Priests at Work

About the Book

Priests at Work provides fascinating accounts of U.S. Catholic priests who are softening the hardline message from Rome, applying church rules creatively “for the sake of the people.”  This candid book reveals how American priests tailor their advice and pastoral care to 53 million Catholics.  Told in priests’ own words, it shows how Catholic pastoral practice departs from Vatican severity on issues such as birth control, divorce and remarriage, women’s rights, abortion, liturgy, spirit versus law, and much more.

What American priests tell their parishioners is supported here by comments from U.S. and European theologians.  Many of the latter are known to be at odds with the Vatican, but their arguments have not yet been told in detail to the public.  Now for the first time, their views are explained in tandem with the views of the parish pastor.

Priests at Work, formerly Bending the Rules, is the first book to present in detail what goes on between priest and parishioner in day-to-day decision-making about moral issues and liturgical practice.  It will provide a shock (or joy) or recognition to Catholics, and will fascinate all readers interested in religion and in the power of compassion over blind adherence to a given rule.

About the Author

Jim Bowman covered religion for The Chicago Daily News, 1968-78. Before that he was a Jesuit priest. He has been an independent writer since The News folded in 1978. He has written six books, including Priests at Work: How Catholic Pastors Apply Church Law in Difficult Cases, which appeared in 1994 as Bending the Rules: What American Priests Tell American Catholics, and numerous articles, reviews, and essays. He lives in the Chicago area. He and his wife have six grown children.