self-awareness and creativity, and in the Church as an institution capable of renewal through self-criticism, historical awareness, dialogue with other faiths, and a reconciliation of the values of science and belief. A tall order, but Carroll pulls it off with humility and eloquence.”—Rosanna Warren, author of Departure, Stained Glass, and Each and Every Leaf Shines Separate

“A perfect resonance to the polyphony that is the Catholic American experience. A success as social and intellectual history, spiritual memoir, ethical and theological investigation. We are privileged to learn from the amplitude of James Carroll’s mind, which inhabits the complicated terrain of loving dissidence, loyal outrage, a heartfelt appreciation that never descends to a backward looking nostalgia”—Mary Gordon, author of The Company of Women, Circling My Mother, and Pearl

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