Product Description

The last 40 years have been tumultuous ones for Catholicism. Seminaries emptied, priests and nuns left their vocations, people dissented from basic teachings, and children received poor catechesis. It didn't used to be this way. What happened? An unsung hero during his time, the late Fr. Richard Gilsdorf helps answer such questions by giving a precise and thorough explanation of developments in the Church since Vatican II. Indeed, no one can fully hope to understand the state of Catholicism today without this important work.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #952904 in Books
• Published on: 2008-03-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 560 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780615184890
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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Review
During the six years I served as bishop of Green Bay, I came to know Fr. Richard Gilsdorf as a holy priest, a Scripture scholar, teacher, and pastor, as well as a friend and confidant whose opinion and insights I valued. He was faithful and loyal to the teachings of the Church and had a zeal for communicating the faith to others. This collection of his writings will both inspire and challenge any reader. He stretched my thinking and enlarged my heart; I trust he will do the same for you. --Adam Cardinal Maida

Fr. Gilsdorf was a priest s priest, and was one of the first to grasp the crisis that gripped the Church after the Council. In one instance, he wrote an article for my magazine called The Plight of the Papist Priest (included in this book). Its impact was so great, it was translated into five languages, and people requested it for over 20 years. Readers of this volume will find this sort of unique perspective. --Fr. Kenneth Baker, SJ

This book is a treasure. It preserves the crucial work of an exemplary pastor who courageously and with charity defended the Faith against those who distorted and hijacked Vatican II. I predict Signs of the Times will have a great impact in the coming years. --Dr. Charles E. Rice

About the Author
Fr. Richard Gilsdorf served as a priest for the Diocese of Green Bay from 1956 2005. He held post-graduate degrees in theology and languages from Columbia University and the Sorbonne in Paris, and earned his PhD in Scripture studies from St. Louis University. He also taught seminary courses at Our Lady of Peace Pontifical Catechetical Institute in Beaverton, OR. His articles appeared in numerous publications, and he served as the founder and first president of the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy.

Customer Reviews

Introduce yourself to these excellent writings
When I first received this book I wasn't much enthused. I thought "Oh great a 500 plus page book from someone I hadn't heard of and it is probably a crank complaining about Vatican II. " A chapter into the book thought I was spending any of my spare time racing through this book and finished it in relatively short order. I am quite thankful to have been introduced to the writings of Fr. Gilsdorf who passed away in 2005.

This book is a compilation of a life's writing from a former seminary professor, parish priest, and scripture scholar. The books main title comes from a series of columns he wrote for The Compass, the newspaper of the Diocese of Green Bay. The book contains these columns along with a wealth of his other writings that were published in places like Homiletic & Pastoral Review and the The Wanderer. Also included were various speeches he gave at conferences along with several book reviews. The book is edited by Patrick F. Beno who took on the task from Fr. Gilsdorf to take his published as well as unpublished writings to be made into a book for publication. The editor has provided copious footnotes to give the reader context and background information on persons and events describes as well as translations for Latin phrases used throughout.

The "Signs of the Times" columns were written during the Pontificate of Paul VI and largely address the errors that were being promulgated in the aftermath of Vatican II. Father describes himself as a "Vatican II liberal" where liberal is meant in the older and truer sense of the word. He fully supports the Council and the documents of the Council and it is the dissent and the "spirit of Vatican II" that he sets himself in opposition to. One phrase used a couple of times in his writings is that he is "As liberal as the Pope is liberal and as conservative as the Pope is conservative." I think this is a great definition and much better than the left/right descriptions so often bandied about that contain so little clarity.

As a convert and someone that often writes on dissent within the Church I found it quite interesting to see a history of some of the errors that are now quite familiar and how they developed in the first place. Father's writings often include the history of how certain theology and practices entered the Church in the first place. Practices like no confession before First Communion, Communal penance services without integral sacramental communion, downplaying of devotional practices, and the loss of Eucharistic piety. He details these movements and the lack of response to these errors by the large majority of diocese. As a priest who lived during these times and saw first hand these practices he has great insights into the reasons for these developments, but most of all great insights into the error of these practices and the harm they cause.

What I really enjoyed about Father's writings that even though there were on contentious subjects he writes with great charity and sometimes great humor. At multiple points in the book he will write something that made me laugh out loud such as when he described the "Holy Office of Greeley" or when he writes about a priest-lecturer who had found "a fertile crop of itching ears." Another example is:

"One of the abused words is 'relevance.' It nauseates me even to type the blasted word. Where is the emesis basin?"

A thought I totally concur with.

One of the best aspects of Fr. Gilsdorf writings is that he never lets bitterness creep in or to show frustration at the lack of response to dissent and litrugical abuses. He never falls into name calling and while he has severe disagreements with the thoughts of several people addressed in the book, his criticisms are always pointed to the subject of the disagreement itself. He was not the type to just whine and complain, but to respond with thoughtful commentary and to take action where he could. I found reading this book that he was the founder and first president of the excellent Confraternity of Catholic Clergy which continues to do great work and is totally faithful to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church.

One of my favorite pieces in the book was a short column that appeared in his parish bulletin called "A little corner of Heaven" It is quite touching his reflection of his small parish Church and the baptisms, marriages, and funerals that took place there. His great love for his parish shines through. The editor of the book notes that because of Fr. Gildorf's forthright orthodoxy he was likely relegated to this parish in a town of of only 550 persons where his influence would be minimal and where he served for the large majority of his life.

The book though is chock full of great writing and some influential pieces that evoked a lot of support. One of these excellent pieces is "The Pirates of Penance" (I just love that title) on the bad times that the great sacrament of penance has fallen on and the theology that lead to the downplaying of confession. No doubt the downplaying of sin is the error that lead to this. He gave me lots to think about from this essay and several others that addressed this sacrament. Another great piece is The plight of the papist priest" which at the time was printed anonymously. This addresses the tension of being totally faithful to the Pope and the Magisterium of the Church while at the same time being faithful to your Bishop who is not faithful for the most part to either. This article was great encouragement to other "papist priests" throughout the world and ended up being printed in five different languages and the most requested piece at Homiletics & Pastoral Review.

Several chapters of the book also address the writings of scripture scholar Father Raymond Brown and how destructive some of his ideas were especially regarding the consciousness of Christ and how the "Ignorant Jesus" came to be taught in seminaries and every outlet of Catholic education. He shows multiple instances where Father Brown's writing totally conflict with Magisterial teaching and wonders just how it is that he became so influential and supported by so many bishops without an qualms. Since Fr. Gilsdorf is a scripture scholar himself he is able to ask some excellent questions and give some rebuttals to the some of Fr. Raymond Brown's writings. His scripture scholarship also is quite evident is several other pieces he writes on the papacy and the priesthood, and really throughout the book.

There were in fact so many great pieces in the book that I could easily turn this review into a summary of every chapter in the book since I just plain loved and enjoyed this book so much. Instead I would encourage everyone to pick up this book for their own enjoyment. For those already aware of Fr. Gilsdorf they will be rewarded with his other writings and for those such as myself for who this was a new introduction - the joy and education of reading his works.

Revelation of the Revolution
The "Signs of the Times" is a blunt insider's account of the chaos that has crippled the Catholic Church. Since the Second Vatican Council, something other than a reform has taken place. The only word for it is "revolution" - an uprising against all things truly Catholic. The external structures of the Church have not been dismantled. Oh no! These have been effectively used by the revolutionaries to undermine Catholic doctrine, morality, and spirituality, and to blacklist, isolate, and persecute clergy and laity who would dare hold to the true faith.

Fr. Gilsdorf was by no means a sedevacantist or traditionalist. He fully accepted the decrees and ideals of the Second Vatican Council, and was happily faithful in all things to the Holy Father. And this was precisely the cause of his hardships - fidelity in a treasonous American Church. The mantra of this new institution was (and remains) the "spirit of Vatican II." Such an expression is somewhat parallel to the "pro-choice" expression. It really means the exact opposite of what it appears to mean, and represents a position that is just too offensive to utter in plain English. Thus, the "spirit of Vatican II" should more honestly be called the "revolution AGAINST Vatican II," against the actual teachings found in the council's sixteen documents.

The "Signs of the Times," although a collection of Fr. Gilsdorf's articles, reads somewhat like a diary of a persecuted priest. It records the daily struggles of a faithful man of God who dearly loves his Church, believes it is the true Church founded by Jesus Christ, but is painfully aware of the revolution that is tearing it to pieces and reducing it to a secular institution devoted to the promotion of radical left-wing ideologies. It is not so appalling as Michael Roses's "Good Bye, Good Men," and yet belongs in the same category of books which record the anti-Catholic uprising within the Church. This book dwells, not on sex scandals, but on the neo-modernism that has dominated Church structures and transformed many dioceses into hostile think tanks of liberalism that effectively persecute bishops, priests, and lay people who dare to remain true to genuine Catholicism, to the magisterium of the Church, and to the TRUE spirit of Vatican II. However, the "Signs of the Times" is also a blunt indictment of the countless bishops, priests, and lay people who have directed or participated in this revolution. It describes their "search and destroy" approach from the perspective of a parish priest who has daily experienced the wrath of the left.

In my opinion, this important book will remain one of the finest detailed accounts of what Fr. John Hardon described as perhaps the worst and most treacherous era in the history of the Catholic Church.