Title: Could You Ever Come Back to the Catholic Church?  Author: Lorene Hanley Duquin  Afterword: Bishop Henry Mansell  ISBN: 0-8189-0789-4  Paperback: xii + 204 pp.  Price: $10.95 + shipping  To Order call:  1 800-343-ALBA (2522)  Please have your Master, Visa  or American Express card ready. To order online click here.

This book was written to address the real reasons a person may have left the Church in the first place, the problems they may have about doctrinal matters, the doubts they may have experienced, the anger they may harbor towards God and towards the Church, etc. Why people come back and what they come back to are also considered in Could You Ever Come Back to the Catholic Church? in a way that is designed to help an individual make up his or her own mind about what God may be asking of them at this particular juncture in their lives. Catholics, separated or not, will find much to ponder here. To those who have been away and decide that they could come back, the Church says, "Welcome home!"

 

Lorene Hanley Duquin, the prize-winning author of They Called Her the Baroness -- the highly acclaimed work chronicling the life of Catherine de Hueck Doherty, has long been active in the "Come Home Lecture Series" sponsored by her home diocese of Buffalo, New York. A graduate of Canisius College and free-lance writer whose articles have appeard in the Los Angeles Times Syndicate, McCall's, Redbook, Ladies' Home Journal, Our Sunday Visitor and Catholic Digest, Lorie and her husband are the parents of four children of high school and college age. She recently published, in collaboration with her son, Christopher, a new book for Alba House entitled Could You Ever Become a Catholic Priest? Reviews "Bishop Henry Mansell of the Buffalo Diocese wrote the Afterword, and he recommends Could You Ever Come Back to the Catholic Church? as an important resource for his "Come Home" Program, an outreach program to lapsed Catholics which originated in the parish of St. Francis of Assisi in New York City. Cardinal John O'Connor of New York, sensing a new mood awakening among lapsed Catholics, recently encouraged the 2000 priests of his Archdiocese to read the book, and other bishops have followed suit. Those involved with RCIA, the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, also find it quite useful because it speaks to many of the issues raised by prospective converts. I give the book two enthusiastis 'thumbs up'."--John T. Catoir for Catholic News Service "Book Speaks to Fallen-Away Catholics. Lorene Hanley Duquin tackles the question, "Could You Ever Come Back to the Catholic Church?" in a book by the same name. The book addresses the estimated 16 million Catholics who feel separated from the Church, discussing Catholic beliefs, changes in the Church since Vatican II, matters specific to divorced and remarried Catholics, issues concerning homosexuals, and the process of reconciliation among others." --Canisius Chronicle, July 1997 "When one of my favorite brides quit coming to Mass sometime after the wedding, I used to say, 'See you in Church!' whenever we met. 'Sit by the window!' she would reply. If I see her again, I should hand over my copy of Could You Ever Come Back to the Catholic Church? because in it Lorene Hanley Duquin points out that coming back to the Church is not so much an event as a process. This little book is nicely done and written in a friendly and readable manner; it ought to be a welcome resource for those whom the title targets as well as for those who would assist them ." --Fr. William C. Graham in the National Catholic Reporter , September 5, 1997 "I have worked with inactive Catholics for fourteen years, meeting with over ten thousand of them during these years, often nose to nose and eye to eye. It would have been wonderful to have had a book like this to help me in my efforts to lead strayed sheep back to the Shepherd." --William McKee, C.Ss.R. in Liguorian, December 1997 "I hope anyone who wants to be reconciled will read this book and then make an appointment to see a priest. I can assure you that any time I helped a Catholic to return to the fold it was a joy beyond expression. No matter how long you are away or if you know someone else who is away and wants help, remember the first step -- see a priest. Reading this book would be a step in that direction." --Msgr. Charles Diviney, Brooklyn Tablet, April 18, 1998  Top of Page