Catholic Apologetics

The purpose of this section of Clutching My Rosary is to explain what the Church teaches, in plain language, for non-Catholics as well as those Catholics who might not know their faith very well. It is not our intention to incite debate, although we do welcome civil, good-faith discussion via email. This section exists only to convey authentic Church teaching, not opinion (that’s what the blog is for).

Bible excerpts throughout these essays are from the Douay-Rheims version, which should be familiar to most people, as it is very similar in language style to the King James version. We have chosen the Douay-Rheims for personal reasons: since the translation was completed in 1610 (earlier than the King James), it has been in constant use by the Catholic Church until the latter half of the 20th century, when more modern versions became popular. It’s also a “literal” translation of Scripture, thus avoiding the agenda bias that inevitably creeps into “dynamic”, or paraphrased, works (even by well-meaning translators), which are admittedly easier to read.

Scripture links in these essays will usually open the Bible Gateway. The reader is invited and encouraged to compare cited passages with other translations, by making use of Bible Gateway’s pulldown menu (they offer a parallel view as well). And where possible, links to non-Catholic primary sources for works of the early Church Fathers, early councils, etc. will be used not only to illustrate the continuity of Catholic doctrine throughout its 2,000 year history, but also to avoid the appearance of dishonesty or fabrication.

This project is dedicated to the memory of Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, whom we deeply admire.