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 Carl
E. Olson is the editor of IgnatiusInsight.com.
He is the co-author, with medievalist Sandra Miesel, of The
Da Vinci Hoax: Exposing the Errors in The Da Vinci Code (Ignatius,
2004). Known for his knowledge of Evangelical and Fundamentalist beliefs
about the end of the world, he has written over two dozen articles about
Bible prophecy, the belief in the "Rapture," and Left Behind
books. His recent book, Will
Catholics Be "Left Behind"? A Catholic Critique of the Rapture
and Today’s Prophecy Preachers (Ignatius Press, April 2003)
is the result of years of research on the topic; it was recognized by
the Associated Press as one of the best religious titles of 2003.
Carl grew up in a devout Fundamentalist Protestant home in western Montana.
After two years of art school, he attended Briercrest Bible College, an
Evangelical Bible college in Saskatchewan, Canada, graduating with an
associate’s degree in 1991. Carl's wife, Heather, is a graduate of
Multnomah Bible College in Portland, Oregon. They married in 1994 and
entered the Catholic Church together in 1997. Their conversion story appears
in the book, Surprised By Truth 3.
In May 2000, Carl graduated from the University of Dallas with a Masters
in Theological Studies. For two years he was the director of catechesis
and evangelization for Nativity of the Mother of God, a Byzantine Catholic
parish in Springfield, Oregon. From 2002 to 2004 he was the editor of
the award-winning Envoy magazine.
He has written articles for Crisis, The
Catholic Faith, National Review Online, Catholic Parent, Envoy, This Rock,
First Things, Gilbert!, Saint Austin Review, New Covenant, CatholicExchange.com,
and Catholic.org. He is a regular contributor to National Catholic
Register and Our Sunday Visitor. Carl has been a guest on BBC
radio, ABC News Now, FOX-TV, CNBC, "Catholic Answers Live!," "Kresta
in the Afternoon," "Living His Life Abundantly," "The
Catholic Connection," "Morning Air," and EWTN’s "The
Journey Home," "The Abundant Life," "EWTN Live,"
and "Threshold of Hope." He has also guested on numerous local and regional radio
programs and gives talks around the United States.
Carl and Heather have two children. In his spare time, Carl
enjoys recreation with his family, collecting music, reading, playing
tennis, drinking coffee and singing Swedish love ballads in a sweet falsetto
(just kidding!). For more about Carl visit his personal web site: www.carl-olson.com.
E-mail: carl@ignatius.com
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G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936) was one of the finest Christian authors and apologists
of the past two hundred years. Raised as an agnostic, he embraced Christianity as a young man, ultimately entering the Catholic Church
in 1922. He wrote hundreds of essays, as well as novels, short stories, poetry, apologetics, literary
criticism, and nearly everything else imaginable. Dale Ahlquist, president and co-founder of the American
Chesterton Society and author of
G.K Chesterton: Apostle of Common Sense, writes, "Chesterton was equally at ease with literary and social criticism,
history, politics, economics, philosophy, and theology. His style is unmistakable, always marked
by humility, consistency, paradox, wit, and wonder. His writing remains as timely and as timeless
today as when it first appeared, even though much of it was published in throw away paper." Read more
about the life and work of this remarkable thinker, author, and apologist.
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Nothing To Hide: Secrecy, Communication and Communion in the Catholic Church
by Russell Shaw
Shaw, the 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. He is not concerned with the legitimate secrecy that is necessary to protect confidentiality and people's reputations, but
with the stifling, deadening misuse of secrecy that has done immense harm to communion and community in the Church in America. Shaw 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.
Read more about Nothing to Hide.
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