Full Circle
I was born and raised Catholic, went to Catholic grade schools, and helped run many retreats for high schoolers when I was in my twenties (I’m 43 now). Beginning about ten years or so ago, I started questioning my faith in the Catholic Church. You see, I have a few brothers who have left the Church and have become Fundamentalists. I was influenced by them and by many Protestant “preachers” on the TV. When I read the Bible, I constantly interpreted what I read as proof against what the Catholic Church preached. I began to feel very separated from my wife and children, who are strong believers in the Church. I felt I was being held back because they would not leave the Catholic Church with me. I went to Mass with them, but I always felt I could be going to a Protestant service that would leave me more fulfilled.
Still through all of this, I wanted to understand why Catholics believe what they believed. I wanted biblical reasons for what they believed. When the Catechism came out, I wanted very much to read it, but I couldn’t find a copy in any local stores. Finally, about a month or so I got the book and read it from front to back. I found what I was looking for. About a quarter of the way through I announced to my family, quite joyfully, that I was coming back to the Catholic Church.
I have not been this happy in many years. I now feel that I have a home in the Church and a totally united family. I am only sorry for any damage I may have done to my family by being removed from them in faith. Luckily, they all go to Catholic schools and have been raised in the faith by their teachers and my wife. I am blessed that my wife has persevered throughout my time of rebellion.
I also find what I look for in your Internet question-and-answer page. I now pray every day for the members of my family who have left the Church and that I may have a part in bringing them back. It’s going to be difficult since one of them was a Protestant minister and the other was dramatically healed of cancer through his faith. He even appeared on the “700 Club” to present his testimony.
Brian Cooney
Baltimore, Maryland
Targeted for Fidelity
The March 1997 “Dragnet” reported that Call to Action, among other groups, “staged an Ash Wednesday protest on the steps of St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Washington, D.C.” Apparently, on Ash Wednesday 1997 the protesters “marked the foreheads of passerby with ashes from a burned copy of the Vatican decree calling the ban on women priests infallible.”
You weren’t surprised by such childish antics (I have to admit that I was), but perhaps one more element to this sad picture needs to be filled in. I doubt that you will be surprised by this either.
I attended Mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle when I visited Washington, D.C. last September. Although a Latin Mass was offered, I chose to go to one offered in the vernacular. In my short life as a Catholic (at that date I had only been a Catholic for five months) I had never attended a more reverent celebration of the Holy Mass. No one on the altar, not even the female cantor, wore street clothes. If I remember correctly, the cantor wore a choir robe (which presumably covered her Sunday best).
It’s difficult to believe that these dissident groups were unaware of the Cathedral’s devotion to the Church as evidenced by its reverent, devout celebration of the divine liturgy.
It seems reasonable to conclude that the Cathedral was targeted precisely because of its fidelity. I only wish that CTA and its sister organizations would quit attacking the faithful long enough to learn from them.
M. L. Arnold
San Diego, California
Feeling Better
I would like to thank you with all my heart for the wonderful service you are making to the faith.
I have been at loss for many weeks trying to answer the (sometimes very tricky) questions of a Muslim friend of mine.
His questions have not shattered my faith in anyway (I am a practicing Catholic) but have required me to answer sometimes painfully and point by point his questions/challenges (or at least those of writers he put forth). This I have done, faithfully but with great effort.
Then I found your Catholic Answers Web page, and everything feels so much better. At last I have some support material at hand and some answers that are made in a better way than I could ever find time to put them. I enjoyed very much Pillar of Fire, Pillar of Truth, since it put everything in its proper place and perspective.
It is not always easy even for a Catholic who prays and thinks about his/her faith to find the energy (or talent) to counter all the challenges to the faith. It is especially not easy to answer in a rational, truthful and loving way, which is what I try to do always. Sometimes even if one thinks a lot about it is easy to get “trapped” and “entangled” and not know the right word (or what the doctrine exactly says on a particular point and why).
Laurence Dang
Via the Internet
Paul Came A-Visiting
I would like to make an additional comment regarding the article “Why the Bereans Rejected Sola Scriptura” (March 1997). Steve Ray points out correctly that most adherents of the doctrine of sola scriptura resemble the Thessalonians rather than the “noble-minded” Bereans because the Thessalonians reject oral teachings as binding. An additional aspect of the Bereans vs. the Thessalonians is that most of the adherents of the doctrine of sola scriptura do not accept any authoritative interpreters of Scripture—they interpret the Scriptures for themselves—as the Thessalonians did when Paul came a-visiting. They were not willing to hear an interpretation of one who had been ordained by the Christ and given apostolic authority as one of the vehicles for teaching the Truth.
Eric Hall
Portland, Oregon
Home—and Not Alone
I am a former Evangelical Christian (twenty-five years in that tradition) who was received into full communion with the Catholic Church this past Easter.
My reason for writing is to let you know that your ministry was instrumental in helping me on my journey of conversion to Catholicism. It started with reading David Currie’s book Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic, which is a book I suggest you carry in your catalogue—very helpful for Evangelicals who want to know how Catholicism fits with Scripture. Then, Karl Keating’s Catholicism and Fundamentalism and What Catholics Really Believe added to the information bank until the evidence for the truth of Catholicism was undeniable. During the past year, I have regularly visited your Web site and, being so hungry for solid information, I found it more helpful to me than I can express.
While I deeply appreciate the RCIA philosophy of conversion as a heart journey more than a head journey, I could not have made this journey without the feeding of my intellect as well as my heart. Not everyone comes to the Church with such wrestling as I have done, but it seems that most thoughtful Evangelicals have to do it in this manner, because we (they) come from a tradition that places a high value on the accurate definition of Truth and deep respect for what Scripture really says.
So, thank you for meeting me where I needed to be met.
And thank you for helping me to come home, for that is where I am. Home at last.
Leslie Blair
Calgary, Alberta
White Watch
In reviewing the February 1997 This Rock magazine, I noted you listed some rather interesting, and I’d say, obscure web sites as being “anti-Catholic.” I will skip the discussion of the use of the term—I wouldn’t refer to your site as “anti-Protestant,” but that’s another issue.
I’m going to assume that Karl [Keating] and James [Akin] have kept our web site a deep, dark secret. Since I don’t know of many sites (none, actually), that contain more direct discussion of Catholic Answers than our own, I’d like to alert you to the fact of its existence. We are at www.aomin.org. You might wish to review the site sometime: especially since we have so many articles there that, for some reason, never get a response from either Karl or James.
James White
Phoenix, Arizona
Terrye Newkirk’s reply: While researching and writing the article on Web sites, I tried repeatedly to access yours, Mr. White. I never succeeded—indeed, I met with error messages at each attempt. I agree that your offerings are of unique interest to the Catholic apologist. If the site is back online, it is surely worth a visit. I am not sure what you mean by “responding” to a Web site posting. Certainly, no busy apologist or editor has time to troll the Web looking for straw men to slay.
Not Bad for a Catholic
I was reading what someone had written about the Mormons’ baptism for the dead [at the Catholic Answers Web site]. At first I was quite impressed by the article. I did not feel it was accurate, but coming from a non-Mormon, not too bad.
A couple of things that will probably help: Refer to Mormons as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints. Also, make sure you put down the right words when quoting the book of Mormon. When 2 Nephi 9:15 was quoted, it was done perfectly until the end and then several lines were added to it that do not belong to that verse. Please do not do that. Try to find out all the proper terminology and make things very accurate. I think you will look better telling the truth about us than trying to twist things.
Dean Livingston
Via the Internet
Editor’s reply: The citation is to 2 Nephi 9:15, but should have read 2 Nephi 9:15-16. We did not “add” anything to the text. What you thought was “added” came from verse 16. You will be pleased to know that a comprehensive overview of Mormonism is in the works, written by Isaiah Bennett, who was a temple-worthy Mormon before his return to the Catholic Church. Look for it next spring.
Appearance Counts
Thank you for This Rock and your work at Catholic Answers. I believe it has truly benefited many Catholics (including myself). I really enjoyed the February 1997 cover for This Rock (I enjoyed the cover story also), and the recent change in the layout of the magazine. I only hope that future issues will have covers similar to February 1997 as opposed to March 1997. One can argue that the cover shouldn’t make a difference but, like church architecture, it somehow does.
Mike Peters
Morehead, Kentucky
Equally Talented
Hello from Canada! Excellent web site! thank you very much for all you provide. I’ve been listening to an excellent audio tape series on contemplative prayer by Fr. Thomas Keating. I’m just curious if he’s related to Karl Keating of Catholic Answers. In my estimation they are equally talented though in different.aspects or areas of the Catholic faith.
Ed Landgraf
Regina, Saskatchewan
Editor’s reply: I am not related to Fr. Thomas Keating—nor, for that matter, to Charles Keating.
Devolving
In the penultimate paragraph of “Up Front” for February 1997 you state that you hope it is “not impolitic to note a decline . . . in political wisdom,” etc. Like begets like, with few exceptions.
This seems to be holding without exception in the cases of the Browns, the Kennedys and the Kassebaums. Amelioration of the “more of the same” motif seems the only possible direction in the case of Sen. Bayh, junior, but one would have expected more of any progeny of Alf Landon. The Bush League? Well, they’re the Bushes, whose most quotable quote may have emanated from the chrysostom of the queen mother, who at the last Republican confabulation endowed us with the unforgettable gem: ” . . . and what are family values? Anything you want them to be!”
As well in entertainment, in my humble estimation; wisdom, if there be any, is decreasing. Messrs. Estevez and Sheen don’t even bother to proclaim fidelity to the faith, as does their father. Of the other mentioned celebrities I know precious little, but the general trend I’ve noticed among the older generation glitterati, seems to be lip service to “moral values” south to shining such values on.
James A Bauer
Santa Barbara, California
Another Sheep Comes Home
I just want to announce to the world that yet another searching soul has found its way into Holy Mother Church. Alleluia!
I am a former Lutheran, have been investigating Catholicism for about three years. I became a Catholic on March 29, 1997, and I have Catholic Answers to thank for helping me through the journey. You all do such good work for the Church!
If I were to win the lottery, I’d spend a great deal of the money on buying your books and tapes.
If anyone wants to read my conversion story, it’s at web.idirect.com/~ichthus/about.htm), and it’s called “A Passion for the Faith.”
Jeff Johnson
Hills, Minnesota
No Anchovies, Please
I recent browsed through the February issue of This Rock where you list Catholic web sites.
What about mine? The Christifideles Pizza and Theology Society. We’re at www.cpats.org. Be sure to read the mission and philosophy page.
Mike Humphrey
Natick, Massachusetts
Bad Mormon, Good Catholic
I was pleasantly surprised by the new layout and the nice blue print used for headings. Congratulations on making your great magazine better and easier to read. I have read only part of the magazine but found it interesting that the Mormons spend three hours in church/temple/stakehouse on Sundays. I don’t think I would make a good Mormon. Thank God that he chose me to be Catholic!
Madeline Ashley
Los Angeles, California
Back at Ya
We have recently become aware of your magazine through a video tape of Scott Hahn, where he highly recommends This Rock.
Is it possible to get back issues for display at our parish Bible study? There are 130 parishioners attending the Bible study, and several copies would be helpful. We are trying to provide a variety of faith-enriching resources.
Kathy Call
Oregon City, Oregon
Editor’s reply: Back issues are available at $5.00 apiece. We also have bound volumes for each year. See the order form in the back of the magazine.