Customer Reviews

Twelve Tough Issues: What the Church Teaches--And Why

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I teach Confirmation class to tenth graders. At this age, they are struggling to form their own opinions on tough issues, but still want to be informed on what the "authorities" think. This book is tailor-made for the "sound-bite generation." Each of the 12 tough issues is covered in about 4-7 pages of easy-to-read text. I passed the book around and offered to buy a copy for each of them - they all wanted one!

Ever wonder why the Catholic Church teaches what it does, especially on controversial issues like abortion and capital punishment? If so, this book is for you.

Archbishop Pilarczyk writes in an accessible, easy-to-understand manner. No theology degree required. He also writes in a compassionate manner, acknowledging that these are, after all, tough issues. At the same time, he puts forth the Church's position in a clear, concise manner.

Designed to increase the understanding of Catholics and anyone interested in these issues, this book is a plus to have on your bookshelf.

As a Catholic seeking a more complete understanding of the "tough issues" for which critics bash our Church, this book is disappointing. Weighing in at only 83 pages, this book leaves much to be desired. Most "chapters" consist of only a review of an issue's history followed by a series of questions about it, in a food-for-thought manner.

To be fair, the book seems like it is intended for religious education classes or other discussion groups. For the individual reader, however, I would look into George Weigel's book, "The Truth of Catholicism," Peter Kreeft's "Catholic Christianity," or Alan Schreck's "Catholic and Christian."

I give the Most Reverend Pilarczyk credit for doing what many Archbishops should be doing--which is seeking to better educate the laity about Church teachings--but this book, unfortunately, just isn't substantive.