| Introduction |
On January 29, 1999, Pope John Paul II issued a "call to arms" for Catholics to aggressively confront the challenge of Protestant evangelism. Addressing more than a million people in Mexico City, the Holy Father urged Catholics to ignore the seductions of "fallacious and novel ideologies" and to spread the word of the Church: "Don't fail to respond to the Master who calls. Follow him to become, like the apostles, fishers of men. Make Christ's word reach those who still don't know him. Have the courage to bear witness to the gospel on the streets and in the town squares, in the valleys and mountains of this nation!" The Catholic Church today is being challenged vigorously by non-Catholic evangelizers. Unfortunately, many Catholics feel ill-prepared to defend their faith in the face of these attacks. San Juan Catholic Seminars is an organization of lay Catholics devoted to explaining and defending Catholic doctrine. Our purpose is to strengthen Catholics in their faith by helping them to charitably defend the most commonly challenged Catholic beliefs. We are also committed to resolving doctrinal divisions among Christians by inviting fallen-away Catholics and non-Catholics to consider the biblical basis for Catholic beliefs. We hope this booklet will give Catholics the basic tools to effectively answer the challenges of the many religious groups that come knocking on our doors and to correct some of the misconceptions non-Catholics have about the Catholic Church and its teachings. |