Reclaiming American Catholicism

A rich portrait of American Catholicism at a crossroads between crisis and opportunity

The most vocal leaders in the United States Catholic hierarchy today embrace a culture-war Catholicism that pits them against the pastoral priorities of Pope Francis and many Catholics in the pews.

Reclaiming American Catholicism makes the argument that recalibrating the Church's engagement with politics and public life is vital for both the Church and the country. Gehring illuminates the Church that Pope Francis envisions—"bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets"—through stories of Catholic advocates working on the border, young Catholics who question Church teachings but are active in social justice campaigns, LGBTQ+ Catholics within a Church that does not accept their full humanity, and seminarians who work in the fields with migrants as part of their religious formation.

This book offers a hopeful vision for the Church at a time when the Catholic social justice tradition is more relevant than ever.