Not really about Franciscans

A review of Susan Pitchford´s "Following Francis: The Franciscan Way for Everyone"

With all due respect to the author and the other reviewers, this isn't really a book about Franciscans at all. It's a book about Susan Pitchford's personal spiritual quest, which eventually led her to become a liberal Anglican. Yes, a liberal Anglican. Apparently, the Episcopalians have a "Franciscan Order" of their own, but the real Franciscans are Catholic and far from liberal. I cannot help thinking that Susan Pitchford might just as well have become a New Age believer, or even a secular left-winger. She compares communion to having sex (!), emphasizes the erotic aspect of medieval Christian mysticism (but surely those mystics were celibate, and they weren't Franciscans), and constantly calls her spiritual quest "countercultural".

Don't get me wrong here. I don't necessarily mind liberal Christians, but somehow this book nevertheless disappointed me. It may be interesting for those who want to get inside the mind of a contemporary Anglican, but it says very little about the real Franciscan Order. For that reason, I only give it three stars.