Since its establishment in 2005, Connor Court Publishing has carved out a good reputation for producing quality books across a wide range of subjects including biography, fiction, history, culture, climate, ethics, politics, science and religion.
Included in its suite of quality publications is Fr John Flader’s Question Time series of books that provide answers to questions on Catholic faith and life published in The Catholic Weekly.
Given the popularity of the first five books in the series, Connor Court has just released the sixth volume, titled Question Time 6: Another 150 Questions and Answers on the Catholic Faith.
It brings to 900 the number of questions answered since Fr Flader began writing his column in 2005.
As the foreword to Question Time 6, Fr Flader reproduces the late Cardinal George Pell’s foreword to Question Time 1 published in 2008. There Cardinal Pell said: “Father John Flader’s book Question Time 1 – 150 Questions and Answers on the Catholic Faith is a wonderful resource for every Catholic who has ever had questions about the faith or about our life together with God.
This book brings together answers from Fr Flader’s popular column in The Catholic Weekly and reflects the timelessness and fascination that different questions have for Christians of all ages and across all generations.”
Cardinal Pell went on to add that, “Fr Flader has done us all an enormous service in collating his columns and in bringing them to print in this book. I have enjoyed reading it and learnt much from it and I hope you do too.”
Question Time 6 draws heavily on the teaching of Vatican II, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, papal teaching and the church fathers.
Like its predecessors, it is divided into the four main parts of the Catechism: Catholic doctrine, the sacraments, moral life in Christ, and Christian prayer.
The questions covered in the book are of the sort that are asked not only by Catholics, but also by non-Catholics interested in what the church has to say on various issues. Here are some examples:
“In the Gospel in a recent Mass Our Lord says we must be prepared to cut out our eye or cut off our hand if it is an occasion of sin for us. How are we to understand these hard words?” (q. 758)
“Why did Christ choose to die on the cross in order to redeem us? Couldn’t he have redeemed us in some other less painful way?” (q.762)
My daughter recently asked whether her guardian angel will be with her in heaven, and whether God is constantly creating new angels. Can you help me?” (q. 795)
“The Bible speaks of Our Lady and St Joseph being ‘betrothed’ when Jesus was conceived. How did people prepare for marriage at that time, and was betrothal the same as our engagement?” (q. 796)
“I have a Protestant friend who thinks we Catholics are foolish for believing in the bodily Assumption of Our Lady into heaven when there is no reference to it in the Scriptures. How can I answer her?” (q. 799)
“Some people say that the main thing we need to do in the Church is not so much get people back to Sunday Mass but rather foster care for the poor and for those of other ethnic backgrounds, be more compassionate, etc. How should we view this?” (q. 809)
“I am a teacher, and also a mother, and I really struggle sometimes to live patience with the children. Do you have any suggestions for me?” (q. 836)
“We are hearing more and more about children suffering from anxiety over their gender identity. I find this alarming and fear it might happen in my own family. What is the best way to help these children?” (q. 844)
“Now that there is a bill before the parliament of New South Wales to legalise euthanasia, my work colleagues argue that we should not be behind the rest of Australia and the world, but should do what everyone else is doing and legalise it. Is legalised euthanasia really that widespread?” (q. 857)
This sample of questions points to how Question Time 6 deals with issues that are relevant to the situation of Catholics in today’s world. The world is becoming ever more subject to the dictate of aggressive and radical forms of secular materialism and relativism.
These ideologies regard Christian faith as superstition and, in their embrace of moral relativism, consider objective moral principles as of little or no consequence for growth in human maturity and societal wellbeing.
In his answers, Fr Flader renders what can be complex material in a way that can be easily understood.
In this he allows others to benefit from the richness of his learning and the experience he has acquired over his many years of priestly ministry.
With its inter-generational accessibility, Question Time 6 is a must-read for priests, grandparents, parents, teachers and university students.
It will also make an excellent reference text for senior students in Catholic schools, a great prompt to further research and discussion on matters of ultimate significance.
The Catholic Church and each of its members exist to proclaim that Jesus Christ is our one and only saviour: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (Jn 3:16).
Reading Question Time 6 leaves one with renewed confidence in the Catholic Church’s contemporary relevance, since at its heart is the person of Jesus Christ and the salvation he has brought us.
As such, the book should serve as a wonderful instrument of the new evangelisation