Diary Of A City Priest

The diary of a man trying to live within his religious faith while dealing with the harsh realities of urban America.

This book presents a selection of the best of the weekly 'Pastor Iuventus' columns from The Catholic Herald. Arranged over a year, the columns give us a true-life picture of the ministry of a parish priest in a busy city. The diary convincingly conveys the tangible and day-to-day reality of a priest's life and work. The journal is about the endless fascinations of parish life: the highs and lows, births and deaths, new challenges, and, amongst all these, the quiet presence of God. The author tells it as it is, with candour and insight, but also with humour and brilliance. Through the everyday life of the parish, the local hospital and the school, we are given an intimate portrayal of real life. The reader will be moved and inspired by the beauty and depth of these weekly columns. As the year unfolds, the journal reminds us of the closeness of the Providence of God to every human life. As Dr William Oddie says in the Foreword to the first edition, Father Allain's diary column provides readers with "an often vivid inside track on the spiritual life of a parish priest, in a way which certainly conveys its pressures and difficulties, but which also nurtures the spiritual imagination of its readers by demonstrating that those pressures and difficulties can always - with a simple and basic faith in the realities of a working Catholic spirituality - be withstood and transcended." Fr Dominic Allain was ordained priest for the Archdiocese of Southwark. Now the International Pastoral Director for 'Grief to Grace' - a programme which brings spiritual and psychological healing to survivors of sexual and other abuse (www.grieftograceuk.org), he also works as a retreat giver and spiritual director. This book draws on his experiences as a parish priest and hospital chaplain in the London area. He is well-known to many through his weekly columns, 'Pastor Iuventus', in The Catholic Herald.

An inside look at the emotional and spiritual struggles and joys of an extraordinary priest called to serve in one of Philadelphia's toughest neighborhoods. Faced with gangs, poverty, drugs and an often felt feeling of hopelessness, Father Mac, is a tireless crusader, handing out food to the poor, interceding with colleges on behalf of promising students, and occasionally bailing out neighborhood kids from night court.

There is never a shortage of priest characters on our screens. Even Spencer Tracy, Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald won Oscars for playing priests. Robert de Niro has been ordained four times (including a bishop). Many stars have been eager to play priests, as have numerous supporting actors. The question arises: how have been priests portrayed over the decades? There have been kindly priests with their advice, stern priests who laid down the law, heroic priests on mission, in more recent years, priests who have been abusers. And there have been priests who were part of the scenery, especially at funerals. This is something of a comprehensive look at priests on screen, looking at portrayals from the late 19th century, over the decades, for 120 years. The films considered are mainly English-language but quite there are a number from other cultures. The book offers some Church background and developments, the range of films, a highlighting of a key film representing each decade. It also has separate chapters on Irish priests, Australian priests, exorcism priests and a chapter on films and abuse. There also Appendices on historical films, saint priests and popes. While one could read the book from cover to cover, it is mainly a book for reference. There are some detailed appreciations. There are some shorter considerations. Not everyone can see every film, not for want of trying! There are Indexes for exploring: film titles, directors, and actors who have played priests. Screen Priests is a fascinating historical look at films about Roman Catholic priests from the first until Martin Scorseses 2016 religious and cinematic masterpiece Silence. With the scope spanning decades and the breadth embracing films mostly from the United States, Britain, Ireland, Canada and Australia, the researcher will find a treasure trove and the film aficionado will relish Peter Malones encyclopedia knowledge and sometimes trivia of the world of priests on the silver screen.

This provocative addition to The Church and Postmodern Culture series offers a lively rereading of Charles Sheldon's In His Steps as a constructive way forward. John D. Caputo introduces the notion of why the church needs deconstruction, positively defines deconstruction's role in renewal, deconstructs idols of the church, and imagines the future of the church in addressing the practical implications of this for the church's life through liturgy, worship, preaching, and teaching. Students of philosophy, theology, religion, and ministry, as well as others interested in engaging postmodernism and the emerging church phenomenon, will welcome this provocative, non-technical work.

Victor Stock, the Rector of St Mary le Bow in London, holds lunchtime Dialogues, the church's regular weekly meetings with personalities to which all are welcome. Victor's diaries are filled with stories from the Dialogue's celebrities such as Judy Dench, A.S. Byatt and Sir Yehudi Menhuin.

John McNamee's personal journal chronicles the endurance of faith through seasons of change and challenge.