Catholics for Truth is a Catholic outreach
based in Johannesburg, South Africa in the spirit of St Robert Bellarmine (1542
– 1621), a Jesuit and a Cardinal.
During the time of the Protestant Reformation he was responsible for bringing
back thousands of Catholics to their faith by means of the tracts that he
wrote. We work with the permission and encouragement of the diocese of
Johannesburg and the support of many local
priests and several bishops..
Our tracts are aimed primarily at the many
modern Catholics in the aftermath of the Second Vatican Council (1962 – 1965)
who find themselves unable to defend their beliefs and are ignorant of the
scriptural foundation of Catholics doctrine. But it is not enough to defend Catholic belief on an
intellectual level only: we need to love and appreciate our Catholic heritage,
and live it out: a purely intellectual faith without deep commitment to Christ
and a deep relationship with him in every aspect of our lives
Most of the tracts concern issues raised by fundamentalist critics of the Catholic Church and a clear explanation of Catholic doctrine based on Scripture. The tracts also include subjects such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses, who, sadly, have also drawn away many Catholics, as well as Islam.
In South Africa the Catholic Church
constitutes about 4 million members and is the largest single religious
denomination in South Africa. Worldwide 60% of all Christians are Catholics.
But it is no secret that much “sheep-stealing” is taking place. The Catholic Church in South Africa as
well as many older Protestant denominations is under attack from many quarters
including popular charismatic churches (such as Rhema, a Kenneth Hagen
offshoot), indigenous African churches, Islam and the Jehovah’s Witnesses. All
these groups have succeeded in drawing away many Catholics.
Many millions of Catholics worldwide (sometimes despite a traditional education at Catholic schools) have been drawn to the numerous fundamentalist and evangelical churches appearing on the scene. These groups are decidedly anti-Catholic and (still) regard the Catholic Church as the “whore of Babylon” of the book of Revelation
Fundamentalist communities in particular
have grossly distorted or blatantly misrepresented what Catholics believe. This
is due in large measure to anti-Catholic propaganda disseminated by Jimmy
Swaggart Ministries, and to writings by fundamentalist “apologists” such as
Lorraine Boettner which has been distributed by groups such as Rhema Church.
The root cause of this massive loss is the
lack of real evangelism in the Catholic Church, despite many calls by popes and
other prominent Catholic leaders It is
said by reliable sources that only one in ten Catholics is truly evangelised,
ie brought into an effective relationship with Jesus Christ through the power
of the Holy Spirit. The truth is that most Catholics are sacramentalized, not
evangelised. It is possible to receive the sacraments regularly without having
a vital relationship with Jesus.
In closing, however, let us acknowledge
the example of those many fundamentalists who serve God faithfully in word and
deed. Many of these have never thought out the real implications of their
beliefs. Nevertheless, from them, we have learnt to become better Christians.
Would that all Catholics knew their bibles and loved the Lord as these do!
We pray that our common search for truth
will bring us closer by means of the Holy Spirit working through the medium of
these tracts. And we pray too that many Catholics may find a deep and real
relationship with Jesus Christ, the one Mediator between God and man (Acts
4:12)
The truly evangelised person will go out
and evangelise others. May these tracts always be ready to defend and to give
the reasons for the hope we share in Jesus Christ.
We believe that there is a tremendous need for Catholic beliefs to be explained clearly and rationally. We appeal to all committed Catholics to become involved in an apostolate to defend and renew the Church. Membership fees are US$20 (international) and R50 (Southern Africa).
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