Where Have You Gone, Michelangelo?: The Loss of Soul in Catholic Culture - Tapa dura

The bestselling author of Why Catholics Can't Sing returns with another brilliant and witty portrait of American Catholic culture that is sure to offend - and delight - almost everyone. Catholics, writes Thomas Day, have been so busy arguing among themselves about the ordination of women, what the Church can or can't tell them to do, and similar "hot" issues that they haven't paid attention to a real crisis in their midst - the disappearance of their cultural "soul." In the rush to make the Church more modern after Vatican II, U.S. Catholics have developed one guilt complex after another about their cultural heritage, especially in liturgy, architecture, and music. Day takes the reader back and forth across the pre- and post-Vatican II divide, from the Latin Mass to the latest liturgical experiment, from the isolationist Church of the past to the trendier-than-thou parishes of today. With an eye for the bizarre development, he examines Catholicism's identity crisis by focusing on the visual symptoms, especially in the arts. As a corrective, Day seeks a return to a sense of Mystery and a vision of Christian community that is unified in its diversity and uplifting in its expression. He combines historical and theological background with striking vignettes and anecdotes, and leavens his argument with wit. Where Have You Gone, Michelangelo? may contain enough wisdom and humor to help bring Catholics into the next millennium.

Thomas Day is Associate Professor in the Music Department at Salve Regina University, Newport Rhode Island.