Renews your faith

A wonderful, cultured book written by a master wordsmith. I agree with Alvin Kimmel's review, below, that it is difficult to describe this book because it touches so many areas - the personal aspects of faith, history, theology, etc. One of the things that impressed me most was Fr. Neuhaus's gentle and classy dissection of heterodox approaches to Catholicism.

Direct & Strong

For many of us Catholics used to so much diplomatic language that sounds like nothing really is being said, Fr. Neuhaus can always be counted on to speak strongly and directly. For example, in the first chapters he carefully but pointedly takes note that we Catholics do in fact believe that the Catholic Church, with the Pope in Rome at her head, is indeed the fullest expression of the Church of Christ on earth. That is a bit much for too many to take, but it is indeed what the Roman Catholic Church teaches and believes. It is a matter of simple honesty to state it. ^M

Catholic Truly Matters

Last week I finished Richard John Neuhaus's new book *Catholic Matters*. I recommend it highly. This is the book I've been waiting for Neuhaus to write ever since he converted to Catholicism. He wisely chose, though, to wait until he had gained some real measure of fluency in the Catholic language of faith. He now writes as a Catholic, yet one can still discern a Lutheran accent-thankfully so.^M