Why Be Catholic?

Not Rated

Catholic-ometer: 5 of 5

Enjoyability: 5 of 5

First, the facts.  This is a DVD; about an hour and a half long, by a Catholic evangelist named Tim Staples.  He's one of my personal favorite evangelists, and here, he demonstrates why.  Step by step, he goes over every single major belief that leads to belief in the Catholic Church, and establishes why we believe each one from a very logical and sound perspective, using scripture, historical fact, and ordinary reason.  However, when I describe the talk in this way, I'm afraid that I'm doing him a bit of a disservice, because his strong, likable personality, and vast enthusiasm for the subject at hand do a huge amount to add to the presentation, and really draw you in, keeping it entertaining and interesting.

He covers, first, why atheism makes so little sense, and how we can prove that there's a God, using simple logic.  He talks about how science leads us closer to establishing God's existence with mere data, how only Christianity fits all the facts that pure logic can teach us about God, and how we know the sacred scriptures were divinely-inspired, and Jesus was God in the flesh.

Lastly, he caps it off with an explanation of many proofs from sacred scripture (some of the best, in my mind; especially Matthew 18;15-17.  I love those verses,) and how they prove that Jesus personally established ONE church; only one, and that he founded it on Saint Peter and the apostles, giving them special authority that no one else has.  That authority eventually came to be the Catholic Church that we know today, and Saint Peter (the Pope,) still has the same authority he enjoyed back then, within the Catholic Church.

It's a great talk.  I watched the whole thing, and there isn't a single thing he says that's false, which accounts for the Catholic-ometer grade I gave it.  He also speaks with force, enthusiasm and charisma, and even says a few things that I didn't know about Islam, which accounts for the enjoyability grade I gave it.

However, there's also a minefield waiting over the horizon, which I feel I should clarify.  He doesn't say anything specifically false, but it deserves clarification.

Near the end of the talk, he says something like "there are folks who asked 'who is that guy in Rome to tell us we have to have mass in english?'"  That's true.  There were folks like that (sedevecantists and others,) and they were wrong.  Not just in refusing Papal Authority, however.  They were also wrong, because the Pope never said that.

The Tridentine Mass (the traditional latin mass that was nearly universal in the Catholic Church in the last several centuries prior to Vatican II) was not abrogated by the documents of Vatican II, OR by the decree of the pope.  Furthermore, the Vatican II documents said nothing about excising latin from the mass, or about a host of other changes that have sprung up since then (about the mid to late 60s.)

I'm not suggesting that Tim Staples doesn't realize this, and he's right to go after the sedevecantists and their ilk for abandoning the Holy Father and Rome, but there are also countless groups that broke off and became protestants at around that time, and many more who stayed in the church, and used their influence to cover up or support liturgical abuses.  Those people are betraying the faith just as much as the sedevecantists; they just don't get the spotlight shined on them as often.

Still, don't take this clarification on a point as anything more than that; a clarification.  This is a fantastic talk, and Tim Staples remains one of my favorite Catholic evangelists.  This DVD probably won't penetrate the stubbornness of your anti-Catholic, protestant relatives, but it will give you some of the knowledge that you need to defend yourself when they start badmouthing the Church, and who knows?  If they keep hearing it from you, maybe they'll listen some day.