Enormous Prayers: Journey into the Priesthood - Tapa blanda

What has become of the Catholic priesthood in the late twentieth century? The media image of the typical priest has shifted from the beloved, benevolent shepherd to that of a social misfit harboring pedophiliac fantasies. Even as the number of American Catholics has increased to approximately 70 million, the number of priests has steadily declined. How could this turn of events happen within what has been a historically admirable profession? What does it mean for the future of the Catholic church? And how are todays priests coping with the changing social and cultural tides of our time?Enormous Prayers eloquently addresses the current state of American Catholicism. Inspired by his Catholic upbringing, journalist Thomas Kunkel takes the reader on a personal journey through the priesthood. Through absorbing portraits that enable each Father to speak for himself, a broad painting of a diverse and changing Catholic church, and an even larger mural of contemporary America, emerges. Kunkel purposefully interviews a variety of priests, from those who are part of monastic communities to those who are responsible for parishes in impoverished inner-city neighborhoods. Without shying away from the very real problems plaguing the priesthood, Kunkel still manages to provide a humane view of these very moral men who have taken on the yoke of living in a godly fashion. The result is a compelling documentary that brings us deep into the heart of what it means to commit to a Catholic life.

A journalist by training, Thomas Kunkel is now a professional author and director of the Project on the State of the American Newspaper (funded by the Pew Charitable Trust). He was an editor for the Knight-Ridder newspaper organization for many years and has had material published recently in The New Yorker and George. He is the author of Genius in Disguise: Harold Ross of The New Yorker.