Cross-Examined: Catholic Responses to the World’s Questions

While social norms and political movements are rapidly changing, the truth of the Catholic faith stands firm. In Cross-Examined: Catholic Responses to the World’s Questions, readers are equipped to address even the most sensitive topics, from the existence of God to the existence of hell, from women’s ordination to Marian devotion, from assisted suicide to transgenderism.

In Cross-Examined, Fr. Carter Griffin begins each discussion not with Catholic teaching but rather with its most common objections. Articulating these objections serves several purposes. First, it helps Catholics to respect those who do not share their beliefs by identifying intelligent grounds for disagreement. Pointing out objections also helps believers respond more persuasively in discussions with non-Catholic friends. Perhaps most importantly, knowing the common objects instills confidence that the Church is committed to the truth and unafraid to engage with those who dispute her teaching.

After identifying principal objections, each discussion continues with a brief summary of relevant Catholic teaching and then responds to each objection in turn.

In our shrill age that seems ever less capable of rational discourse, the method used in Cross-Examined can offer a way to remain faithful to our beliefs while acknowledging, respecting, and responding to alternative points of view.

Fr. Carter Griffin is a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington. A graduate of Princeton University and a former line officer in the United States Navy, he obtained his doctorate in theology from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome. After serving at St. Peter’s parish on Capitol Hill, in 2011 he was assigned to the newly-established St. John Paul II Seminary in Washington, D.C., where he now serves as rector. He is the author of Why Celibacy?: Reclaiming the Fatherhood of the Priest.