Modern Apologists Strengthen Our Understanding

Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki starts with some history in the Herald of Hope column of a recent issue of the Archdiocese's of Milwaukee's Catholic Herald.

"From the earliest beginnings of the Church, individuals came forward in the defense of the Church’s teachings. They were referred to as 'apologists.' They present the reasonableness of the Church’s position. We sometimes forget that we have a duty to defend the Church’s teaching. Many of the early Church Fathers presented the teachings of the Church, which were not only convincing but compelling. It encouraged the Christian faithful to live the teachings in the face of society’s opposition."

He eventually names names.

"Matthew Kelly, whose multiple books are free and widely distributed, much like the pamphlets of the evangelicals, is one. But Kelly, an Australian, is unabashedly Roman Catholic, and his works not only give insight to the reasonableness of the professed Catholic faith but a basis for the promotion of the faith in the communities in which we live. He is proud to be a Catholic and resonates with Catholics who love their Church. Kelly has a popular following and has been a tireless promoter of the faith."

By "free" I assume he means available for purchase in bulk for free distribution. A generous member of my parish has done this a number of times.

"Patrick Madrid’s daily national program is heard on Relevant Radio. He has authored a multitude of books, one which is actually entitled, How to do Apologetics. I particularly enjoyed Pope Fiction, a 1999 work that deals directly with answers to myths and misconceptions about the papacy. He tackles Church teachings on Purgatory, the importance of tradition and the saints, to mention a few. He is well worth reading and arms the faithful in thoughtful responses to today’s criticisms."

Not all apologists are lay.

"Bishop Robert Barron of 'Word on Fire' is a committed intellectual and advocate of the importance of the Church Teachings. Bishop Barron, who is a longtime friend, has been a consistent champion of interpreting the positions of the Church in a manner acceptable and understandable to our younger generations. He has been a great voice at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops for the importance of communications to the next generation of Catholic leaders. His philosophical training grounds his approach. I would encourage you to view his website, Word on Fire' and listen to his Sunday homilies. He is a teacher who excites his listeners. He has a group of devoted followers who understand the importance of sharing the faith."

And finally,

"But before Kelly, Madrid and Barron, was Peter Kreeft. During the period of the 70s and 80s, there was a lack of attention to Catholic Teachings. Catholics, who at one time knew their catechism by rote, now were hard-pressed to answer simple questions about the faith. It was into this vast wasteland that Peter Kreeft was an almost lone voice directing individuals in their understanding of the importance and reasonableness of the Church’s teachings."

Dr. Kreeft's website includes links to Featured Writings and Featured Audios and to his books available for purchase.

And, exit by the narrow door, only!

Bear Woznick has an EWTN show, Deep Adventure Radio, which you might have heard over the air or the internet. If you haven't, you can sample episodes at Mixcloud.

His biography at Catholic Speakers Organization describes his work in terms of adventure.

"Bear’s life message transparently communicates the thrills and spills of a life lived in the quest of abandonment to God."

Among the non-metaphorical adventures listed is that he "Has repelled off mountains and even out of his 25th floor Waikiki Condo."

You can rent that (studio, 200 sq. ft.) unit from him (30 day minimum) for as little as $47 a night, see the listing at VRBO. [Update: He since graciously clarified that the unit for rent from him is next door to his residence unit from which he rapelled.]

"Why do You Reject Catholic Morality?" Shaun McAfee on Catholic Answers Live

Shaun McAfee hosted the show on this topic this past Monday. Podcasts are available of the program's first hour, and its second hour with guest Trent Horn. This was Shaun's first time hosting the show.

As he says, he founded and edits Epic Pew and writes for the National Catholic Register. He's author of the book Filling Our Father's House.

I met Shaun two summers ago at the first annual Aquinas Leadership International Summer World Congress at the former Immaculate Conception Seminary in Huntington, New York. (In the group photo, that's him in the back row far left.) He had the task of overseeing the live video feed but was called upon, on short notice, to fill in for a speaker who was not able to attend. He put together a good overview of the basics of social media and its use for distance education.

P.S. On Shaun's Facebook today,

"So I'll be hosting Catholic Answers Live again this Friday with guests Steven D. Greydanus and Fr. Gary Lauenstein."

CatholicAnswers: When did the Church beging cannonizing saints?

It's very nice to see Catholic Answers starting to reach out using social media.  I have always been confused why they haven't done this sooner.

We have attempted to pull the mitre off pontifical man

For Anonymous supporter of a democratic church.

I believe in a Thinking Authority.  I am a Papist.

I will let GK explain this one quite clearly...

There is a thought that stops thought. That is the only thought that ought to be stopped. That is the ultimate evil against which all religious authority was aimed.  The creeds and the crusades, the hierarchies and the horrible persecutions were not organized, as is ignorantly said, for the suppression of reason. They were organized for the difficult defense of reason. Man, by a blind instinct, knew that if once things were wildly questioned, reason could be questioned first. The authority of priests to absolve, the authority of popes to define the authority, even of inquisitors to terrify: these were all only dark defenses erected round one central authority, more indemonstrable, more supernatural than all -- the authority of a man to think. We know now that this is so; we have no excuse for not knowing it. For we can hear skepticism crashing through the old ring of authorities, and at the same moment we can see reason swaying upon her throne. In so far as religion is gone, reason is going. For they are both of the same primary and authoritative kind. They are both methods of proof which cannot themselves be proved. And in the act of destroying the idea of Divine authority we have largely destroyed the idea of that human authority by which we do a long-division sum. With a long and sustained tug we have attempted to pull the mitre off pontifical man; and his head has come off with it.
- Orthodoxy : The Suicide of Thought, GK Chesterton.  

Photo Credit

Green Bay priest has apologetics book published posthumously

One of the Rev. Mike O'Rourke's greatest strengths was making sense of the most complex of issues and putting them into simple terms even a child could understand.

"Come Follow Me: Catholic Answers for Bible Objections to the Church" is the book O'Rourke, in conjunction with the Diocese of Green Bay, was in the process of publishing when he died. The book, which is about myths and answers to those myths regarding the Catholic faith, was an ongoing project of O'Rourke's for more than 10 years.

When Joe Bound was president of ACES Xavier in Appleton, he commented at a meeting of pastors about wanting to see Catholic apologetics introduced in the high school. Apologetics is a branch of theology that is concerned with defending or proving the truth of Christian doctrines.

"After we got all done with the meeting, (O'Rourke) came over to me and said, 'Joe, I've got an interest in this Catholic apologetics, and I've been tinkering with something for a while. Would you mind looking at it?'" said Bound, who since 2006 has been director of education for the Diocese of Green Bay. The Bible-based manuscript was what Bound sought.

O'Rourke tried several times to get the manuscript published, however, when those efforts failed, "he decided to form a partnership with the Diocese of Green Bay so at least the book could get into the Catholic school system," said St. Mary's business administrator Brian Dresang.

O'Rourke had shared unpublished copies of his book with teachers and diocesan officials, and everyone felt it would serve as a great learning tool. In December, Dresang said, the diocese agreed to do a limited publishing to get it into the hands of high school juniors and seniors as part of their religion studies.

"That was in place before he passed away," Dresang said. "Now we have an agreement with the diocese that we can maybe piggyback on that to make it available. A lot of parishioners have heard about it, but they've never seen a draft copy, and are interested in getting their hands on it. So we are going to try and make that happen."

With copyright pending, Bound said, the diocese will go ahead with a limited printing of the book based on pre-orders.

"He was a personal friend," Bound said of O'Rourke. "And I am deeply saddened by his passing. But this will be a great tribute to him."

PostCrecent