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| Paperback on the left, hardcover with dustjacket on the right |
Arouca Press, rapidly establishing itself as the most interesting and valuable Catholic publisher in Canada, is much to be commended for its latest release, a 450-page volume entitled Defending the Faith Against Present Heresies: Letters and Statements Addressed to Pope Francis, the Cardinals, and the Bishops, with a Collection of Related Articles and Interviews.
Edited by John R.T. Lamont and Claudio Pierantoni (no strangers to regular readers of Rorate Caeli), and with a Foreword by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, Defending the Faith consists of three parts: Part I, the definitive edition of the Dubia of the Four Cardinals; Part II, the definitive editions of five major documents of critique that have been issued since the release of the Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia, namely, the Theological Censures of “Amoris Laetitia,” the Filial Correction concerning the Propagation of Heresies, the Open Letter of April 2019, An Appeal to the Cardinals on the death penalty, and the Protest against Pope Francis’s Sacrilegious Acts; and finally, in Part III, thirty-one articles and interviews engaging these documents from a variety of points of view. (In the interests of full disclosure, I should note that two pieces of mine appear in the book, as chapters 21 and 26.)
In this Year of “Amoris Laetitia,” it is timely to study anew, with the aid of this comprehensive resource, the troubling issues raised not only by that notorious document but also by many other words, actions, appointments, and omissions of Pope Francis as he enters the ninth year of his pontificate. Defending the Faith Against Present Heresies is a record of historic interventions, a guide for understanding the issues in the present moment, and a means of charting our course in the difficult times that are no doubt coming.
Table of Contents (cropped images):
Below is the publisher's official announcement, including endorsements.
“From the day Jorge Bergoglio stepped out on the loggia of St. Peter’s down to the present, Catholics have been confused and dismayed by many of the words and actions of Pope Francis. Not content to allow errors to be spread (whatever their source or putative justification), international groups of pastors and scholars composed documents of inquiry, appeal, critique, and, finally, accusation: the Dubia of the Four Cardinals, the Theological Censures of Amoris Laetitia, the Filial Correction Concerning the Propagation of Heresies, the Open Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church, the Appeal to the Cardinals, and the Protest against Pope Francis’s Sacrilegious Acts. These historic interventions, which made news around the world at the time of their first appearance and garnered the support of hundreds of thousands of concerned Catholics, are gathered here in a definitive edition for the benefit of all who seek to adhere to “the faith delivered once for all to the saints” (Jude 3). The six documents are accompanied by a selection of important articles and interviews prompted by them, which criticize, defend, or develop their evaluation of Pope Francis.”
Publisher's Note: The writings contained in this book should be taken singulatim as the expression of the opinions of their immediate authors or groups of signatories, and should not be construed as necessarily the opinions of other authors or signatories included in the book, or of Arouca Press.
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Praise for Defending the Faith
“Well-reasoned pleas to uphold the Church’s plain and constant teaching in the face of deviations are acts of charity, not of sinful defiance. This book is an invaluable compilation of such efforts.” — Fr. Gerald E. Murray, JCD, New York, NY
“With admirable lucidity and a wealth of evidence and argument, this timely book collects the main published documents making the case that heresies designedly put about by Pope Francis are today a primary cause and manifestation of Christianity’s worst crisis ever.” — John Finnis, Biolchini Family Emeritus Professor of Law at Notre Dame Law School and Permanent Senior Distinguished Research Fellow at the Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture
“What if it seems, to some knowledgeable and conscientious Catholics, that their efforts and their loyalty are contradicted, not assisted, by the Holy Father? What if, in such baffling circumstances, some of these brothers and sisters of ours, being scholars—other alternatives apparently fruitless—draw up a formal and public expression of their concerns? These deserve our respectful attention, I believe, and in charity should not be dismissed.” — Michael Pakaluk, Professor of Ethics and Social Philosophy, The Catholic University of America
“This book bears witness to a struggle within the Church comparable only to that of St. Athanasius in the fourth century.” — Martin Mosebach, author of The Heresy of Formlessness
“Well worth reading by anyone with an open mind on the present upheaval in the Church.” — Henry Sire, author of Phoenix from the Ashes and The Dictator Pope
“Confusion reigns in the Church, and many questions put to Pope Francis remain unanswered. Where to begin? John Lamont and Claudio Pierantoni have edited a much-needed compendium of the most serious and scholarly documents addressing these problems since Amoris Laetitia. This book is a testimony for history. But even more, it brings answers to Catholics wounded in their very faith.” — Jeanne Smits
“As Christ tells us, we cannot follow two masters. We must choose between God or Mammon; we must choose between the Heiliger Geist and the Zeitgeist, between the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of the Age. This opportune volume helps us to focus on the Magisterium’s timeless truth in uncertain times.” — Joseph Pearce, Editor, St. Austin Review and Senior Contributor at the Imaginative Conservative
ISBN: 978-1-989905-40-1 | $25.95 USD | paperback
ISBN: 978-1-989905-41-8 | $31.95 USD | hardcover
Size: 6 x 9
450 pages (xvi + 434)
Available directly from Arouca Press or from
