Phil Lawler, author of The Faithful Departed (probably the single best book on the sex abuse scandal, particularly as it related to the Church in Boston) has released a lot of good end-of-year Catholic news analysis:
- The 5 worst stories of 2009
- The 5 most positive developments of 2009
- The 5 stories to expect in 2010
My only qualms with his “best” and “worst” list would probably be order — I think his #1 most positive development should have been about third, since his #2 and #3 are bigger and more globally important, in my estimation. Still, he’s right on the money, and there were a few stories I’d forgotten about, or hadn’t remembered were within the last year.
His prediction list focuses specifically on the Vatican and Pope Benedict. It’s an exciting list: nothing too novel, but I sincerely hope he’s right on his four positive predictions, particularly #5 and #2. I’m not going to be any more specific than that today, so that I don’t spoil anything for readers interested in Lawler’s take. But I’m interested in what other people think in terms of what to expect from Benedict 2010.