Authors celebrate cathedrals in wake of Notre Dame fire

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Among the many disasters of 2019, the burning of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris evoked, possibly, the most universal sadness as this cathedral and the Eiffel Tower are the two most famous symbols of Paris. The cathedral fire which started April 15 destroyed the roof, brought down the spire and damaged many precious objects housed in by the cathedral.

The silver lining is that no human lives were lost; an alarm was sounded and the cathedral was cleared a half hour before flames were sighted. There has been no evidence found, as of yet, that the burning was the act of a terrorist.

Catholic history of Civil War era blends scholarship, storytelling

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"Faith and Fury" by Father Charles P. Connor aptly describes the atmosphere that 19th-century American Catholics must have experienced. Then, waves of Irish and German Catholic immigrants invigorated the church and also encountered nativist rage and violence from the Protestant majority.

Debates about slavery's morality swirled everywhere, not only in the halls of government but also in the churches. There was no respite from sharply divisive conflicts and moral soul-searching. When war finally came in 1861, Catholics on both sides, convinced of their righteousness, implored God to grant them victory.

Book may help readers understand some who leave the church

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Timothy Egan, author of "A Pilgrimage to Eternity," writes a biweekly opinion column for The New York Times. He is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and the winner of a National Book Award for nonfiction. He also grew up in a large Catholic family in the Pacific Northwest where he graduated from a Jesuit high school.

Egan and his Jewish wife raised their children with the intention of leaving them free to make their own choices vis-a-vis religion. To his credit, he admits that this may not have been the smartest move he and his spouse ever made. While he remains by choice at quite a distance from Catholicism he continues to be attracted to certain elements of the church's life and theology.

Author Examines Nuances of the Crusades

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Untangling the nuanced religious, political, economic and territorial complexities of the Crusades is an endless task. The complexities are so interwoven in the 200-plus years of fighting between Christian kingdoms and Muslim empires that eight centuries later people are still trying to untie the knots.

Complicating the matter is that there were no good guys and bad guys in this succession of wars that stretched from the end of the 11th century to the end of the 13th century. Christian and Muslim armies rivaled each other in massacres, pillages and territorial gain by brute force. In the name of religion and freeing the world of "infidels" both sides slaughtered defenseless women and children.

Flannery O’Connor’s Letters Sparkle in New Collection

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 This new book of Flannery O'Connor's letters will, inevitably, beg comparison with "The Habit of Being," the 1979 collection edited by Sally Fitzgerald. 

One of the pleasures of that book was its length and the leisurely pace that allowed a reader to watch O'Connor's development as a writer, a Catholic and a woman living with illness -- to watch, in other words, her unique vocation taking shape and being lived out. It was informed by Fitzgerald's impeccable scholarship and editorial modesty, her long friendship with O'Connor and her knowledge of the literary circles she moved in.

Books for girls offer Catholic tips to build bonds, navigate life

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Two new books for female readers offer Catholic perspective and guidance for building relationships and navigating through life.

One is "The Thoughtful Girl's Guide to Fashion, Communication and Friendship" by Mary Sheehan Warren. It's an all-encompassing manual loaded with practical Christian advice intended for older girls and young women.

The other is titled "Side by Side: A Catholic Mother-Daughter Journal," written by mother-daughter duo Lori and Ava Ubowski is an interactive tool that uses Scripture and reflection to strengthen the bonds between older girls and their mothers.

Biography asks if prestige, Catholic identity are at odds

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On March 3, 2015, college students donned heavy coats against the brutal Lake Michigan winter and lined a concrete drive on the campus of the University of Notre Dame. In a very particular sense, many of them would not have been there without the efforts of the man to whom they paid their respects -- Holy Cross Father Theodore Hesburgh, who guided that university for 35 years on a path toward ever-higher academic prowess and prestige, but, as a new biography argues, not without tradeoffs.