Wednesday, February 28, 2024
6–8 pm EST
Catholic Information Center
1501 K Street NW
Washington, DC 20005 United States
Join author Francis X. Maier for the launch of his new book, True Confessions: Voices of Faith from a Life in the Church, with a response from George Weigel. This event will be offered both in-person and virtually through YouTube. Please register today.
Thank you to our event co-sponsors, the Napa Institute and the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC).
The program’s schedule:
- 5:15 pm EST: Mass
- 6:00 pm EST: Talk (this portion will be offered virtually via the livestream)
- 7:00 pm EST: Book signing and reception
- 8:00 pm EST: Conclusion
For those attending in-person, True Confessions will be available for purchase in the CIC’s bookstore.
About the Book:
Francis Maier’s new book examines the past decade where Rome has been marked with sharp, and often unwarranted, criticism of the Church in the United States and American Catholic life. But very few of the critics have taken the time to talk, systematically, with a wide range of U.S. Catholics to understand their concerns. True Confessions is unique for its frank and in-depth interviews with 103 bishops, clergy, religious, and lay men and women from various backgrounds over a 17-month period, December 2020 through May 2022.
The wide-ranging subject matter includes the unseen challenges of life as a bishop; the pressures and satisfactions of the priesthood, the diaconate, and the consecrated life; the structural and leadership ingredients of diocesan success and failure; fallout from the Church’s sex-abuse scandals; problems in Catholic universities; attitudes toward the Vatican; the role of Catholics in the academy and the secular culture; the witness of parents who have children with special needs; and the testimony of immigrant Americans as they assess their new homeland.
Finally, the book presents the reasons why so many U.S. Catholics, despite today’s challenges, continue to love the Church and cherish their faith with joy and energy.
About the Speakers:
- Francis X. Maier is a Senior Fellow in the Catholic Studies Program at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Mr. Maier’s work focuses on the intersection of Christian faith, culture, and public life, with special attention to lay formation and action. Mr. Maier served as senior adviser and special assistant to Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., for 23 years in Denver and Philadelphia. He previously served as editor in chief of the National Catholic Register and as a story analyst and screenwriter based in Los Angeles. Mr. Maier serves on the board of the Napa Institute and the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS).
- George Weigel is the Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, and is a Catholic theologian and one of America’s leading public intellectuals. He holds EPPC’s William E. Simon Chair in Catholic Studies. From 1989 through June 1996, Mr. Weigel was president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, where he led a wide-ranging, ecumenical and inter-religious program of research and publication on foreign and domestic policy issues. He is the author or editor of more than 30 other books, many of which have been translated into other languages.