Hi Stan,

This is certainly a noble cause and we are in desperate need of something like this. I'm not sure the Holy See is the place to bring this, just yet:

• in part, because this is a local issue
• in part, because the chances of getting their attention are slim, and
• in part, because they don't control the programs used in parishes.

It would be a mistake to think that the Holy See orchestrates everything that goes on in the Church, and that if we could only get them to do it, then all the parishes will fall in line. It really doesn't work that way.

Catechesis is something done on a diocesan level. What you want to do may be something best done as a grassroots movement, that is, talk to your bishop and get it implemented in your diocese, and if it's successful, maybe other dioceses will notice and pick it up.

If you really want to address this at a national level, talk to the:

United States Conference of Catholic Bishop's Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis

but again note that this is an advisory and auxiliary organization, not one in charge of anything with the power to make things happen.

Eric

Hi Stan,

I wish I had some advice. Prudence would dictate that your answers would have to be reviewed by some bishop in union with the Holy Sea before anything meaningful can happen.

I, too, am sadden by the lack of interest, or even encouragement by local pastors and priests in the field of Catholic Apologetics.

It's my opinion that a major reason our Church is hurting in areas is because apologetics was never part of any CCD curriculum. If it were to be taught as part of a CCD curriculum, you would want to ensure that the CCD material, itself, was orthodox and faithful to the Church's teaching.

Catholic Apologetics appears to be a (non-important) area in Catholic seminaries.

I think this is a big problem. In this culture, you can't catechize the youth faithfully and expect the faith to stick without at least some grounding in Catholic Apologetics. Bishops who oversee an array of seminaries should ensure catechesis training for youth done at the seminary level is supplemented with apologetics for any training program done in their seminaries.

My vision is a little different then yours. I would like to bring together teams of practicing Catholics who are:

• Professional Web Designers and Developers, and
• Catholic Apologists, who are strong on the Church's teachings.

The goal would be to create other web sites across the United States similar to ours that are loyal to the Holy Father and Church's Magisterium.

•  a close-knit, prayerful group of Catholics loyal to the Holy Father and Church's Magisterium 
  • with an ability to work together as a team
  • who can take constructive criticism and correction, if needed, from their colleagues 
  • who have a solid knowledge of the Church's teachings
  • who can answer questions about what the Church teaches in a mature, charitable manner and
  • who have at least one person who knows how to develop and maintain
    knowledge base-type web sites. 

Hopefully, visitors see these attributes in our team, most, if not, all of the time.

If any cardinal or bishop of a diocese was interested in this approach, he could develop a training program for what I call CICA's Catholic Internet Catechist and Apologists.

Practicing Catholics who are also professional Web Designers and Developers could network across the United States with other professional Catholic Web Admin's in simplifying the process of developing and maintaining Catholic Apologetics web sites at the diocesan level.

Each diocese could have unique web site for the purposes of answering questions from confused  Catholics and sincere-seeking Protestants or non-Christians. Although this could be done independently, I would encourage working as a Eucharistic team across the United States. This would encourage Catholic collaboration among faithful Catholics:

• preventing previous mistakes from being made, and
• bringing together creative ideas.

With the goal of getting the ball rolling, I've created a special on-line group. If you are interested and have both web and apologetics skills check out and join my social media groups:

1. Catholic Web Developers of America (members)
2. Facebook
3. Twitter

Mike

No problem Stan,

I see a couple of resolutions to this. One is to get a Master's degree in Theology. If you feel passionate about driving this then you will need one. Another is to find someone with a master's of Theology to promote your work for you.

I'm not sure what the [priest/cardinal] meant by [they] did not like the way [you] compiled the material.

• Did you run it past a friend or someone you trust before presenting it to the bishop?

1. If he meant it's not structured the way he'd like, that's a minor issue that can be resolved.
2. Perhaps he meant that he didn't like the tone, tenor, or style of the material. That's harder to fix, (and agree on), but it's still fixable.
3. Perhaps he doesn't agree with the concept of apologetics, which fell out of vogue after
   • Vatican II.
   • Or perhaps, (and I haven't read your material so I can't say, without any knowledge), it just isn't of suitable quality.

Running it by someone else, especially someone with a Master's degree, will help determine this.

I think you need an advocate.

• Have you established any relationships with priests (whether its your pastor or not)?
• Someone who can vouch for your work and give you credibility, and perhaps introduce you to people who can carry it forward?

As you've found, if you're just an ordinary parishioner with a full-time job doing something totally secular and unrelated with no advanced theological degrees, no stranger is going to listen to you.

Work within your parish, or find a parish or other Catholic organization (Opus Dei, or a religious order) to work in. Find someone with credentials that believes what you believe and respects your work.

Either have them work with you to recommend people who have the power to implement this in the diocese, or give them the baton to do so themselves.

Eric