25th Anniversary Edition Published by Pangaeus Press is Available This Month
Twenty-five years ago, Kevin Orlin Johnson’s best-selling Why Do Catholics Do That? answered its title question with information about practically everything that people wonder about, from the nature of Purgatory to why Nativity scenes look that way.
“Johnson offers lucid explanations of a dazzling array of customs and beliefs.” — Publishers Weekly
The first edition of catholic classic out-sold books by Pope St. John Paul II, and readers sent in a constant stream of questions. “It was time for an expanded edition,” Johnson says. “Especially in these hard times, we need to remember what the Church is for, what she can contribute to our lives. And we need answers.”
Post-scripts added to each chapter answer many perennial questions to broaden understanding of the Catholic Church in all of her complexity and spirit, her influence on cultural norms and her place in America today. “Most books about the Church focus on feelings,” Johnson says. “But it’s information ― good, clear information ― that’s really empowering. Faith depends on knowledge, and knowledge enables you to make better decisions in life.”
The book promises cultural enrichment, too, in its answers to questions about Catholic art, architecture, literature, music, devotional practices and all. “Understanding the meaning and purpose of the Church’s intellectual contributions,” Johnson says, “lets you connect your life to a meaningful past and get things organized for a positive future.” Even apart from matters of doctrine, he says, that’s how the Church offers stability and clarity in a world that’s increasingly unstable and perplexing.
Johnson also points out lay Catholics’ responsibility for correcting abuses. “We are the Church,” he says: “the clergy work for us. You don’t leave your Church because of some bad priests. You don’t abandon Jesus because Judas did. You fix it.”
Pope St. John Paul II simplified the Code of Canon Law specifically to help Americans sue wayward clergymen in the Church’s courts, Johnson says. “It’s like a business letter. Look to Canons 1501 through 1506 for guidance and send your letter to the Congregation for Divine Worship for liturgical irregularities, the Congregation for the Clergy for personal misconduct by priests and the Congregation for Bishops for failure to address these offenses. They’re all at the Palazzo delle Congregazioni, Piazza Pio XII 10, 00120 Città del Vaticano.”
This article was shared with Prittle Prattle News as a Press Release by PRNewswire
