The term apologetics refers to a reasoned and systematic defense of a particular set of beliefs, and it has always had a place in the history of the Church. Many of the Church’s great saints engaged both fellow believers and non-believers in fierce debates over important questions of doctrine. St. Peter himself encouraged Christians to “always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who calls you to account for the hope that is in you. But do it with gentleness and reverence” (1 Peter 3:15). One of the great Catholic apologists of the 20th century was a layman named Frank Sheed who would spend afternoons on a soapbox in London’s Hyde Park inviting passersby to ask him questions about the faith. Through regular engagement with people, he developed a very effective and winsome presentation of Catholicism that helped answer the questions and objections of countless numbers of people. He and his wife Masie Ward would go on to establish Sheed & Ward publishing house, which published the works of many important Catholic authors. The life of Frank Sheed demonstrates that the ability to explain and defend the faith is not just something reserved to priests and religious. It is something that every Catholic should be able to do to some extent in service of the call each receives by his or her baptism, which is to do the work of sharing the good news of our salvation in Christ as members of the Church.
For many years, Catholic apologetics had largely been neglected. The result has been that Catholics who received poor formation frequently have found themselves helpless in the face of challenges from atheists and Evangelicals, leading significant numbers to leave the Church. But Catholic apologetics seems to be making a comeback. A few months ago many Catholic media outlets reported a surprising increase in the number of adult baptisms in many countries. Those who approached the Church for baptism expressed various reasons for doing so, including engagement with the intellectual tradition of the Church. This often happened online, through engagement with web content from experienced apologists from organizations such as Word on Fire, Ascension Presents, and Catholic Answers, who helped many people find answers to their questions about the Catholic faith.
The growing interest in apologetics, especially among young people, has not gone unnoticed by Bishop Caggiano, who recently hired a Director of Apologetics to develop programming that will help local Catholics share and defend their faith. In furtherance of his vision, our parish will be collaborating with the Church of the Holy Spirit in north Stamford to present an evening of apologetics. On Thursday 7/24 from 7-8:30pm at the Church of the Holy Spirit, one of our parishioners, Mr. Ryan Ferrucci, will present a reasoned argument for the existence of God. Anyone can attend this event, but we especially encourage young searchers and sceptics (and those who love them) to come, have some pizza, and hopefully find some answers to the questions they have.
posted 7/12/25
The Parish of St. Cecilia-St. Gabriel 