St. Paul preaching to the Athenians. Robert Haddad 1998. Times have changed. In Central and South America, for example, more than one thousand Catholics are lost each day to the various Protestant sects. Fundamentalist proselytism is obvious and everywhere and now constitutes a world-wide epidemic.
Darkness exists only where there is no light, and error advances only where there is ignorance.
Unfortunately, with the worldwide collapse of effective Catholic catechesis and the confusion and denials spread by Modernism and Progressivism, there is today much ignorance. Nevertheless, there is a growing number of Catholics who are no longer prepared to see the Church of Christ remain defenseless in the face of the untruths, distortions and historical inaccuracies of sectarians and other opponents. Hence, the formation in recent years of various lay apostolates specializing in apologetics, particularly in the United States. Each topic is complete in itself, and is designed for use by teachers or instructors of adult catechetical, apologetical, religious or home groups. The three-fold structure of Scriptures, Fathers and Catechism has been chosen to illustrate the continuity of the Church's teaching since Apostolic times, and that the Church of the New Testament and the Apostles is the same Holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church of today.