The Faith of Our Fathers
by James Cardinal Gibbons
1876. James Gibbons, then a young bishop in the American South and later Cardinal Archbishop of Baltimore, keeps meeting Protestant neighbors who have never really talked with a Catholic. Many of them believe strange things about what Catholics believe. So he writes them a book.
Gibbons is courteous and clear. He takes the subjects that most puzzled Protestant Americans of his day: the Church's authority, the papacy, the saints, images, purgatory, confession, the Eucharist and religious liberty. He explains each from Scripture and history. He's after understanding more than a knockout. He wants readers to see that Catholic teaching is reasonable and biblical, and that a Catholic can be a loyal American.
It suits Protestant inquirers who enjoy history, readers curious about American Catholicism, and anyone who wants old-fashioned plain answers to common questions. Some of its language and controversies show their age, so pair it with a modern catechism. It's old enough that free editions are easy to find.
Key Takeaways
- Catholic teaching explained from Scripture and history.
- Courteous answers to classic Protestant questions.
- How Catholics argued they could be loyal Americans.
- A window on nineteenth-century American Catholicism.
It is a plain-spoken nineteenth-century explanation of Catholic teaching for Protestant neighbors.
