Michael Leach is publisher emeritus and editor-at-large of Orbis Books. Dubbed "the dean of Catholic publishing," he has been a leader in this field for more than 30 years. In his bestseller I Like Being a Catholic, Leach tallied up the reasons why he loves Catholicism. In this work, he expands that perspective. He is responding to cradle Catholics who love the church but are appalled and embarrassed by the sex scandals, to recovering Catholics who have been wounded by the church, to weary Catholics who are tired of the "same old same old" on Sunday mornings, to ex-Catholics who see themselves as spiritual but not religious, and to non-Catholics who are shocked by the past deeds of the present Pope and the church's support of American war efforts and denial of Jesus' example of nonviolence. These ex-Catholics number nearly 20 million Americans!
In his impressive defense of staying Catholic, Leach pulls out all the stops with sections on Ideas, People, and Places. Among the ideas he finds appealing are:
• The Sacramental Imagination
• God is Everywhere
• Nothing Can Separate Us from the Love of God — Nothing
• The Mystical Body of Christ
• A Mass of Energy
• Everyone Has a Guardian Angel
• The Church's Best Kept Secret (we won't give that away).
Leach pays tribute to Catholic people he adores for their special contributions to the faith and to the church. Among them are Dorothy Day, Father Andrew Greeley, Sister Thea Bowman, Antoinette Bosco, Mitch Finley, and Miriam Therese Winter.
And, last but not least, Leach salutes places that symbolize the mission and the messages of Catholicism for the wider world. Here you will find essays on the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani in Kentucky, Vatican 11, Catholic Relief Service, and Catholic Charities.
