John Henry Newman is a towering figure in modern Catholicism. Modernists have sometimes tried to yank him into their camp, but a thorough understanding of his thought shows that effort to be based on falsehoods. His prose is magnificent yet unfrilly, and his clarity of thought and expression about human weakness is refreshing. For all his supposed high-level intellectual arguments, one of his repeated points is that if we would just live Christian lives many of those who oppose us would at the very least be silenced and at best convert. A suitable introduction is The Essential Newman, edited by Fr. Vincent Ferrer Blehl (N.Y.: Mentor-Omega, 1963, pb, Cdl. Spellman imprimatur). Here on Amazon.
More controversial is Karl Adam; his best-known work is The Spirit of Catholicism (Garden City, N.Y.: Image, 1954, pb, 1935 Cdl. Hayes imprimatur). Reprinted by (among others) Catholic Answers here. According to one biographer, Adam was “a theologian who not only influenced such diverse thinkers as Pope Paul VI, Karl Rahner, and Flannery O'Connor, but who also had a tremendous impact on Vatican II.”
I know Catholics (practicing and lapsed) who experienced priests telling them not to bother studying Scripture, a stance that led them to leave the Church in search of answers. But Catholics were delving into Scripture (the Bible is, after all, our book). Two examples are The Two-Edged Sword: An Interpretation of the Old Testament by John McKenzie, S.J. (Garden City, N.Y.: Image, 1966, pb, 1955 imprimatur); and, Dictionary of Biblical Theology, Xaver Leon-Dufour, S.J. (ed.) (New York: Desclee, 1967, cloth, 1967 imprimatur). These were both purchased from the parish thrift store in town and come from a deceased priest’s library. Noteworthy is the large presence of Jesuits in this field. As the focus of that once-great order changed, so did the quality of work in that department. Most Jesuits since the 1960s have jumped out the aggiornamento-opened windows, with the exception of fine men like Fathers Hardon, Baker, and Schall. Updated edition of Leon-Dufour; McKenzie reprint.
Romano Guardini has also come in for his share of criticism. Because he was associated with the liturgical movement, he is sometimes tarred with the same brush used on unsavory characters. That is unfair. I firmly believe Guardini belongs in the ranks of top-tier thinkers, teachers, and authors. He has an ability to present ideas in spare, almost poetic form. His sensibilities show up in his philosophical and ethical works, as well in such critiques as Letters From Lake Como. Meditations Before Mass (pegged, of course, to the traditional Mass) can be of great help to the believer wanting a sacred focus in approaching the great Mystery. (Westminster, MD: Newman Press, 1959, sc, 1955 imprimatur). Reprinted by Sophia in an abridged edition: ISBN 978-1-62282-166-2.
Etc. Today’s culture is a temple of Philistines, held up by the twin pillars of sexualization and politicization. Who will be the Samson to bring the temple down?
And: “Lacking any orientation toward the good, the true, and the beautiful, ‘progress,’ it turns out, is just the word we give to what happens—more often than not at the direction and to the benefit of the powerful.” It Is Right and Just: Why the Future of Civilization Depends on True Religion, by Scott Hahn & Brandon McGinley (Steubenville, OH: Emmaus Road, 2020, 126)