Philip F. Lawler
Phil is the editor of
CWNews.com, which brings you daily news headlines from a Catholic perspective. He is the author of The Faithful Departed, a history of the Church in Boston and the scandal of the abuse of children by priests.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Symposium on Humanae Vitae -- Come meet Phil and get your book signed!

This coming Saturday, June 28, St. Brendan's Parish in Bellingham, MA, will host a symposium on Humanae Vitae. You can read about the offerings here (scroll down for the information).

Phil will be speaking on the effects of dissent from this pivotal document. It seems like a very worthwhile program in general, and of course Phil will bring a box of books for sale. Get your copy signed!

We’ll see you Saturday!

Monday, June 23, 2008

Just when you think the dust has cleared....

... tornado season hits.

Some objections that I hear to reading The Faithful Departed are-

1. Isn't the crisis pretty much over? Can we please get back to our regularly scheduled programming now?

Well if you've been following the story in Vermont (of personal interest to me since I grew up there and had not 1 but 2 pedophile priests in parishes from a total of 5! )you may be familiar with the latest blow. With only one judgment the Diocese is on the hook for $ 8.7 million. (This perpetrator has 17 more pending suits and in another show of stunning incompetence, they claim they have an insurance policy that will cover some of it but can't find it and have sued the insurance company for a copy. Really.)

2. Secondly I hear, "Isn't the book depressing? I mean we all know what happened."

I didn't know what had happened even though I've been following the story slavishly (as family commitments allow) and ever since I saw the jaw dropping press conference in Boston when the Archdiocese's files were finally released. And the lies were exposed. Finally.

This book identifies the way efficiency (with apologies to Frank Gilbreth) was substituted for ministry and led to an environment where such abuse was able to continue for years. Victim after victim, parish after parish, lawsuit after lawsuit.

3. Finally, with the pending closure of Holy Trinity in Boston scheduled for June 30th we are reminded that our loss will continue into the near and perhaps not so near future. And the future isn't bright, but as the conclusion of this book reminds us, Our Lord needed only a dozen men to evangelize the whole world. Surely we've grown some since then.

I don't know, this book fired me up to continue working for a transformation of the culture to reflect Catholic principles. It reminded me that the Church will prevail, she's worth fighting for, and is still something to be proud of.

I think there are still a few First Editions left. But I wouldn't wait.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Inside the Vatican review of TFD

My review of The Faithful Departed has just appeared in the June/July issue of Inside the Vatican magazine. That version was edited for space; here is the full-length version:

Dangerous Men: The Faithful Departed: The Collapse of Boston’s Catholic Culture, by Philip F. Lawler; Encounter Books; 2008; Reviewed by John Mallon

Thanks,
John
JohnMallon.net

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Spectator review

Here's a review of Faithful Departed that appeared in the May 2008 issue of the American Spectator.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Father's Day

I heartily recommend that you order a copy of The Faithful Departed today for a Father's Day gift.

Give a meaningful gift that won't sit in a drawer! Go to our sidebar and click on the Amazon link -- you will go directly to the order page for the book, and it's not too late, with overnight delivery, to get it for Father's Day!

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Foreign sales

A welcome message has arrived from a priest serving in Tajikistan. He likes the book.

If you were wondering whether Amazon.com can deliver to Tajikistan, the answer is affirmative.

Monday, June 2, 2008

See Phil on Byron Barnett

Friday June 6th Phil will be on Byron Barnett, WHDH Channel 7.
The show is on at 9:00 a.m.