For more than 10 years, thoroughly Protestant Kathleen Norris had been an oblate at a Benedictine monastery. In The Cloister Life, the celebrated author turns to the priory as her spiritual landscape, as she takes us through a liturgical year, inspiring us to evaluate our own lives and values. Norris provides tremendous insight into the languages, customs, ceremonies, and sexuality of the men and women who have chosen the cloistered life. With insight...

"Pope Francis met with French reporter and sociologist Dominique Wolton for an unprecedented series of twelve fascinating and timely conversations--open dialogues revolving around the political, cultural, and religious issues dominating communication and conflict around the world. Meeting the challenges of the twenty-first century requires compassion for those in need, a willingness to work towards common goals without domineering other cultures,...

An explosive, sweeping account of the pedophile scandal that has sent the Catholic church into a tailspin and the fight to bring it to justice.

The Francis Effect explores how a church once known as a towering force for social justice became known for a narrow agenda most closely aligned with one political party, and then looks at the opportunities for change in the "age of Francis." Pope Francis has become an unlikely global star whose image has graced the covers of Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, Time, and even the nation's oldest magazine for gays and lesbians. The first Latin American...