As a Protestant Christian, I've been intrigued by the question Why be a Catholic? for quite a while, though not for the same reasons as a non-believer, of course. I taught for years at a Jesuit university and never quite heard an answer, though I asked. I remember quite clearly a conference organized on our campus on the "Catholic imagination" that explained relatively little. Then as now, I recognize "incarnation, community, belonging" and other values as Christian rather than specifically Catholic. Perhaps Dooley's book might provide some insight.

He was writing this many years ago, so it's unfair to argue with him on this, but I wouldn't characterize the current age as suffering from a disembodied state. Quite the contrary, our focus on trauma and our dogma that "the body knows the score" reveals a highly embodied worldview. Many of us need the incarnation for its message about divinity and spirituality more than for its message about our physical selves, I would argue.

Still aghast at your read rate, Harry. I think you read as many books as I read pages, and you write about them intelligently.

Hope all's well with you.