"A bishop, several priests and lay people delivered these essays or conference papers before an audience at Yale University in March 2003 under the theme of the present title.  Their lectures come at one of the most urgent moments in the history of the church in America and will be helpful to anyone interested in its welfare...The book prompts serious reflection on structural problems that cause a kind of ecclesial pleurisy.  Steps toward a remedial plan have been taken at the national and diocesan levels, but the task is far from finished.  The diocesan synod is useful, but the daily work of coordinating offices for pastoral planning, lay review boards, finance councils, and canonical services continues.  A handbook for these accomplishments has yet to be written." -Patrick J. Hayes, The Jurist, Vol. 67:2, 2007:2

Patrick J. Hayes

"Margaret O'Brien Steinfels has pointed out that the sexual abuse scandal so troubling the Catholic Church is more than a crisis about sexual abuse; it is an ecclesiological crisis. The crisis has generated various initiatives on the part of concerned Catholics....The present book, edited by Francis Oakley and Bruce Russett, represents another response, this time by the Saint Thomas More Chapel at Yale University. It collects the papers given at the chapel and the Yale Law School during a...conference in March 2003, which had a size and scope unprecedented in the chapel's history. Oakley is the Edward Dorr Griffin Professor of the History of Ideas and president emeritus of Williams College; Russett is Dean Acheson Professor of International Relations and Political Science at Yale. "The outstanding group of 16 Catholic historians, theologians, journalists, social scientists and executives who gathered for the conference were asked to examine the roots of the crisis and to propose solutions that would be in keeping with the rich history of the Catholic tradition....Each contribution make fascination reading....The historical, political and practical analysis of the contributors is extremely helpful, though I would like to have seen more of the theological. The church may exercise authority in a top-down way, but theologically it is an interdependent communio of pastors and faithful, even if this is not reflected in its structures. Still, Governance, Accountability, and the Future of the Catholic Church forced me to revise my own thinking. It convinced me that renewal means more than simply renewing the way authority is exercised; it must also involve the reform of structures that will provide for greater accountability and a system of checks and balances now almost entirely lacking..."This is an important book. After reading it, the old line 'the church is not a democracy' does not sound quite so final." -Thomas P. Raush, America

Thomas P. Rausch, America: The National Catholic Weekly

"This book, which contains the proceedings of a conference sponsored by "Yale's Catholic Center in March 2003, is an excellent series of essays touching key areas related to the current crisis in the church such as canon law, theology and history....The essays are hopeful, sharing the conviction that the church has the resources to engage in a process of reform. They are also challenging because they lay out the demands of reform. The hierarchy must give up dogmatic thinking, used as deus ex machina, and face history. The laity and the lower clergy must develop the knowledge to enable them to claim the rights that are historically theirs and compel accountability." -Anthony J. Pogorelc, Catholic Books Review

Blurb from reviewer