How to Defend the Faith Without Raising Your Voice: Civil Responses to Catholic Hot-Button Issues by Austen Ivereigh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The only reason I'm not giving this book five stars is because of the limitations, which are not a fault of the book or of its author, but of this reviewer.
I am a Canadian, and How to Defend the Faith is primarilly an American way of addressing the social issues that critics bring to the Church. Not a problem, unless one isn't an American citizen.
Of course, it makes sense that hot-button issues such as abortion, euthanasia, AIDS care, women and the Church, gay-rights, clerical sex abuse, etc, should be addressed with some recourse to contemporary and current legislation. Admitedly, the principles behind the arguments and the counter-arguments should be universally applicable, but sometimes the issue can only be addressed in its cultural/legislative context.
Having said that, this is an important book for all Catholics (and non-Catholics who want to know how Catholics will respond to their criticisms). The last couple of pages also explain how we can all discuss these hot-button issues without losing our tempers - something that doesn't help anyone on either side of the debate.
I recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about the Catholic Church's position on many/most social issues. The book is at times technical, in the sense that Ivereigh knows his Catechism and both Canon and legislative law. This may rile some readers who find it unfair that a defender of the faith relies on the Catholic Catechism, but since the issues criticise the Catholic Church's perceived position on these topics, it is the author's prerogative to explain the Church's actual position - which has often been misunderstood in the first place.
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