Background
Shaw, Russell Burnham was born on May 19, 1935 in Washington, District of Columbia, United States. Son of Charles Burnham and Mary (Russell) Shaw.
(Russell Shaw The battle lines are drawn. On one side are...)
Russell Shaw The battle lines are drawn. On one side are the progressives who seek to weaken the office of the papacy through a systematic program of robbing the pope of his authority. On the other are those who desire to bring the papal office into the twenty-first century with changes that are consistent with Catholic teaching and that serve the interests of the Church as a whole. If you want to know what's really going on behind efforts to tame the pope, you owe it to yourself - and your Church - to read this provocative new examination of the conflict over the role of the successors of St. Peter in the life of the universal Church. With engaging skill, Shaw outlines the historical foundations of the current debate. A seasoned journalist, he analyzes the various reform proposals without polemics. He also offers some proposals of his own, gleaned from his many years of service. The result is an outstanding, balanaced, and very readable primer which ought to be enjoyed by everyone interested in the future of the Church. - Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M.Cap., Archbishop of Denver
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0879735554/?tag=2022091-20
(Fr. John McCloskey has become a famous "convert maker" in...)
Fr. John McCloskey has become a famous "convert maker" in the power corridors close to the White House and various government agencies. Having run the well-known Catholic Information Center in the heart of Washington, DC since 1998 and ending in the beginning of 2004, brought McCloskey in direct contact with numerous well-known and lesser known Washington figures who have been directly instructed, encouraged and assisted into the Catholic Church by this priest-evangelist. This work is a joint effort of McCloskey and Russell Shaw, a well-known Catholic author and speaker who also works in the DC area. Based on the great success and influence that Father McCloskey has had in helping instruct many converts to Catholicism, especially numerous high profile DC figures, this book is a powerful combination of the methods, theology, and theories that McCloskey uses in his evangelization efforts. In addition to his compelling insights on how to teach or share the faith in a winning, inspiring way, this work includes the contributions of several dozen converts of Fr. McCloskey who give their own moving testimonies of why they converted to Catholicism, and how that life-changing journey happened for each of them. Many of their writings reveal extraordinary perception regarding the workings of grace and the dynamics of the spiritual life.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1586171259/?tag=2022091-20
(DISCOVER AND LIVE YOUR PURPOSE IN LIFE THROUGH YOUR LAY V...)
DISCOVER AND LIVE YOUR PURPOSE IN LIFE THROUGH YOUR LAY VOCATION! The Church’s mission is to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to everyone. As lay disciples of the Savior, our shared mission is to bring the message of His saving life, death and resurrection to all men and women through our words and deeds. Your personal lay vocation is even more focused: God has created you for a unique purpose only you can accomplish for Him! As you read this book you will discover the intensely interesting history and theology of the lay vocation and how our Church’s reemphasis on the role of the laity in our day is meant to help awaken this “sleeping giant.” But this is not simply a book of history and theology—it’s about your mission in life and your eternal destiny. Russell Shaw’s insightful work makes a direct connection between the teachings of the Bible, Vatican II, John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis I and your everyday life as a lay follower of Jesus. Here you will learn how to begin discerning your unique personal lay vocation and how to establish, deepen and maintain your friendship with Jesus while you live out your lay vocation in the “real world.” Jesus told us: I have come that they might have life, and have it more abundantly.” Read this book and find that life through your lay vocation!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1494996286/?tag=2022091-20
(What does God want you to do with your life? Whether you'...)
What does God want you to do with your life? Whether you're ordained, professed religious, single, or married, Personal Vocation will show you how to: discover the elements of your vocation; commit yourself to that mission; and remain faithful to your personal call from God. For the young adult making education and career decisions... For the older individual coming to grips with vocation concerns... this book offers information and a perspective that can encourage, inspire, and re-energize.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/159276021X/?tag=2022091-20
(Russell Shaw explains in this book why only through sacra...)
Russell Shaw explains in this book why only through sacramental Confession can you regain harmony of soul and the grace lost by sin. He provides concise rational explanations for what many have realized through their own experience: there is no substitute for divine forgiveness. Here is an excellent book to equip you to explain and defend the Church’s teaching about Confession — and a great gift to give to non-Catholics and skeptical Catholics to help them see that Confession is a necessity of any healthy spiritual life.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1889334235/?tag=2022091-20
(Shaw, widely known Catholic writer, speaker and former co...)
Shaw, widely known Catholic writer, speaker and former communications director for the U S Bishops, discusses the abuse of secrecy in the Church, the scandals it has caused and the serious problem of mistrust that exists in the credibility of the Church. Not concerned with the legitimate secrecy that is necessary to protect confidentiality and people's reputations, Shaw is rather concerned here with the stifling, deadening misuse of secrecy that has done immense harm to communion and community in the Church in America. Shaw shows the secrecy issue is a theological as well as practical problem that raises such questions as: What kind of Church do we want our Church to be, open or closed? What kind of Church should it be? And how much secrecy is compatible with having such a Church? As Pope Benedict XVI has stated, "The consequence is clear: we cannot communicate with the Lord if we do not communicate with one another." The Church is a communion, not a political democracy, and thus openness and accountability are even more crucial for the life of the Church than they are in a democracy. In a talk he gave many years before he became the current Pope, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger had this to say about the reality of ecclesial communion: "Fellowship in the Body of Christ and receiving the Body of Christ means fellowship with one another. This of its very nature includes mutual acceptance, giving and receiving on both sides, and readiness to share one's goods . . . In this sense, the social question is given quite a central place in the theological heart of the concept of communion." This is a beautiful vision of the Church. Shaw's aim in his book is to make a contribution to realizing this vision in the concrete circumstances of the present day, by helping to end the culture of secrecy, especially within American Catholicism, and replacing the destructive culture with an open, accountable community of faith. "Throughout his career, Russell Shaw has served admirably Mother Church through his balanced, reasonable, informed, accessible, and forthright writings. Understanding that there are legitimate applications for the use of secrecy in both everyday religious life and secular society, he now addresses the unfortunate and long standing consequences of unnecessary secrecy and the lack of open and effective communication within the Catholic Church. Inhibiting the promotion of truth, knowledge, and accountability and increasing the chances of corruption, the author notes how unnecessary secrecy in the Church also weakens community/"communio;" maintains a second class status for the laity, furthers its "clericalization" and lessens its influence in worldly affairs; creates suspicion both internally and in the outside world; and impedes the speedy and effective just resolution of any number of crises affecting the religious institution today, most conspicuously, the recent sexual scandal. Let's hope the Bishops and other Church insiders recognize this important message of reform on the part of someone so committed to the Catholic faith. - Joseph A. Varacalli, author, The Catholic Experience in America Russell Shaw has long been a unique -- and uniquely valuable -- voice in American Catholicism. He was for many years the US Bishops' official spokesman, and he has the perspective and insights of an "insider". But Shaw is not an apologist for the hierarchy. He is at once a devout and loyal (and orthodox) member of the faithful, and a sharp critic of the cult of secrecy which so many bishops have cultivated. In this sobering but much-needed book, Shaw shows how some shepherds abused secrecy, and in doing so compounded the sex misconduct crisis with a broader crisis of trust in clerical leadership. But this is not a book about sex-abuse. It is rather about what it means to be the Church, about the collaboration of the non-ordained faithful in carrying out the Church's mission, and about how secrecy prevents the communication which is necessary to that collaboration. Shaw fully recognizes that the Catholic Church is no democracy and that confidentiality -- up to a point -- is essential to the Church's business. That is why this book is a measured yet cogent treatment of one of the great problem's facing the American Church today. - Professor Gerard Bradley, University of Notre Dame "Russell Shaw makes a persuasive case that it is time, at long last, to implement the teaching of the Second Vatican Council on the rights and responsibilities of the laity in the life of the Church. His call deserves the support also of clerics who recognize the unhappy consequences of clericalism." - Rev. Richard John Neuhaus , editor in chief, First Things "As the premier Catholic communications professional in the United States, Russ Shaw is a longtime critic of clericalism, excessive secrecy, 'happy talk' and spin control in Catholic culture. He's also an articulate and engaging writer with an unparalleled record of service to the Church. Nothing to Hide is a provocative, important book that explores the boundary between appropriate confidentiality in the Church, and the kind of secrecy that cripples Christian community life. It's a must-read." +Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., Archbishop of Denver
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1586172182/?tag=2022091-20
(Why hasn't the Catholic Church been more successful up to...)
Why hasn't the Catholic Church been more successful up to now in realizing the Second Vatican Council's call for the evangelization of secular culture? Why hasn't the Gospel been preached more forthrightly to the modern world? The most important reason, as well as the least recognized, may be clericalism: the attitude, widely shared by Catholic laypeople as well as many priests, that clerics make up the active, elite corps in the Church, and laypeople are the passive mass; that clerics alone have intrinsic responsibility for the Church's mission while the apostalate of laypeople comes to them (if they come at all) only by delegation on the part of the clergy. To Hunt, To Shoot, To Entertain probes the theological and historical roots of this clericalist mentality as it has affected the Catholic laity, along with contemporary expressions of clericalism--the over-involvement of some clerics in secular politics, the sometimes exaggerated emphasis given to ""lay ministers,"" and certain aspects for the feminist movement in today's Catholicism. This is not another revisionist attack on the priesthood, not one more alienated voice from the pews. Instead the book offers a prescription for authentic ecclesial renewal based on new, healthier lay-clergy relations in light of the teaching of Vatican II, Pope John Paul II, and other voices of the Magisterium. It presents a positive vision of a Church in which laypeople and clergy regard one another with mutual respect as partners in her mission to the world, with indispensable, contemporary tasks arising from their own special vocations. ""Russell Shaw and other laypeople who decry the evils of clericalism put the Church in their debt. They are not anticlerical. They want priests and bishops to be the shepherds they are ordained to be."" -- Rev. Richard John Neuhaus First Things Russell Shaw is author or co-author of twenty books and has contributed articles, columns, and reviews to many periodicals. A former Secretary for Public Affairs of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops/United States Catholic Conference, he is a member of the faculty of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1610972031/?tag=2022091-20
Shaw, Russell Burnham was born on May 19, 1935 in Washington, District of Columbia, United States. Son of Charles Burnham and Mary (Russell) Shaw.
Bachelor, Georgetown University, 1956; Master of Arts, Georgetown University, 1960.
Staff writer Catholic Standard, Washington, 1956-1957. Reporter National Catholic News Service, 1957-1966. Director publications, public information National Catholic Educational Association, 1966-1969.
Director National Catholic Office for Information, 1969-1973. Associate secretary for communication United States Catholic Conference, 1973-1974, secretary for public affairs National Conference Catholic Bishops, 1975-1987. Director public information Knights of Columbus, New Haven, 1987-1997.
Associate professor Pontifical University Holy Cross, Rome, since 1996, Catholic Distance University, Washington, 2006—2010. Consultor Pontifical Council for Social Communications, 1984—1989, since 2001. Editor The Pope Speaks, 1998—2005.
(Why hasn't the Catholic Church been more successful up to...)
(What does God want you to do with your life? Whether you'...)
(Shaw, widely known Catholic writer, speaker and former co...)
(This carefully researched conpendium covers virtually eve...)
(DISCOVER AND LIVE YOUR PURPOSE IN LIFE THROUGH YOUR LAY V...)
(Russell Shaw explains in this book why only through sacra...)
(Russell Shaw The battle lines are drawn. On one side are...)
(Fr. John McCloskey has become a famous "convert maker" in...)
Member National Press Club, Equestrian Order of Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, Phi Beta Kappa.
Married Carmen Hilda Carbon, July 19, 1958. Children: Mary Hilda, Emily Anne, Janet, Charles, Elizabeth.