With an estimated 17 million Americans identifying themselves as nonpracticing Catholics, Finley (The Seeker's Guide to Being Catholic) thinks it is high time the church attended to what constitutes a mission field in its own backyard. In this expanded invitation to the nation's largest religious group, Finley encourages alienated Catholics to come home, and urges the church to welcome them. He tells the stories of disaffected Catholics, explains why they have left the church and offers some ideas about how to draw them back into the fold. Catholic clergy, lay ministers and parents who wonder why their children no longer practice the family faith will find understanding and advice for dealing with so-called "lapsed" Catholics. Finley believes the reasons Catholics leave the church usually involve marriage and divorce issues, hurts caused by priests or nuns, disagreement with church teachings, disbelief in organized religion or God and the sense that the church is irrelevant, boring, too progressive or not progressive enough. Generally, he favors a soft approach to estranged Catholics that emphasizes listening to their concerns and gently reacquainting them with the church. For example, he suggests forbearance for engaged couples who are nonpracticing Catholics but want a church wedding, allowing them to marry in the church in the hope they will ease back into Catholic practice later. At this time of crisis for American Catholics, Finley initiates a conversation many will agree is important to the future of Catholicism. (Feb. 18)
