This book is a response to the hunger for a spirituality which both touches the heart and appeals to the intelligent mind. Donal Dorr explores in depth the nature of spirituality both in its worldly aspects, and as an intimate relationship with the Creator, with Jesus, and with the Holy Spirit. He explains why a lot of people who are searching for a satisfying spirituality have become disillusioned with formal religion.
(a) The author believes that the time has come to speak out strongly against ways in which the
present authoritarian and over-centralised style of the institutional Church prevents it from
offering people a spirituality which is true to the Gospel.
(b) He emphasises the importance of collaborative structures for leadership at all levels in the
Church, from the local up to the global: and he suggests that bishops and the pope should have
a ten-year term of office.
(c) He proposes a radical de-clericalisation of the Church.
(d) He proposes that individuals be encouraged to seek direct guidance from the Holy Spirit
through a variety of processes for discernment.
(e) The radical proposals in his final chapter are more credible and acceptable because of the
interesting mix of the traditional and the new in the previous eleven chapters.
Donal Dorr is a missionary with wide experience. a theologian and spiritual animator, he has served as a resource person for The Irish Missionary Union and as a consultor to the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. He is the author of several books, including the award winning Spirituality and Justice, as well as Option for the Poor: One Humdred Years of Catholic and Social Teaching and Mission in Todays World
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