The Future of the Catholic Church with Pope Francis

Praise for The Future of the Catholic Church:

"Beautifully conceived and wrought essays that systematically address the wrongheadedness of the Catholic Church over centuries--and the space therein for Francis' long-needed reforms. A pope determined to admit change and renounce 'infallibility'--is this possible? Pulitzer Prize-winning intellectual and leading Catholic scholar Wills is guided by his close scholarly readings of the Gospels, as well as by modern commentators, examining how the church can right itself--as it has repeatedly over the ages in the face of bad decisions . . . A welcome, thoughtful menu for the new pope on how to proceed with reform." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Praise for Garry Wills:
"Garry Wills is not only one of the country's most distinguished intellectuals but also one of its most provocative."
--The New York Times Book Review

"Wills brings to bear the skills that have justly brought him renown as America's greatest public intellectual: encyclopedic erudition, concise prose and a polyglot's gift for languages."
--The Chicago Tribune

"Garry Wills is simultaneously one of this country's leading public intellectuals and American Catholicism's most formidable lay scholar."
--Los Angeles Times

Praise for Why Priests?:
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

"Wills draws on his expertise in classical languages and his wide reading in ecclesiastical history to argue that the Catholic/Orthodox priesthood has been one long mistake."
--The Washington Post

"How. . .did priests become dominant and then essential in Catholic Christianity? And why, Wills asks, in this provocative [and] historically rich . . . book, does the Vatican continue to sustain such falsehoods? . . . [C]rucially informative and enlightening."
--The New Republic

"Pulitzer Prize winner Wills, a venerable voice on church history, thought and practice, provides a stunning critique of the Roman Catholic priesthood."
--Kirkus Reviews (starred)

"Using his linguistic skills and his impressive command of both secondary literature and patristic sources, Wills raises doubts aplenty about 'the Melchizedek myth,' and the priestly claims for Jesus in the 'idiosyncratic' Epistle to the Hebrews ... His final chapter is a model of elegant simplicity, a contrast (intended or not) to the flummery often associated with his own church ... 'There is one God, and Jesus is one of his prophets,' Wills concludes, 'and I am one of his millions of followers.' For those millions, scattered across time and space, that's an affirmation worthy of celebration."
--The New York Times Book Review

"Do we really need Catholic Priests? Wills, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of Why I Am a Catholic, dares to pose this controversial question[.] . . . One cannot help but be impressed with this brilliant work written by a scholar whose love for the Church compels him to make it better."
--Publishers Weekly

Praise for The Future of the Catholic Church:

"Beautifully conceived and wrought essays that systematically address the wrongheadedness of the Catholic Church over centuries--and the space therein for Francis' long-needed reforms. A pope determined to admit change and renounce 'infallibility'--is this possible? Pulitzer Prize-winning intellectual and leading Catholic scholar Wills is guided by his close scholarly readings of the Gospels, as well as by modern commentators, examining how the church can right itself--as it has repeatedly over the ages in the face of bad decisions . . . A welcome, thoughtful menu for the new pope on how to proceed with reform." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Praise for Garry Wills:
"Garry Wills is not only one of the country's most distinguished intellectuals but also one of its most provocative."
--The New York Times Book Review

"Wills brings to bear the skills that have justly brought him renown as America's greatest public intellectual: encyclopedic erudition, concise prose and a polyglot's gift for languages."
--The Chicago Tribune

"Garry Wills is simultaneously one of this country's leading public intellectuals and American Catholicism's most formidable lay scholar."
--Los Angeles Times

Praise for Why Priests?:
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

"Wills draws on his expertise in classical languages and his wide reading in ecclesiastical history to argue that the Catholic/Orthodox priesthood has been one long mistake."
--The Washington Post

"How. . .did priests become dominant and then essential in Catholic Christianity? And why, Wills asks, in this provocative [and] historically rich . . . book, does the Vatican continue to sustain such falsehoods? . . . [C]rucially informative and enlightening."
--The New Republic

"Pulitzer Prize winner Wills, a venerable voice on church history, thought and practice, provides a stunning critique of the Roman Catholic priesthood."
--Kirkus Reviews (starred)

"Using his linguistic skills and his impressive command of both secondary literature and patristic sources, Wills raises doubts aplenty about 'the Melchizedek myth,' and the priestly claims for Jesus in the 'idiosyncratic' Epistle to the Hebrews ... His final chapter is a model of elegant simplicity, a contrast (intended or not) to the flummery often associated with his own church ... 'There is one God, and Jesus is one of his prophets,' Wills concludes, 'and I am one of his millions of followers.' For those millions, scattered across time and space, that's an affirmation worthy of celebration."
--The New York Times Book Review

"Do we really need Catholic Priests? Wills, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of Why I Am a Catholic, dares to pose this controversial question[.] . . . One cannot help but be impressed with this brilliant work written by a scholar whose love for the Church compels him to make it better."
--Publishers Weekly