The Best Catholics in the World
  • Published: 24 March 2022
  • ISBN: 9781844885275
  • Imprint: Penguin General UK
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 352
  • RRP: $29.99
Categories:

The Best Catholics in the World

The Irish, the Church and the End of a Special Relationship

Formats & editions
EBook
18 Mar 2021
Paperback
24 Mar 2022
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A compelling account of why Ireland was so very Catholic for so long, and why that changed

When Berlin-based journalist Derek Scally visited Christmas Vigil Mass in his hometown of Dublin, he found that like its congregants, the once-packed suburban church where he was an altar boy was quiet and slowly ageing. A collective identity lost, the dwindling power of the Church in Ireland was undeniable.

The Best Catholics in the World is Scally's response - an empathetic and engaging voyage into the story of Irish Catholicism. Researched over three years, and including dozens of interviews conducted in Ireland and further afield, The Best Catholics in the World is a lively, original, moving and thought-provoking account of a country grappling with its troubling past and confusing present.
  • Published: 24 March 2022
  • ISBN: 9781844885275
  • Imprint: Penguin General UK
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 352
  • RRP: $29.99
Categories:

Praise for The Best Catholics in the World

An engaging and incisive book that asks what keeping the faith cost us, how it shaped us and what it means now

Caelainn Hogan, author of Republic of Shame

Offers some challenging end-of-an-era reflections on being Catholic in the scandal-ridden church of contemporary Ireland

Mary McAleese

A great achievement ... brilliant, engaging and essential

Colm Tóibín

An extraordinary story ... At once intimate and epic, this is a landmark book

Fintan O'Toole

Accessible, original, thought-provoking and very engaging

Marie Collins

Absolutely thrilling. A wonderful blend of personal story, journalism and history - it goes to unexpected places and asks questions we don't usually consider

Oliver Callan

Remarkable ... [Scally] examines the past with disarming honesty and a sense of compassion. His book is essential reading for anyone concerned about history and forgetting

Michael Harding

A wonderful book

Catriona Crowe

Reflective, textured, insightful and original ... rich with history, interrogation and emotional intelligence

Diarmaid Ferriter, Irish Times

A highly intelligent, patriotic work

Business Post

Compelling

Irish Examiner

Excellent and timely

Sunday Times
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