This is the second installment of our annual poll of readers about what books they are reading this summer.  If you would like to add to the list, send your summer reading to ewilkinson@diobrook.org.

Father James Cunningham
Holy Name, Park Slope, Pastor
“Same Call, Different Men” by Mary L. Gautier, Paul M. Perl, and Stephen J. Fichter
“Drop Dead Healthy” by A.J. Jacobs
“Abdication” by Juliet Nicolson
“The Years of Lyndon Johnson” by Robert A. Caro
“Living the Mass” by Father Dominic Grassi and Joe Paprocki
“Praying the Roman Missal” by Robert L. Tuzik
“Eisenhower in War and Peace” by Jean Edward Smith

Cornelia A. Dowd
St. Josaphat, Bayside
“Life Lessons from My Life with my Brother, Timothy Cardinal Dolan” by Bob Dolan
“To Know Christ Jesus” by Frank Sheed
“Blue Collar, Blue Scrubs – The Making of a Surgeon” by Michael J. Collins, M.D.
“Hot Lights, Cold Steel – Life, Death and Sleepless Nights in a Surgeon’s First Years” by Michael J. Collins, M.D.
“All Creatures Great and Small” by James Herriot

Robert Fallon
Past New York State Deputy, Knights of Columbus
St. Ephrem’s, Dyker Heights
“Mother of Christ Crusade” by Sister Lucy and Father John De Marchi
“Praying Constantly” by Father Benedict J. Groeschel, C.F.R.
“How to Listen When God is Speaking” by Father Mitch Pacwa, S.J.
“Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up?” A Debate between William Lane Craig and John Dominic Crossan
“God Wants You Happy” by Father Jonathan Morris
“The End of the Present World and the Mysteries of the Future Life” by Father Charles Arminjon
“Double Standard” by David F. Pierre Jr.
“No One Sees God” by Michael Novak
“Divine Mercy in My Soul: The Diary of St. Faustina Kowalska”
Sister Anne Lally, C.S.J.
St. Saviour H.S., Park Slope
Chairperson of the Religious Studies Dept. and Campus Minister
“Family – A Christian Social Perspective” by Lisa Sowle Cahill
“The Fiddler” by Beverly Lewis
“Good Girls, Bad Girls: The Enduring Lessons of Twelve Women of the Old Testament” by T.J. Wray

Father Arlen Harris, O.F.M. Cap.
Tablet Contributor
“Meeting Jesus and Following Him” by Cardinal Francis Arinze
“Fatima for Today: The Urgent Marian Message of Hope” by Father Andrew Apostoli, C.F.R.
“What Is a Parish? Canonical, Pastoral and Theological Perspectives” edited by Father Thomas Baima
“Mother Teresa: An Authorized Biography” by Kathryn Spink
“Testimony of Hope” by Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan

Paul Moses
Brooklyn College, Journalism Dept.
“Helping the Bereaved College Student” by David E. Balk
“The Age of Reagan: A History, 1974-2008” by Sean Wilentz
“Meditations on the Song of Songs” by St. Teresa of Avila

Msgr. Sean Ogle
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Astoria, Pastor
“The Duty of Delight: The Diaries of Dorothy Day” edited by  Robert Ellsberg
“Unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand
“Great Teachers” by Pope Benedict XVI
“Theophilus” by Michael O’Brien
“Praying the Roman Missal: Pastoral Reflections on the Revised English Translation” by Robert L. Tuzik
“St. Francis De Sales and His Friends” by Maurice Henry-Couannier
“Union 1812: The Americans Who Fought the Second War of Independence” by A.J. Langguth.

Gabriel Parrish
Valley Stream, L.I.
“The Past Has Another Pattern – The Memoirs of George W. Ball”
“Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant”
“War Is a Racket” by Marine General  Smedley Butler

Magaret Riconda
Sacred Heart, Bayside
“The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris” by David McCullough
“Knocking on Heaven’s Door: How Physics and Scientific  Thinking Illuminate the Universe and the Modern World” by Lisa Randall
“The Great Animal Orchestra: Finding the Origins of Music in the World’s Wild Places” by Bernie Krause
“Seeing Further: The Story of  Science, Discovery, and the Genius of the Royal Society” by Bill Bryson

Father Raymond Roden
Special Adviser to the Bishop
“Viva Cristo Rey: The Cristero Rebellion and the Church-State Conflict in Mexico” by David C. Bailey
“Of Cabbages and Kings County: Agriculture and the Formation of Modern Brooklyn” by Marc Linder and Lawrence S. Zacharias
“Translating Tradition: A Chant Historian Reads  Liturgiam Authenticam” by Peter Jeffery
“Fiorello’s Sister” by Gemma LaGuardia Gluck
“Swamp Fox: The Life and Campaigns of General Francis Marion” by Robert D. Bass
“A Sense of Humor and Virtue: A Thomistic Theological Perspective” by Basil Cole

Deacon Peter Stamm
Sacred Heart, Glendale
Institutional Commodity Services
“A Treasure in Clay,” the Autobiography of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
“The American Pope: The Life and Times of Francis Cardinal Spellman” by John Cooney.
“Letter and Spirit” by Scott Hahn

Bishop Joseph M. Sullivan
Retired Auxiliary Bishop
“Inferno: The World at War” by Max Hastings
“Drift: The Unmooring of Military Power” by Rachel Maddow
“House on Fire: The Fight to Eradicate Smallpox” by William H. Foege
“All is Grace: A Biography of Dorothy Day” by Jim Forest

Sales associate Maria Druke talks with Sister Andrew Marie Tyler at Pauline Books and Media in Old Town Alexandria, Va., Aug. 10. Operated by the Daughters of St. Paul, the store has been a fixture on well-traveled King Street since 1982. It is one of 13 bookstores the order runs in North America. (CNS photo/Nancy Wiechec)

Larry Celona
N.Y. Post, Reporter
“Leaving Story Avenue, my journey from the projects to the front page” by Paul LaRosa
“Red on Red” by Edward Conlon “Most Wanted, Pursuing Whitey Bulger” by Thomas Foley

Bishop Raymond Chappetto
St. Kevin’s, Flushing, Pastor
Vicar for Clergy and Consecrated Life
“My Brother, the Pope” by Georg Ratzinger
“The Homeless Bishop, A Novel” by Joesph F. Girzone
“A Moment in Time: An American Story of Baseball, Heartbreak and Grace” by Ralph Branca

Joseph Coen
Diocesan Archivist
“Falling Upward” by Father Richard Rohr, OFM
“The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron

Sister Dolores Crepeau, C.S.J.
Fontbonne Hall, Bay Ridge, Principal
“Defending Jacob” by William Landay
“My Life with the Saints” by James Martin, S.J.
“The Periodic Table” by Primo Levi

Father John Cush
Cathedral Prep, Elmhurst, Spiritual Director
“Vanity Faith: Searching for Spirituality Among the Stars” by Terrance Klein
“Chalice of God: A Systematic Theology in Outline” by Aidan Nichols
“11/22/63” by Stephen King

Donna Czak
Middle Village
“The City of God” by St. Augustine
“The Story of a Soul” by St. Therese of Lisieux
“John of The Cross” by Kavanaugh

Frank DeRosa
Former Public Information Director, Diocese of Brooklyn
“The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything” by James Martin, S.J.
“Wherever I Wind Up: My Quest for Truth, Authenticity and the Perfect Knuckleball” by R.A. Dickey

Father James Devlin
Good Shepherd, Marine Park, Pastor
“LBJ: The Passage of Power” by Robert Caro
“You Will Be My Witness” by John Dear
“In the Garden of Beasts” by Erik Larsen

Msgr. Fernando Ferrarese
Immaculate Conception, Astoria, Pastor
“What Happened at Vatican II” by Father John O’Malley
“The First Crusade” by Peter Frankopan
“Francis of Assisi” by Father Augustine Thompson, O.P.
“When I Was a Child I Read Books” by Marilyn Robinson

Msgr. Steven Ferrari
St. Teresa, Woodside, Pastor
“The Lost Years” by Mary Higgins Clark
“Falling Upward” by Richard Rohr
“Summer: A Spiritual Biography of the Season” edited by G. Schmidt and S. Felch
“Bring Up The Bodies” by Hilary Mantel
“Between Heaven and Mirth” by James Martin, S.J.

Dr. Steven Garner, MD
The Tablet, Columnist
“Food Lovers Guide to Brooklyn” by Sherri Eisenberg
“The Murder of the Century” by Paul Collins
“Season of ‘42” by Jack Cavanaugh

Father William Hoppe
St. Leo, Corona, Pastor
“Father Joe – The Man Who Saved My Soul” by Tony Hendra
“Benjamin Franklin – An American Life” by Walter Isaacson
“Nelson Mandela – Conversations with Myself”
“Matthew, Mark, Luke and You – Unraveling the Gospels” by William J. O’Malley

Father Thomas Machalski
Chancellor
“My Brother, The Pope” by Georg Ratzinger
“Heaven Is For Real” by Todd Burpo
“Seal Team Six: Memoirs of an Elite Navy Seal Sniper” by Howard E. Wasdin and Stephen Templin
“Why Catholicism Matters” by Bill Donohue

Father Frank Mann
DeSales Media Group, Staff
“Animal Grace:  Entering a Spiritual Relationship With Our Fellow Creatures” by Jane Goodall
“Signposts For the Future: Contemporary Issues Facing the Church” by Hans Kung
“The Theology of Vatican II” by  Bishop Basil Christopher Butler
“Memories and Hopes” by Leon Joseph Cardinal Suenens
“Encounters with Silence”  by Karl Rahner
“Perseverence in Trials: Reflections on The Book of Job” by  Carlo Maria Cardinal Martini
“Open to God, Open to the World” by Franz Cardinal Konig
“The Spirit of Vatican II: A History of Catholic Reform in America” by Colleen McDannell

Father James Massa
St. Joseph’s Seminary, Dunwoodie, Faculty
“The Mystery of the Temple” by Yves Congar
“Jerusalem” by Simon Sebag Montefiore
“Deep Conversion/Deep Prayer” by Thomas Dubay
“Poor Banished Children of Eve” by Fiorella de Maria
“Hidden Face of St. Therese” by Ida Friederike Gorres

Paul Moses
Brooklyn College, Department of Journalsim
“The Use and Abuse of the Bible: A Brief History of Biblical Interpretation” by Henry Wansbrough, O.S.B.
“Francis of Assisi: A New Biography” by Augustine Thompson, O.P.
“Helping the Bereaved College Student” by David E. Balk
“The Age of Reagan: A History, 1974-2008” by Sean Wilentz
“Meditations on the Song of Songs” by St. Teresa of Avila Msgr.

Sean Ogle
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Astoria, pastor
“The Duty of Delight: The Diaries of Dorothy Day” edited by Robert Ellsberg
“Unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand
“Great Teachers” by Pope Benedict XVI
“Theophilus” by Michael O’Brien
“Praying the Roman Missal: Pastoral Reflections on the Revised English Translation” by Robert L. Tuzik
“St. Francis De Sales and His Friends” by Maurice Henry-Couannier
“Union 1812: The Americans Who Fought the Second War of Independence” by A.J. Langguth.

Father Raymond Roden
Special Adviser to the Bishop
“Viva Cristo Rey: The Cristero Rebellion and the Church-State Conflict in Mexico” by  David C. Bailey
“Of Cabbages and Kings County: Agriculture and the Formation of Modern Brooklyn” by Marc Linder and Lawrence S. Zacharias
“Translating Tradition: A Chant Historian Reads  Liturgiam Authenticam” by Peter Jeffery
“Fiorello’s Sister” by Gemma LaGuardia Gluck
“Swamp Fox: The Life and Campaigns of General Francis Marion” by Robert D. Bass
“A Sense of Humor and Virtue: A Thomistic Theological Perspective” by Basil Cole

Bishop Joseph M. Sullivan
Retired Auxiliary Bishop
“Inferno: The World at War” by Max Hastings
“Drift: The Unmooring of Military Power” by Rachel Maddow
“House on Fire: The Fight to Eradicate Smallpox” by William H. Foege
“All is Grace: A Biography of Dorothy Day” by Jim Forest

by Ed Wilkinson

In two weeks, we will be publishing our annual survey of what people in the diocese are reading this summer.  But before we do that, I want to tell you about a significant book, which if it is not, should be on your list.

Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, has done it again.  In his new book, “Why Catholicism Matters,” he explains how the Church is almost singlehandedly responsible for the rise of Western Civilization and how it can help revive its once proud history.

“If there is one institution that embodies the right recipe for the makings of the good society it is the Roman Catholic Church,” writes Donohue unabashedly.

He credits the Irish monastic movement for preserving the rich building blocks of Greek and Roman thought.  Add to that the Christian cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance, and you have the formula for good living.

The author takes each of the virtues and applies them to historical circumstances to show how they bettered the human condition.  For instance, he uses the example of slavery, tracing its historical roots and how it was accepted in almost every civilization throughout history.  He cites the evolving opposition to slavery, even citing a papal condemnation of slavery in the New World in 1537.  But it fell to Abraham Lincoln and his natural law argument that finally outlawed slavery in the U.S.

Donohue argues that “Those who fought slavery were not successful because they were right; they were successful because they were prudent.”

And the modern day Civil Rights movement would never have met with success if it had not been for “a vibrant return to Catholic natural law theory.”

The pages of this work are filled with the thought of St. Paul, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Mother Teresa, Pope Pius XII, John Paul II and Benedict XVI.  But it is also full of historical references to Hitler, the Inquisition and Fascism.

What I liked most about this book is that it returns pride to being a Catholic.  While most in today’s society would disregard the teachings of the Church, Donohue explains systematically why the Catholic Church provides the best answers to what ails us.

“Discarding old truths may be popular these days,” he writes, “but doing so exacts a hefty price.

“There are many social and cultural challenges ahead, but without the strong public voice of the Catholic Church…society will be all the poorer.”

Anyone who has ever heard Bill Donohue defend the Catholic Church knows that he does not mince words.  He comes right at you and tells it like it is.  That’s what comes through in his writings as well.  In no uncertain terms, he tells us why the world needs the Catholic Church.

The Church’s insistence on the defense of marriage and the family resounds loud and clear on these pages.  Relying on the virtue of temperance to achieve strong marriages and families just could be the saving grace of contemporary society.  But as Donohue points out, it won’t happen unless the Church is allowed to make its case in the public forum.  And if even that can be cast in doubt these days.

Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C., calls the book “an important contribution at a critical time.”

As I perused some of the early list of our summer readers, I noticed that at least one has “Why Catholicism Matters.” I hope more people find their ways to valuable work.