Catholic Answers

Description

Catholic Answers is an apostolate dedicated to serving Christ by bringing the fullness of Catholic truth to the world. They help good Catholics become better Catholics, bring former Catholics “home,” and lead non-Catholics into the fullness of the faith.

Catholic Answers is one of the nation’s largest lay-run apostolates of Catholic apologetics and evangelization. Catholic Answers’ plan for the future will allow the apostolate to continue its ministries, both in ongoing operations and also with special projects to address new issues as they arise.

History

Catholic Answers began in 1979 after a Fundamentalist church in San Diego, California, decided to leaflet the cars at a local parish during Mass. The fliers attacked the Eucharist and were riddled with misinformation. Upon coming out of Mass and finding one on his car, attorney Karl Keating was annoyed and drove home with a modest goal: to draft a tract that would present basic Catholic beliefs and refute anti-Catholic charges. Keating signed the tract “Catholic Answers,” opened up a post office box in that name, and then placed his rebuttal on the windshields of cars in the Fundamentalist church’s lot.

That modest effort was Catholic Answers’ first publication. Much to his surprise, Keating soon found the post office box bulging with letters—some unquotable, others cheering him on and asking for other tracts. He obliged, writing 24 more tracts that comprised Catholic Answers’ total line of publications for several years.

He also wrote articles for the Catholic press about the clash between Fundamentalists and Catholics, drawing responses that convinced him there was a real need for information on Catholic apologetics—the study of how to explain and defend the faith. In 1986 he launched a monthly newsletter to help people keep abreast of what Catholic Answers was doing and learn more about the exciting field of apologetics.

In 1988 growing demand and his own burgeoning desire to commit himself to serving the faith led Keating to close his law practice and turn Catholic Answers into a full-time apostolate, with its first office and staff members.

The apostolate grew quickly, and in 1990 its original newsletter was replaced with This Rock, a 10-issue-a-year magazine that has become the nation’s premier journal of Catholic apologetics and evangelization.