Here are the rules for this book meme:
1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.
I'm at my desk, surrounded by books, but who cares what's on p. 123 of Roget's Thesaurus of the Bible. A brief moment of mid-Lent modesty prevents me from quoting from my own oeuvre. On the cabinet behind me is Richard G. Malloy's new book, A Faith that Frees: Catholic Matters for the 21st Century (Orbis).
What pops up on p. 123 suggests that the book review I read was in America and not First Things. Yes, I read both.
Three sentences from A Faith that Frees (p. 123):
"Cultural issues are historical, and to deal with such issues the church will have to appeal to transcultural and transhistorical method, the method based on the norm of authenticity. The question for Catholics in the twenty-first century is not, 'Did Jesus ordain women?' The question ought to be, 'Is Jesus Christ calling women to serve as ordained priests?' Canon law states that all the baptized, male and female, are free from coercion in choosing their vocation (canon 219). Does the refusal to test a woman's vocation to ordained ministry, de facto, constitute coercion?"Right. More than three sentences. Here's another rule I'm not following: tagging five other people!
