Reading Neuhaus' Catholic Matters.

From a book entitled Catholic Matters (Catholic Matters: Confusion, Controversy, and the Splendor of Truth, Richard John Neuhaus, Basic Books, 2006, $25), written by the onetime Lutheran pastor now Roman Catholic priest and editor of the challenging monthly journal, First Things, Richard John Neuhaus, one would expect reasoned, provocative, and persuasive analysis.

No reader will be disappointed, but for me this book was more. As a recent convert to Catholicism, I had hoped that Father Neuhaus would shed light on the nature of conversion generally, his own in particular (which he does, in a beguiling chapter called "Becoming the Catholic I was"), and on the culture shock that awaits the new convert. In fact Neuhaus does all this so well that the book frequently seemed like a letter in response to personal questions I had raised; incidentally, it seemed so as well to two acquaintances of mine who happened to be reading the book at the same time, both Protestants contemplating swimming the Tiber. So to anyone you know who happens to be similarly placed, I can recommend Catholic Matters without qualification.

Father Neuhaus discusses Vatican II and its problematic aftermath; the dumbing-down of Catholic liturgy; the priestly sex scandals; why Catholics can't (or won't) sing; dissension in the North American church hierarchy; and many other subjects of interest to the born-Catholic and to the convert.

What does the North American denominational landscape look like today?

Well, roughly speaking, the 'old-line' (or today 'side-line') Protestant denominations--Anglican, Presbyterian, United, Methodist etc.--are in steep and probably irreversible decline. Evangelical denominations are generally holding their own, some increasing, but usually confronted by frequent membership turnover as people 'shop' for the most comfortable church home. Some non-denominational churches, of the 'mega' and 'seeker' variety, have experienced explosive growth, but that may level off if and when their roots prove shallow. Some Roman Catholic churches are growing, albeit not spectacularly, thanks to either immigration or conversion. (Neuhaus estimates there are 200,000 converts in North America annually.)

And the conversion side of the equation will only increase, particularly as the Anglican (or in the U.S. Episcopalian) church, Rome's closest cousin liturgically-speaking, slides from apostasy into sheer incoherence, as exemplified by the new Episcopal Bishop, Katherine Schiori, who declared from her pulpit that "Jesus is our Mother, and we are his children."

When Neuhaus defines Rome as "the church of Jesus Christ most fully and rightly ordered through time," he is not intending a triumphalist statement. The papal encyclical, Lumen Gentium, recognizes that God is at work in other churches, and no informed Catholic would deny that. Indeed the lives of many non-Catholic Christians sometimes put Catholics to shame. But to the extent that such Christians seek to belong to the "holy, catholic, and apostolic church" that is unequivocally proclaimed in the Apostle's Creed, they must look to Rome. Because there is currently a revival of interest in the early church, and its significance, within Protestantism, this can only increase the numbers of converts who will follow the path to Rome.

Richard John Neuhaus had the opportunity to work closely with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. especially during the last three years preceding Dr King's death on April 4, 1968. Neuhaus writes: "It is no secret that his personal life was in some ways a moral shambles, but he was nonetheless a prophetic voice. Of him, too, it was true that, in the words of St. Paul, 'We have this treasure in earthen vessels to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us.' Given the priestly sex scandals, it is important for Catholics never to forget this."

Neuhaus goes on: "People, whether young or old, are not likely to take their lead from someone who they think does not have their interests at heart, from someone who does not love them. The Church loves the world, as God in Christ loves the world. As John Paul II teaches us, the Church imposes nothing, she only proposes. As a lover to the beloved she proposes--persistently, persuasively, winsomely--not an alien truth but the world's own true story.

Neuhaus has placed the Catholic Church's true story within the world's true story in a way that left this reader deeply satisfied.

Ian Hunter is Professor Emeritus from the Faculty of Law at Western University in London, Ontario.