Church Studies
The Woodstock Theological Center has sponsored a series of studies of issues
of special interest to the Catholic Church. Three studies of church governance were done by Thomas J. Reese, S.J., a
fellow at the center from 1985-1998. His first book, Archbishop: Inside the Power Structure
of the American Catholic Church (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1989)
examines the role of bishops in leading and governing their local dioceses.
Next, A Flock of Shepherds: The National
Conference of Catholic Bishops (Kansas City: Sheed & Ward, 1992)
looks at how the bishops work together on the national level in the NCCB.
Finally, Inside the Vatican: The Politics
and Organization of the Catholic Church (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard
University Press, 1996) describes the governance of the church on the
international level. Father Reese also led two symposia that brought together leading North
American experts to discus and write about important issues facing the church.
The first symposium analyzed and critiqued the instrumentum laboris
prepared in the Vatican on the theological and canonical status of episcopal
conferences. This resulted in Episcopal
Conferences: Historical, Canonical, and Theological Studies, edited by
Father Reese (Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 1989). The second
symposium examined the first draft of The Catechism of the Catholic Church and
resulted in another book edited by Father Reese, The Universal Catechism Reader: Reflections and
Responses (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1990). These books may be ordered from the Woodstock Theological Center. For
information about ordering Woodstock
publications, click here. Father Reese has also written extensively in America on church issues. On the
Woodstock Web, his articles are organized under the following categories:
See also: