Why I Am A Catholic (original 2002; edition 2002)

by Garry Wills

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The author recounts his own experiences as a Jesuit seminarian and a Catholic layman, traces the origins of the papacy and explains why this often fallible institution is not the same as the Church, and discusses the Apostle's Creed.

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Member:	stthomas
Title:	Why I Am A Catholic
Authors:	Garry Wills
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Tags:	Papacy, Catholic Church - Apologetic

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Why I Am a Catholic by Garry Wills (2002)

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Wills turns outward from his personal experiences to present a sweeping narrative covering two thousand years of church history, revealing that the papacy, far from being an unchanging institution, has been transformed dramatically over the millennia -- and can be reimagined in the future. At a time when the church faces one of its most difficult crises, Garry Wills offers an important and compelling entrée into the discussion of the church's past -- and its future.
Intellectually brisk and spiritually moving, Why I Am a Catholic poses urgent questions for Catholic and non-Catholic readers alike.

StFrancisofAssisi | Oct 13, 2019 |

I read this book after a significant loss and was hoping it would help resolve my anger. Clearly, I was not in a state of mind to select appropriately. The book reads like a text book; heavy thinking & nothing for a casual reader. The author is all about himself at the start. The chapters then progress to some interesting history which I knew I would never keep straight. The latter half of the book is good to have as a resource yet I doubt I would read it cover to cover again. (

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godmotherx5 | Apr 5, 2018 |

I didn't quite make it through this one. I skipped around and read what I felt was relevant. It is a little too dense for my taste. (

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michelleannlib | Jul 25, 2017 |

Wills begins with a reflection on his early experience of faith as a child, and later as a Jesuit seminarian, revealing the importance of Catholicism in his own life. He goes on to challenge, in clear and forceful terms, the dogmatic claim that criticism or reform of the papacy is an assault on the faith itself. In a sweeping narrative covering two thousand years of church history, he reveals that the papacy, far from being an unchanging institution, has been transformed dramatically over the millennia and can be reimagined in the future. Wills ends with a meditation on the significance of the creed, the timeless core of the Catholic faith, which endures even as the institution of the church changes.
Posing urgent questions for Catholic and non-Catholic readers alike, Why I Am a Catholic argues for the continuing relevance of a papacy understood as a symbol of unity, not of infallibility.

Priory | Feb 6, 2014 |

I wished the author would've spent less time talking about his academic life & work & given more of his take on the current issues dividing the church. While it's a nicely written book, I would have liked more analysis as opposed to autobiography. (

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sixwoolsocks | Feb 9, 2010 |

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Garry Wills	—	primary author	all editions	calculated
Domeier, Carol	Illustrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Monda, Robin Locke	Cover designer	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Overholtzer, Robert	Designer	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Perry, Eric	Cover artist	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

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New York Times bestseller (Nonfiction – 2002)

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2002

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Epigraph

Dedication

TO ANNE O'CONNOR
(Sister John Joseph)

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This book is an unintended sequel to my Papal Sin (2000) -- unintended because I thought that book treated a narrowly defined and self-enclosed topic, the papacy's dishonesty in its recent (anti-modern) era. (Introduction)

In 1928, when Al Smith became the first Catholic to run for president of the United States, he was asked about certain anti-democratic statements in papal documents.

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Eric Chinski

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Garry Wills

Mater si, magistra no

▾Book descriptions

The author recounts his own experiences as a Jesuit seminarian and a Catholic layman, traces the origins of the papacy and explains why this often fallible institution is not the same as the Church, and discusses the Apostle's Creed.

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Contents:

Introduction 1

I. Born Catholic 9

1. Saint Mary's and Campion 13

2. Jesuit Days 21

3. Chesterton 31

4. Encyclicals 43

II. Church without Papal Primacy 53

5. Peter 57

6. Paul 70

7. Rome Mediating 78

8. Rome Meddling 85

9. Rome and the East 93

10. Rome Turns West 109

III. Forms of Papal Primacy 123

11. Forgeries and Populism 127

12. Rise of the Secular State and the Church Council 142

13. Renaissance and Reformation 154

14. Trent and England 165

15. Ancien Regime and Revolution 178

16. War on Democracy 190

17. Reign of Terror 208

IV. The Vatican II Church 223

18. The Great Rebirth 226

19. Born to Set Times Right 239

20. Fighting Vatican II 255

21. Living Vatican II 271

22. The Pope's Loyal Opposition 282

V. The Creed 293

23. I believe in God . . . 299

24. . . . the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth . . . 308

25. . . . and in Jesus Christ, our Lord, the only son of God . . . 316

26. . . . conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin
Mary . . . 324

27. . . . who will come to judge the living and the dead . . . 331

Epilogue 340

Notes 345

Acknowledgments 368

Index 369

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