Christmas books: ‘Struck Down, But Not Destroyed: Keeping the Faith as a Vatican Reporter’

’Tis the season for stocking stuffers and hopefully quiet time with a good book nestled under a blanket or near a fire. This year, two books from younger Catholics and a boxed set from an older one sit at the top of my gift-giving list.

I had the pleasure of working with Colleen Dulle at America magazine, where she serves as one of the publication’s Vatican correspondents. In her new book “Struck Down, But Not Destroyed,” Dulle discusses what it’s been like to be covering the Vatican as a young Catholic amidst the church’s scandals, struggles and crises.

If that sounds like it might make for a bleak read, I thought the same before I started the book. And yet, somehow in discussing things like the position of women in the church or its seemingly never-ending cycle of scandal, Dulle invites us into a different kind of relationship with those moments, more reflective than reactive. I found the book kept putting words to experiences of my own in the church in a way that seemed to open the doors to new possibilities and a fresh start. 

As someone who is a little bit older than Dulle (OK, more than little bit), I also appreciated hearing the take of someone who is thoughtful, funny and younger. “Struck Down” is the kind of book I think my Gen Z nephews and nieces would actually read and deeply appreciate.