“The Catholic Response”: In the Second Decade

“I want a laity, not arrogant, not rash in speech, not disputatious, but men who know their religion, who enter into it, who know just where they stand, who know what they hold and what they do not, who know their creed so well that they can give an account of it, who know so much of history that they can defend it.” 

This vision of Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman was enunciated nearly 150 years ago, and it was precisely this vision that inspired and has guided The Catholic Response, an apostolate of the Priestly Society of Cardinal Newman.

The Catholic Response was founded in 2004 as a Catholic apologetics magazine in response to Pope John Paul II’s call for a “new evangelization.” It is published six times annually. I am the the Editor and Publisher, and the Managing Editor is the Reverend Nicholas L. Gregoris. Each issue is focused, but not exclusively, on a particular topic of Catholic faith, morals, sacramental-liturgical life, culture, etc. The artwork on the magazine’s cover is intended to highlight a given issue’s particular theme. Classical Christian artwork that appears throughout the magazine is also intended as a tool of evangelization, thereby linking the good, the true and the beautiful.

Each issue is 64 pages in length and is printed in an attractive, user-friendly style, featuring an editorial, a variety of articles written by scholarly members of the clergy and the lay faithful, a question-and-answer section, and short book reviews by the editor. Frequently, magisterial documents and the writings of individual bishops appear, linking the life of the local church with that of the universal Church, thus making more evident the four marks of the Church, namely, her unity, holiness, catholicity and apostolicity.

We have just completed ten years of publication. In a time when print journalism has suffered serious setbacks, we have been fortunate to have maintained a very loyal readership, deeply appreciative of our commitment to Catholic orthodoxy.

We likewise rejoice in the support we have from so many bishops. Congratulatory messages have come in from Cardinals Sean O’Malley (Boston), Donald Wuerl (Washington), Timothy Dolan (New York), and Francis Arinze (prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments in Rome). Encouragement has also come from Archbishop Joseph Kurtz (Louisville, in whose diocese our magazine is published; he is likewise president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops); Archbishop Charles Chaput (Philadelphia); Archbishop Bernard Hebda (Coadjutor of Newark); Archbishop Michael Sheehan (Santa Fe); Bishop Michael Sheridan (Colorado Springs); Bishop Herbert Bevard (St. Thomas/Virgin Islands). These bishops are known paragons of fidelity to our holy Catholic Faith and strong proponents of the same, in season and out of season. Validation of our mission from these primary teachers of the Faith provides us with encouragement and inspiration to move forward in our efforts.

Supporters in the greater New York City area are sponsoring a celebratory fund-raising dinner on Tuesday, October 7, at the Ristorante Arno (on 38^th Street and Broadway). The evening’s speaker will be a young convert, Christopher White, a frequent contributor to Catholic World Report and the co-author with Anne Hendershott of Renewal: How a New Generation of Faithful Priests and Bishops Is Revitalizing the Catholic Church. He will look into his crystal ball and give some hopeful indications of where he thinks the Church in our country is headed.

That evening has been dubbed “The Catholic Response: In the Second Decade.” For further information on the event, to send a congratulatory message of your own, or to subscribe to The Catholic Response, visit our website and click on the tab for the magazine.

We invite all Catholics committed to the renewal of the Church through the new evangelization even if unable to join us physically, to do so spiritually, praying with Saint Paul that the Lord who has begun this good work in us would bring it to fulfillment (Phil 1:6).