Richard John Neuhaus

Two monumental works on the nature of the modern age by Romano Guardini, one of the most important Catholic figures of the 20th century. This expanded edition of The End of the Modern World: A Search for Orientation includes its sequel, Power and Responsibility: A Course of Action for the New Age. In both, Guardini analyzes modern man's conception of himself in the world, and examines the nature and use of power. It is the principle of individual responsibility that weaves both works into a seamless, comprehensive, and compelling moral statement. Guardini tirelessly argues that human beings are responsible moral agents, possessed of free will, and answerable to God and their fellow man. On The End of the Modern World: "This book will cauterize the spirit of any man who reads it; it will burn away that sentimentality with which so many today view the advent of the new order, imagining – as they do – that a fully technologized universe can retain every significant cultural and traditional value sustained by the past." – Frederick D. Wilhelmsen, founding editor of Triumph magazine and professor at the University of DallasOn Power and Responsibility: "If the characteristic of Hellenic civilization is to be summed up in the word logos, the characteristic of our own is more exactly summed up in the word power. The fact itself is a challenge to the wisdom of man. One is grateful that Romano Guardini has taken up the challenge... I highly recommend the book to all who are wise enough to know today's need to wisdom. That is, I recommend the book to every thoughtful mind." – John Courtney Murray, S. J., architect of the Vatican II "Declaration on Religious Liberty" and author of We Hold These Truths

Father Neuhaus, founder of First Things, served as a delegate to the Synod for America held in Rome in 1997. In this book, he offers a frank insider's account of the proceedings of the Synod. With the intellect and wit for which he is famous, he offers acute and knowledgeable analysis of the central issues on the agenda of the Synod, reflecting on the current state of the Church and the challenges it faces in North and South America.

Taking a look at today's Church and religious situation, Neuhaus argues that there is a necessary awkwardness about Christian ministry because we are ambassadors of a "disputed sovereignty". Neuhaus also discusses the minister as leader of worship and the art, discipline, and "absurd responsibility" of being a preacher.

The author's "central metaphor, the naked public square, refers to thepublic forum in American life, which is perceived as naked or empty because religion and religious values have been systematically excluded from consideration in the determination of public policy. {He believes that} the enemy that accomplished this, the ideology of secularism, has thus far been successful despite the fact that most Americans, whose ultimate values are deeply religious, never debated or assented to such an exclusion."