Pope Francis Causing a Buzz

The country is abuzz this month with the impending visit of Pope Francis. Timely to say the least, although we certainly believe it to be on the merits of the book—our latest title, Pope Francis: The Legacy of Vatican II by Eduardo Echeverria, was recently featured in two reviews.

Fr. C. John McCloskey, the Opus Dei priest better known as “the convert priest” for having helped a number of high profile people convert to Catholicism, and currently a Research Fellow of the Faith and Reason Institute in Washington, D.C. reviewed the book for The Catholic Thing, Sunday, August 16, 2015. In this article, Fr. McCluskey refers to Pope Francis as “misunderstood” by a secular media “stoked by the Internet” and constantly portraying him as somehow intending to “change the fundamental teaching of the Catholic Church.” He refers to the author, Eduardo Echeverria, as somewhat of a beacon — shedding new light on the Catholic Church and on Pope Francis himself at this particularly challenging time in history and showing that this Holy Father is truly a man of the Second Vatican Council and faithful to its teaching.

And again, as the Pope’s visit to the U.S. draws near and the whole world watches, Mgr. Dr. Gerard de Korte, Bishop of Groningen-Leeuwarden, from the Catholic Association for Ecumenism refers to Echeverria’s clarity on the pope’s history with Vatican II to argue that some Catholics, troubled that the pope seems to create confusion on ethical issues, may not understand this pope. His article, Pope Francis: rupture or continuity—a Review, is written in Dutch; using your browser’s translation feature this is the English version.

Catholic Press Book Awards!

We are delighted to announce two Lectio authors as recipients of the 2015 Catholic Press Book Awards. In Lectio’s first year to submit entries, Theology of the Body Extended: the Spiritual Signs of Birth, Impairment, and Dying (authored by Susan Windley-Daoust) won First Place for Best Book by a Small Publisher.

2015 CPA First Place Award

1st Place: Best Book by a Small Publisher

The review reads, “This book is well-written and insightful. It applies the Theology of the Body to themes that are rarely discussed and illustrates how God’s grace lifts up the suffering, dying, and those with disabilities. The author combines compelling research with beautiful reflections on what it means to be a person in communion with God and with others.” (The Catholic Journalist Vol. 67, No. 5, p. 40 June 2015)

Sacramental Theology: 50 Years After Vatican II by Kenan B. Osborne OFM, won Third Place in the category (B22) 50th Anniversary of Vatican II.

This review: “Probably of greatest interest to Church professionals (clergy, liturgists, etc.) Sacramental Theology: 50 Years After Vatican II is nevertheless an accessible treatment of its subject. It offers an historical outline of the development of the sacraments and, in a broader sense, of the notion of sacrament (e.g. the Church as sacrament); a treatment of Vatican II’s teaching on sacramental theology; and summaries of the modern history of sacraments and contemporary thought on the liturgy. It is wide-ranging without being excessively long.” (The Catholic Journalist Vol. 67, No. 5, p. 41 June 2015)

Congratulations to our winners and to the Catholic Press Association for another successful conference.