Twelve Tough Issues - And More: What the Church Teachers and Why

This little 90 pager is a great book to start many important discussions between an orthodox Catholic and a secularist, "progressive" Catholic, non-Catholic Christian, and a host of other possible people. This work is genuinely orthdox and in tune with the teachings of the Catholic Church (I would expect no less out of an archbishop, but these days...). This book, however, does not go into too great of detail in trying to settle these issues. Rather, it provides the background and starting point for a discussion regarding these issues.

Have you ever wondered exactly how the church stands on certain issues, like abortion, war, artificial insemination and the like -- and why? This book is GREAT! The Archbishop that wrote it went into wonderful detail and gave references to find more information concerning each subject, including the exact page of the Cathechism where each subject is discussed. This is also great for a study-group, faith-sharing group or school (students and teachers) because of the simplicity of the language and there are questions after each subject explanation to help invoke conversation.All Catholics should check this out, and non-Catholic who are interested in how the church stands on very tough issues.

I teach Confirmation class to tenth graders. At this age, they are struggling to form their own opinions on tough issues, but still want to be informed on what the "authorities" think. This book is tailor-made for the "sound-bite generation." Each of the 12 tough issues is covered in about 4-7 pages of easy-to-read text. I passed the book around and offered to buy a copy for each of them - they all wanted one!

Ever wonder why the Catholic Church teaches what it does, especially on controversial issues like abortion and capital punishment? If so, this book is for you.Archbishop Pilarczyk writes in an accessible, easy-to-understand manner. No theology degree required. He also writes in a compassionate manner, acknowledging that these are, after all, tough issues. At the same time, he puts forth the Church's position in a clear, concise manner.Designed to increase the understanding of Catholics and anyone interested in these issues, this book is a plus to have on your bookshelf.