157. Book Review | Letter to a Suffering Church by Bishop Robert Barron

I know the abuse scandal was a huge obstacle in my faith. I felt as though I couldn’t trust the Church or the pastors who were supposed to shepherd me. It was a betrayal. Despite all this, I found a way to separate the sins of shepherds from the mission they pursue. Letter to a Suffering Church is a great, short book that can be very comforting to anyone who’s angry about this.

The reason for this book review is that Bishop Robert Barron‘s work here really impacted my thoughts and feelings on this subject. Because of that, I think this book review will help Catholics and non-Catholics understand this crisis and dispel myths. So, get your copy of Letter to a Suffering Church or listen to my review for more.

The secular culture we live in is not only anti-religion, but also often overly sexualized. In this book, you’ll find all the problems that stem from the culture and its influence on the church. Bishop Barron doesn’t make excuses, but owns up to the abuses. He calls out those who are guilty and calls people to account. However, he does show how this didn’t come from thin air, but arose in a certain context.

“The Emperor Napoleon is said to have confronted Cardinal Consalvi, the secretary of state to Pope Pius VII, saying that he, Napoleon, would destroy the Church—to which the Cardinal deftly responded, “Oh my little man, you think you’re going to succeed in accomplishing what centuries of priests and bishops have tried and failed to do?”

Bishop Robert Barron

Grab your copy of Letter to a Suffering Church here.

The reason I’m bringing this out now is there are a lot of people who enjoy being critical of the Church. And, many of these people make money from their critical lens. Not to mention, lots of these people are in the Church or leaving it due to these.

Lastly, I like this book because it offers solutions. It diagnoses the problems, offers context, and then shows what people can do to make things right. And, with the Conversation of Our Generation’s goal of solving problems of today with the wisdom of the past, this resonated with me. So, I want to share it with you here.

240. What happened to yesterday's episode? – Conversation of Our Generation

So sorry to miss the episode yesterday! Here's an update on what's going on with me, and an apology for not keeping my schedule. — Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/conofourgen/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/conofourgen/support

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