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Title: The Other Side of the Altar: One Man's Life in the Catholic Priesthood by Paul E. Dinter ISBN: 0-374-29966-8 Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux Pub. Date: 31 March, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $23.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.9 (10 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: Interesting, but too limited in focus
Comment: If one is 'working backwards' from the scandal of there being sexual abuse scandals, and 'covering up,' Dr Dinter's book does present an absorbing treatment of factors which have influenced both tendencies.
However, the scope of the thought is far too limited. In the early chapters, where Dinter speaks of his childhood and seminary training, the traits which encouraged those not suited to the priesthood to pursue ordination, and attitudes assumed on the part of family and local church, were presented as if they were universal. Celibacy was treated as if it were the source of inevitable pathology (though not criminal actions or necessarily sexual abuse). I am not suggesting that Dinter's observations would apply to some, perhaps many, of the clergy, but there is no balance in this book. The observations are assumed to apply to all.
Dr Dinter's intelligence and background are clear, and it therefore is very disappointing to see generalisations lead to half truths. This oddly reminded me of the quite different generalisations that he so deplored in his seminary training.
Rating: 4
Summary: The (accurate portrayal of) Evolution in Today's Priesthood
Comment: I entered the seminary in 2000, as a young, impressionable eighteen-year-old. I was, in no way, prepared for the arrogant and evasive methods used in the diocesan formation. Homosexual predation is rampant, as many older seminarians victimize the younger students through emotional and psychological grooming, some estimates (which I find to be accurate) maintain that over 60% of seminarians today are practicing homosexuals - despite the explicit Church teachings demanding otherwise. I was profoundly touched by Dr. Dinter's account, primarily because I felt - even though I left the seminary after only two years - a closeness with his accounts. Idiocy and indifference are still plaguing the seminary institutions in this country, and as long as those within the system refuse to see the quagmire that has been created, abuse and exploitation will only be perpetuated.
This is a book that every Catholic should read, especially priests, seminarians, and family and friends of these individuals. The only way these horrific situations will cease is by an honest introspection into the functions of Catholicism, and a renewed sense of authentic spirituality.
The age of avoidance and hiding must certainly end, and Dr. Dinter does a wonderful job depicting this life as it truly has become.
Rating: 1
Summary: The Other Side of Paul Dinter
Comment: Dinter's portrayal of himself as an innocent victim is far different than what others knew of him. His account is so self righteous that he omits many other issues. For instance, he publicly announced, when he returned to Columbia University after a trip to the then-communist Russia, that there was no religious persecution in the Societ Union. Naturally, many Jews were offended.
Dinter's problematic encounters with students show how "playing therapist" got him in way over his head. He counseled young people using Freudian psychology when he had no graduate training or license in the field (he's a Biblical scholar by training). His conflict with Rosa, who he said came on to him (she said he came on to her) was a case in point, which embarassed Columbia and possibly led to his transfer. (Incidentally, contrary to what Dinter insists, Columbia University--which is neither the church nor the state--was responsible for campus religious activities.) But Dinter's recount of this and other incidents is so one sided that one wonders just how honest he really is.
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Title: Sacred Silence: Denial and the Crisis in the Church by Donald Cozzens ISBN: 081462779X Publisher: Liturgical Press Pub. Date: November, 2002 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: A People Adrift : The Crisis of the Roman Catholic Church in America by Peter Steinfels ISBN: 0684836637 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 05 August, 2003 List Price(USD): $26.00 |
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Title: Our Fathers : The Secret Life of the Catholic Church in an Age of Scandal by DAVID FRANCE ISBN: 0767914309 Publisher: Broadway Pub. Date: 20 January, 2004 List Price(USD): $26.95 |
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Title: The Coming Catholic Church : How the Faithful Are Shaping a New American Catholicism by David Gibson ISBN: 0060530707 Publisher: HarperSanFrancisco Pub. Date: 01 July, 2003 List Price(USD): $23.95 |
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Title: Vows of Silence: The Abuse of Power in the Papacy of John Paul II by Jason Berry, Gerald Renner ISBN: 0743244419 Publisher: Free Press Pub. Date: 01 February, 2004 List Price(USD): $26.00 |
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