Welcome!
"Turris Fortis Mihi Deus" - God is my strong tower
"Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, but do it with gentleness and reverence. . ." -- St. Peter (I Peter 3:15-16)
In the original Greek text, the word used by St. Peter above is apologia, which means to explain or provide a rational defense for something. It is where we get our word "apologetics."
As a Catholic convert living in rural
western North Carolina (where Catholics are a small minority), I find myself
having to explain and defend the Catholic position very often. You must
always do this with love, understanding, and patience. Always be prepared to
defend Catholic positions from both Sacred Scripture as well as Church
history. And it helps to have a good spiritual director to answer questions
for you that you cannot answer yourself!
I hope this page will be a good resource for those defending the Catholic faith, for those with questions about the Catholic faith, and for those going through RCIA, either as a candidate/catechumen or an instructor or sponsor.
The articles are divided into two main sections. Under "Topical Articles" you will find essays on a particular subject, usually apologetical or catechetical in nature. Under "Apologetics in Action" you will find essays written in response to a dialog or debate, and so these may touch on varied topics and be somewhat less structured. If you are just learning about the Catholic Church and don't know where to begin, why not start with this basic article on "The Catholic Church."
Please also take advantage of the archived weekly homilies for your spiritual reading, and the many other recommended Catholic resources linked to from this site.
I am not seeking to break new ground, nor am I claiming to have done new and startling research. All I aim to present is the truth, as it can be verified by Scripture and by history, in an accessible, easy to read manner, for Catholics and non-Catholics alike.
Two thousand years ago, Pontius Pilate asked the question, "What is truth?" The answer was standing right before him in the person of Jesus Christ. People are still asking this question today, and the Catholic Church is the only place where they can still find the same eternal answer.
May God bless you!
-- Matthew A.C. Newsome
"It is one thing to permit,
in silence, the sullying of one's own reputation. It is something else to
keep silent and out of harm's way when the reputation of the Church is at
stake."
-- Karl Keating, president and founder of Catholic Answers
LATEST NEWS: New article, "Why Words Matter"
RELEVANT RADIO LISTENERS: Hear Matt Newsome on "Searching the Word" at 1:00PM (Eastern) on these upcoming dates in 2008:
July 15 -- THE TRINITY
August 1 -- OPEN FORUM
Sept 9
Oct 14
Nov 18
Dec 9
A prayer for Internet Users (to St. Isidore,
the proposed patron of the Internet)
Almighty and eternal God, who created us in Thy image and bade us to seek after all that is good, true and beautiful, especially in the divine person of Thy only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, grant we beseech Thee that, through the intercession of Saint Isidore, bishop and doctor, during our journeys through the internet we will direct our hands and eyes only to that which is pleasing to Thee and treat with charity and patience all those souls whom we encounter. Through Christ our Lord. Amen
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Recipient of the 2004 |