Bausch has written a book that invites non-practicing Catholics back to the Church, an admirable reason to write, but it is full of opinion and dissent.

Bausch basically steers clear of the "controversial" subjects by merely introducing them as controversial and then leaves for the reader to make up their own mind on the matter. There is no attempt to explain the doctrines (unless it is to explain them away) and while some may view this as a "compassionate" thing to do, allowing someone to live in error is never compassionate when we just put blinders on.

Bausch also fails to make proper distinctions. He talks about "women's issues" as if the Church despises women. He calls the Church dysfunctional and says that to come back into the Church you merely need to heal your negative perceptions. Note: there is no discussion on personal repentance.

After giving a long explanation about how authority in the Church really doesn't mean much anymore and how it is all continuing to change anyway he writes, "you can dissent and remain a faithful Catholic". (page 65)

Of course his authority for such a statement is himself and he fails to back it up or explain it. He gives reasons why contraception can be used by Catholics (rather statistics why it can be used), he supports female priests, active homosexuality and calls the Church's teachings on the matter "the tradition is ambivalent and often hurtful" (page 91).

Steer clear of this book unless you want to try and whitewash the Church's teachings and ignore that we are called to obedience in any sense of the word. Grausch's book isn't for those wishing to return to the Church, it is for those who want to change it into their own image and likeness.

As a parish lay minister involved in Adult Faith Formation, I have found this book without equal in "reintroducing" Catholic faith to people who have been away from active practice, or who have never been properly catechized in Catholic teaching. Fr. Bausch writes with honesty, humor and compassion. It is particulaly helpful to Catholics raised in the church before Vatican II, but I have found that younger Catholics also enjoy reading it and benefit from a view of the church that is both accurate and contemporary. This book makes it easier for people to return to an active practice of their faith. I give a copy of this book to anyone who expresses a desire to return to the church, or (as the title says) is thinking about it.

I was given this book by the Benedictine nun in charge of my parish's religious education program. As a returning Catholic, I found this book to be exhilarating in its honesty about the Church's flawed history and the changes it has undergone in recent years. Like the book says, "Eccesia semper reformanda": The Church is always in need of reform. We must always strive for perfection. This book does a great job of explaining why certain changes have been and are being made. Contrary to popular belief, many changes are being made not for the sake of modernity, but with an eye to recreating the ancient church as it existed during the time of Christ. Other changes reflect new insights that have been introduced as the Church evolves. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is curious about what's going on in the Church these days.

This book was yet another one of Bausch's attempts to trash his own religion. He is obviously closed-minded and would like to see the one true church blend in with all the thousands of untruths out there today. If you want to waste your precious time reading this slow-moving and biased book then suit yourself. But please, learn from my mistake! Don't waste your time or money on this book!

In his usual popular style, William Bausch launches with gusto into this self described "primer" for Catholics (and others) wanting to face the challenges and influences encountered in Catholic life today. In 229 pages he whirls us through Catholic treatments of the New Age, evangelical fundamentalism, apocalypticism (end of the world - ism), the collapse of the "Total Church" and finally his own best attempts at addressing the struggles of the so described "partial Church." Unlike so many such treatments however, Bausch is less concerned with who is right and who isn't, than with what we as Catholics can learn about our current situation. This latest work is Bausch's response to some of the most topical issues facing (US) Catholics in 1999 and beyond. These same issues are of equal concern to New Zealand Catholics and their treatment here requires only the usual level of cultural translation to fit our South Pacific NZ setting. With a determined and very Catholic hope, the author sets out to explore the depressing statistics, the left and right wing arguments, and the successes of churches and movements offering alternatives to Catholicism. New and Old Age The "New Age," says Bausch, " is so concrete, so appealing, so sentimental - and so fuzzy." Breaking it all down into its chief characteristics, chapter one shows how there is real danger here for the would-be practitioner who wishes also to keep a balanced Christian faith. Very helpful is the unpacking of the self-centredness of much New Age theory and practice, something which immediately jars with the Gospel imperative to selfless living. Bausch, however, is not out to demonise the New Age movement nor its followers, a refreshing change after the truly unchristian efforts of so many self-proclaimed Catholic apologists in recent years. Instead, in chapter two, he begins by asking how the 'Old Age' should react to the New, or better, how Catholic tradition and Catholic beliefs should confront and learn from the New Age? With a critical but open mind, Bausch discovers, there is indeed a lot for us to learn. 'Saved' for the 'Rapture' No prizes for guessing the subject of the next two chapters entitled, Are You Saved and The Bible at the Centre. If you have ever suffered that sinking feeling as you watched yet another friend or family member slide into a fundamentalist church, then these chapters will provide helpful enlightenment. Noting that fundamentalism is present in all religions, Bausch focuses on American Christian fundamentalism, which has made such dramatic in-roads into Catholicism in recent decades. Again though, he is looking for the learnings as well as the dangers. Definitions can be everything in this type of discussion and here I found the author's approach both fresh and balanced. The reader will be intrigued by the range of individuals and groups who get a mention in relation to this topic. Jerry Falwell, Billy Graham, Catholics United for the Faith (CUF), Raymond Brown, The National Catholic Reporter (NCR), Opus Dei, 'cafeteria Catholics,' the AOGs, Marian apparitions, the Tridentines, Humanae Vitae, The Jesus Seminar, Catholics for Contraception, Youth for Christ, David Koresh, conservatives, liberals... we're all in there somewhere! Yet, Bausch keeps the discussion not only moving, but reasonable and fair. Perhaps the greatest insight here is the role that religious illiteracy plays in making Catholics 'easy meat' for fundamentalists on the proselytising warpath. End Times Chapters five and six move the reader into a treatment of millennial apocalypticism or, "the end of the world as we know it," to quote REM. Says the author, "New Age advocates look with disdain on fundamentalism and fundamentalism returns the compliment in spades. Yet, on one point, the end of the world, they become strange bedfellows." 'Endtimes' are a bigger business today than ever before and whether their reasoning is based on the imminence of the Second Coming or simply on the fact that the year 2000 has a nice ring to it, a lot of people are concerned about the end of the world. In these chapters Bausch succeeds admirably in calling the bluff of the ever-increasing number of apocalyptic prophets of doom. Accepting that God alone knows the day and the hour, Bausch recommends his readers, "stick with the Catholic tradition whose note is hope not destruction and whose slide into a new millennium is one of promise and jubilee." Leaking, not Sinking The final two chapters place our own church leakage under the microscope asking how so powerful and prestigious a church could so quickly falter in its appeal to its own. Examining internal and external reasons for this weakness leads naturally into a search for strategies for Catholic restoration during a new millennium. The author hazards a list of sixteen practical suggestions aimed at renewing the church from the inside out. These range from serious reflection on our modern, post-Christian context to a recapturing of our sense of the sacred; from seeing ourselves as the church 'out there' (as opposed to 'in here') to addressing the religious illiteracy of so many contemporary Catholics. A Good Yarn Catholics in Crisis? will not win any honorary doctorates for its author and nor is it likely to end up as a core text for our theology students. But its popular style, well supported by up-to-the-minute research, will appeal to a far wider readership precisely because it fearlessly tackles, in an accessible manner, so many of 1999's 'in-your-face' issues. As a pastoral worker in the young Catholic arena I found it a helpful and hopeful publication, one which I will be recommending warmly to many of the young adults and youth leaders with whom I work. If the signs of the times concern you as a Catholic then Catholics in Crisis? comes highly recommended.

Bausch's "A New Look at the Sacraments" offers some valuable insights into our ideas of what the Sacraments mean, however, Bausch also claims that the traditional understandings of the Sacraments are incorrect, and offers his theories as an alternative, rather than an addendum. Bausch takes some good ideas, and applies them horribly by offering a limmited view of the meaning of the Sacraments. Bausche's theories when viewed as an alternative to a more traditional understanding of the sacraments denies the idea of the Sacraments having any understanding as facilitating a personal relationship w/ Christ. He sees the Sacraments purely as a community thing. A community understanding of the Sacraments is good, and this book helps a person to deepen their understanding of what the Sacraments are, but to say that this understanding is the only true understanding of the Sacraments is wrong.

Bausch's Sacraments is a good historical and theological overview of the seven sacraments of the Roman Catholic Church. It is readable and easy to understand for beginning lay people and has enough content for high level readers. We use this book as a textbook for the area's adult religious education program sponsored by seven area Catholic parishes.

A note to review readers -- the last of the reviews given below, written by Paris Templin, is NOT a review of William Bausch's "Pilgrim Church." Mr. Templin's review is of a different book by E. H. Broadbent which shares the same title.

William Bausch colors his protrayal of church history with truth and error. One example of error is that he contends that there is "absolutely no proof" that the apostles appointed individual men to succeed them. The problem is the New Testament and many early church documents say otherwise. Apostolic Succession is considered to be one of the four pillars of the church. It has sound undisputable evidence in reality. For Bausch however, it is an abstract idea instead of an absolute truth in the Catholic Church. His bibleography is overwhelmingly limited to post-vatican II contemporary authors, rather than relying more heavily on historical documents to write his history. He ignores basic logical formulation to advance arguments for or against many conclusions he makes. He seems to be more interested in diluting or dumbing down the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church than advancing sound re-telling of the real Catholic Chrisitan history. It is a difficult read to sort out for anyone that already has a working knowledge of the subject. It is just dangerous to those who don't.

Like the above reviewer, I found the content good but the writing a little tough at times. The edition I read could've benefitted from different typesetting and layout as well. My interest began to flag a little as we moved towards the modern period and Vatican II, but in fairness, it was early church history I was primarily interested in.

I wonder why a priest has written a book about boys and sex????? Very questionable, very troubling.