Flying in the Face of Tradition: Listening to the Lived Experience of the Faithful [Paperback]

If you are a Catholic who:
*has had a growing lack of confidence in Church leadership, exacerbated by the priest-pedophile scandals and their cover-ups by bishops and cardinals;
*resolved your conscience on birth control and human sexuality long ago, contrary to Vatican teachings;
*finds a dichotomy between the words of Christ's invitation: "Take this and eat, ALL OF YOU" and the mandated communion practice: ("Take this and eat, MEMBERS OF OUR CLUB") and hopes for a more inclusive Eucharist to include divorced/remarried persons;
*would like to see an open discussion of ordination of married persons and women without recriminations from the Vatican;
then this is a book for you.

It's written by a lifelong (70 years) faithful Christian Brother, recipient of a Pontifical Award conferred by Pope John Paul II and honorary degrees from five U. S. colleges. He was president of St. Mary's University in Minnesota for twenty years, and now serves the Christian Brothers organization in Rome. So he's part of the institutional church that he is now challenging to begin operating with a concern for service and justice, and to shed its obsession with secrecy and power.

Brother Louis defines tradition to acknowledge that the Church has inevitably undergone change throughout its 2000-year history, and to mandate a common-sense reading of the times by the people of God. He points out that the Church has been placed in a tumultuous era of change about every 500 years: (the Reformation of 1500s; the Great Schism of the 1000s; and even in 457). We're in this era again. What's emerging is a democratic, questioning, non-hierarchical, Jesus-oriented Christianity.

This change is unstoppable. Brother Louis doesn't ask the question posed by Stalin in regard to Papal power: "And how many divisions does the Pope have?" The point then and now is that the Vatican doesn't enforce its dictums with an army. The hierarchy can be a part of change, or it can resist. It would seem prudent (not to mention Christian!) for the Vatican to participate by focusing on a concern for service rather than power, by shedding its mania for secrecy (which always leads to corruption), and by becoming involved, as Brother Louis hopes, "in SHARING THE PERSON OF JESUS rather than in doctrinal statements trying to EXPLAIN Jesus." But whether the hierarchy can change its modus operandi seems beside the point. Change is occurring in the lives and minds and hearts of the Church, (the people), and Brother Louis sees this as the working of the Holy Spirit in Christian history.

His book discusses this phenomenon with candor and a love for the Church he's always served. This book could lead to a powerful parish book club discussion. Invite your pastor!

In accordance with Amazon policy I disclose that I received a free copy of this book for review. I was not asked to submit a positive review.

The most overwhelming feeling I had when I finished this book was that finally, I was not alone. Here was somone who was voicing all I thought and felt about the Church. It was affirming the importance of being a thinking believer not just someone who follows and never questions. De Thomasis writes with an authoritative voice and with a gentleness that seems to say, "No matter what, I will love my church so it will grow." The Church needs to be like DeThomasis and not be afraid to make the changes necessary to be the inclusive Church that is welcoming to all. As Dwight Eisenhower wrote, "May we never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion." And may we not see this book as an attack but a call to real dialogue toward growth.

I am a Catholic Priest ordained 53 years ago, before the Vatican Council. Flying in the Face of Tradition exemplifies all that we were taught in the seminary, back then, about what tradition really is. It is not an iron clad filing cabinet. The cafeteria Catholics are really those who choose to pass over all that Vatican II has truly taught, judging that bishops and popes of that era are somehow less bishops and popes than those currently or recently on the scene. The author is truly respectful of divers opinions that exist today, yet, it is difficult to deal patiently with those who claim that the earth is flat, man never went to the moon, evolution is a fantasy and all similar denials in the face of concrete evidence. A breath of hope for all of us who are witnessing the attempt to flush down the drain all to which we dedicated ourselves to in our youth.