Catholic Voice

 Not long after arriving in the land of Saints and scholars, I began to wonder where one might obtain good Catholic resources—books, devotional items, and such.  I was as interested for myself as much as for knowing where to refer Christ’s faithful. 

 

It just so happened that a Limerick priest and some local faithful called by the friary to voice their support and to offer any practical helps we friars might need.  It seemed an opportune time to query the well-seasoned Father about buying Catholic materials in Ireland. 

 

No sooner had the question been posed than the sudden response—as a matter of course—was blurted out by one of the guests:  ‘I think Veritas is the place you are looking for.’  It sounded reasonable to me at the time.  To my surprise, however, the good Father even more suddenly retorted:  ‘Veritas!!!  There isn’t much veritas in Veritas.’  Veritas, of course, means truth in Latin—an interesting response.

 

The priest’s Irish wit was as keen as it was cutting.  Yet, coming from America and having seen more than my fair share of wishy-washy, supposed to be Catholic institutions, I quickly caught his drift.  At the same time, everyone knows that many a truth has been said in jest.

 

In fact, many times in the months and years that ensued I have heard similar complaints concerning Veritas both from priests and parishioners.  The days are sadly gone when one could walk into a Catholic agency and expect nothing less than authentic Catholic teaching and practice.  Veritas unfortunately is no different, its Episcopal ownership notwithstanding.

 

 

Angels and Demons

 

There is, in all fairness, a nice outlay of truly Catholic resources on display, at least in the Veritas stores I have visited.  The trouble is that on the shelves, beyond items that first catch one’s eyes, lay books by notoriously questionable theologians such as Fr Richard McBrien and even some by non-Catholic and other authors whose works are of highly questionable value, or worse, even new age. 

 

For example, Fr McBrien’s signature work Catholicism (a compendium of liberal catechetical heterodoxy) is on sale despite the fact that Fr McBrien’s teachings have officially been called into question.  The sale of the ever popular Fr Anthony DeMello’s books, whose content have been severely critiqued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith under Josef Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) are yet another issue.  It was even noted that the new age classic A Course in Miracles had been spotted on the shelves of Veritas who also accommodates a large collection of meditation, relaxation titles consistent with new age spirituality. 

If that is not bad enough, just in the last two weeks two completely independent sources reported to me that Veritas has begun to stock angel cards which are basically tarot cards in sheep’s clothing.  Shakespeare said something rather relevant about a rose by any other name.  Hear say, of course, is not always the most reliable source, so it seemed that it would be in order to call by a Veritas shop in order to investigate—and there they were amidst other angel paraphernalia!  Angel cards.  A quick visit to the links on the publisher’s website (www.lorriesangels.com/links.html) is enough to drive home just how egregious it is that this occult garbage is being sold in a so-called Catholic institution.

 

 

A Diverse and Exciting Product Range

 

According to the Veritas website, their

 

‘product range is both diverse and exciting and is constantly evolving to meet the needs of our growing customer base.  [W]e…publish a wide range of titles in a number of categories, such as theology, scripture, prayer, spirituality, parenting, counselling, liturgical resources and social issues. Our retail outlets continue this diverse trend by also stocking a wide range of titles in the areas of psychology, Mariology, and homiletics. Together with new titles from leading Christian publishers for whom Veritas distributes, we firmly believe that our entire assortment of publications has something for everybody.’ [emphasis mine]

 

It seems that Veritas’ mission is to provide ‘something for everyone’ even if it is trendy and not particularly Catholic.  This is a bit strange for a company whose roots lie in the Catholic Truth Society, whose very name is synonymous with truth, who is wholly owned by the Irish Catholic Bishops who appoint the governing Executive Board, and who claims on their website to serve the needs of the Irish Church.

 

Is not the mantra of relativism the words of a man who lived roughly 2000 years ago:  ‘What is truth?’

 

The Gospel Mandate:  Go and Make Disciples

All of this leads to one of my typically inconvenient questions.  Why does Veritas even exist at all:  to make money or to make disciples of Jesus Christ? 

As you answer, it is worth bearing in mind that our Lord’s words were accompanied by the instruction to teach all that He commanded—in other words, Catholicism.  Nothing more, and nothing less.

The real kicker is that, again according to their website, ‘Veritas books are printed on paper made from the wood pulp of managed forests. For every tree felled, at least one tree is planted, thereby renewing natural resources.’  Not that I have anything against trees, but it seems to me that it would be great if Veritas were as zealous for the salvation of souls as it is to save the environment—the truth be told.

This feature is categorised under Life Matters